An Insider's Guide: How a Designer Lights Their Home.
The most important aspect to consider when purchasing your new home is how to maximise the amount of daylight. The purity of natural light cannot be beaten however you must be able to control it and avoid bleaching floorboards and artwork. One benefit of this top floor flat is the availability of natural light that floods through the high sash windows. Drama comes after dusk when the simplicity of the architecture is accentuated through artificial light sources.
The overall scheme has been kept very simple; the majority of the lights in the house have been installed in the north facing kitchen as it is the darkest rooms in the house. The Louis Poulsen pendant provides general light in the kitchen and a decorative focal point when viewed from the adjoining sitting room. Discreet downlighting provides good task light to the workspace and a focal point on the floor-to-ceiling storage units. White kitchen furniture and worktop were used to maximise the reflective potential of the light.
The sitting room by contrast only has two downlights that have been used specifically to highlight the fire place and coffee table, strengthening the idea of these as the main focal points of the room. Again, the large white rug helps to lift and maximise the sensation of daylight. Ambient lighting relies upon freestanding floor and table lamps which provide the necessary warmth and welcome required after a long day. Both these rooms can be controlled either as one or independently, through switches or remote controls.
When space is tight as it often is in the home office, the use of a lever-arch wall mounted desk lamp can be a fantastic space saver in the midst of clutter. The placement of computer screens away from windows reduces the light contrast when viewing the screen, which ultimately reduces the feeling of eye stain and the increase of tension.
The feature lighting in the hallway allows the eye to be naturally drawn to the up-lit curved stairwell leading to the roof garden and to the end of the corridor leading to the master bedroom and sitting room.
Lighting the roof garden has been kept very simple, primarily to ensure that the views of London are not dampened. The feature wall has been up-lit to provide reflective light to the dining table whilst subtle low level lighting accentuates individual plants such as the palm. It is the strong architectural nature of these plants that provides the drama with the use of shadows. Coloured lenses can be added to most low voltage fittings to add a sense of fun decoration for parties, however as a permanent feature, can become tedious after a while.
The overall scheme has been kept very simple; the majority of the lights in the house have been installed in the north facing kitchen as it is the darkest rooms in the house. The Louis Poulsen pendant provides general light in the kitchen and a decorative focal point when viewed from the adjoining sitting room. Discreet downlighting provides good task light to the workspace and a focal point on the floor-to-ceiling storage units. White kitchen furniture and worktop were used to maximise the reflective potential of the light.
The sitting room by contrast only has two downlights that have been used specifically to highlight the fire place and coffee table, strengthening the idea of these as the main focal points of the room. Again, the large white rug helps to lift and maximise the sensation of daylight. Ambient lighting relies upon freestanding floor and table lamps which provide the necessary warmth and welcome required after a long day. Both these rooms can be controlled either as one or independently, through switches or remote controls.
When space is tight as it often is in the home office, the use of a lever-arch wall mounted desk lamp can be a fantastic space saver in the midst of clutter. The placement of computer screens away from windows reduces the light contrast when viewing the screen, which ultimately reduces the feeling of eye stain and the increase of tension.
The feature lighting in the hallway allows the eye to be naturally drawn to the up-lit curved stairwell leading to the roof garden and to the end of the corridor leading to the master bedroom and sitting room.
Lighting the roof garden has been kept very simple, primarily to ensure that the views of London are not dampened. The feature wall has been up-lit to provide reflective light to the dining table whilst subtle low level lighting accentuates individual plants such as the palm. It is the strong architectural nature of these plants that provides the drama with the use of shadows. Coloured lenses can be added to most low voltage fittings to add a sense of fun decoration for parties, however as a permanent feature, can become tedious after a while.
With the principle that 'less is more' when designing the lighting for your home and garden, it is important to acknowledge where the light is actually required, as opposed to adopting a blanket approach.
RW.
RW.
posted by Light IQ @ Friday, October 05, 2007 
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