When embarking on your refurbishment, renovation or new build considerable time is spent on the getting the architecture, internal layout, kitchen design and internal fixtures, fittings and finishes right. However often the lighting design gets missed out or left until the very last minute when the electrical contractor is on site asking questions and decisions have to be made on the spot! A grid of downlights may solve the immediate problem but just won’t do justice to your space and to all those details that you and your architect have carefully designed and agonised over. Downlights definitely have a role in lighting design however they should always light a surface, wall or feature specifically and not just free space!
Good lighting design can bring your home to life. It can dramatically transform the look and feel of your home and the way that you enjoy it. It will make the most of your architectural and interior features, create comfortable attractive spaces for you to relax in and provide the right quality and quantity of light for you to cook, eat and read by whatever the time of day or night.
On a project, considerable time can be spent sourcing just the right decorative light fitting. Whilst these are important to the overall look of a space they are usually as the word implies just decorative and need to be combined with architectural lighting such as carefully placed downlighting, uplighting, LED strips and floorwashers in order to create the right quality of light which will then allow the decorative lighting to be fully appreciated. Often the magic in lighting comes when it is concealed within architecture or joinery. The look no hands approach. Hidden lighting will create depth, texture, and focus. This combination of decorative, architectural and hidden lighting will create layers of light which can controlled separately to allow different scenes or moods. It need not be complicated and can be achieved using pre-set scenes on a key-pad or more simply dimmer switches.
Why do I need a lighting designer?
The expertise is in getting the balance of lighting right, making it both atmospheric and functional. Vaulted ceilings will need special consideration, low spaces will employ lighting tricks to make them feel higher and hard and soft landscaping lighting lit beautifully without creating glare or light nuisance to your neighbours. Different lighting treatments are used to graze light across a beautifully textured feature wall, highlight an object or artwork or to provide glare free higher levels of lighting for food preparation. This is where the experience and skill of a good lighting designer comes in who will combine creative design with sound technical knowledge. A good lighting designer should be able to work to a budget, guide you through the decisions that have to be made and ensure that you get as much lighting value as you can out of your spend.
When should I call the Lighting Designer?
It is really good to start thinking about lighting design as early as you can. The best results are achieved when you involve your lighting designer as soon as you have a floor plan with positions of furniture on it. Integrating lighting into the architecture is generally more successful if the lighting designer works with the architect, interior designer or closely with the construction or project manager. However don’t worry if lighting has escaped your radar and it is much later on in the project. A good lighting designer can still make a valuable contribution and design a creative and achievable lighting scheme that takes into account construction and time limitations. At focalglow I am used to being appointed at the very last minute and turning around lighting designs in record time however it’s a lot less stressful for everyone if you have the benefit of more time!
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