Everything you need to know about lighting your home
A fabulous contemporary chandelier makes a dramatic statement in the double height entrance hall of this new build project in the Surrey Hills.
Lighting has the power to completely change the look and feel of your home with the flick of a switch.
It’s an essential part of any considered design scheme and will ultimately impact how you use your home. It’s impossible to curl up with a book, focus on your work or create a warm, welcoming atmosphere without the right lighting. Read on to discover everything you need to know about lighting your home.
Let there be (layers of) light
Layering light is key to ensuring your room has an appealing atmosphere whilst also providing the right amount of light for you to go about your daily tasks.
When we design lighting schemes we always consider these three lighting layers;
Decorative lighting
What feature lighting do you like and where do you want it within the room, for example pendants, lamps, or wall lights? This type of lighting can be a useful tool to help you zone the different areas in a room – a pendant over the dining table instantly defines that space with a pool of light.
Accent lighting
Accent lighting is used to highlight focal points. This could be architectural features such as ceiling details, bespoke joinery or a piece of art. Often the light source for accent lighting is concealed or recessed.
Task Lighting
Where you are completing specific tasks which need good light you’ll want task lighting. Think kitchen counters (to make sure that steak is perfectly cooked), desks, dressing tables and reading chairs. The dining table is usually a multipurpose space where homework or intricate Lego constructions both need great lighting.
Once we have considered all of these light sources we will review the overall ambient light that has been created. We’ll identify darker spaces within a room and add supplementary lighting where necessary such as a discreet downlight within a walkway. We don’t light every nook and cranny because a little shadow provides depth and contrast and prevents the room from feeling flat.
A 3D render shows the atmospheric lighting design for a kitchen. Here the decorative pendant lights double up as task lights over the island and we used concealed lighting to highlight the kitchen joinery. We also included downlights for when brighter task lighting is required.
Technical details: Here comes the science bit
We admit to being a little bit obsessed with light quality, because however beautiful your new home is, poor quality light sources will somehow make everything feel not-quite-right.
First consider the colour of the light. In residential projects a warm white tends to work well, but beware - there are different levels of warm white. If your lights are not all the same colour temperature the result will be very jarring. For accuracy, check the kelvin measurement, with 2700k being a popular domestic colour.
All light bulbs have a CRI rating which is a measure of how it will show colour. The max CRI 100 which is equivalent to daylight, and anything over 90 is very good. With a CRI below 90 the colours of your furnishings, clothes and even food will appear a lot duller than they would under daylight. So, if you have a prized artwork, it’s worth spending a bit of money to light it really well and show it off to its full effect.
Poor quality dimming can be caused by either the bulb, the controls, or both, so for smooth dimming without the dreaded flicker, choose both carefully. Corston Architectural Detail combine great quality with lovely finishes and value for money.
We used uplights from John Cullen to bring out the texture of this beautiful stone wall. With a good quality uplight you can maximise the light output from a very small, discreet fitting.
How to shine your light the sustainable way
Lighting is one of the biggest energy consumers in your home, so making your lighting as energy efficient as possible will help reduce your carbon footprint and keep bills under control.
It goes without saying that you need to use LED fittings for energy efficiency, (read more in our sustainability article), but also consider the lumens per watts – this is how much light is emitted (lumens) for a given amount of energy (watts). Building Regulations Part L, which sets out rules for conservation of power, specifies a minimum of 75 lumens per watt. Over-lighting spaces has been identified as a key energy waste issue, so when designing the lighting for a home we will always consider the activities that take place in the different spaces. The amount of light you need when working is very different to light levels needed for a hallway or for watching TV.
Automated smart controls are a brilliant development that can help ensure that lights are only on in spaces that are being used. They are also great for activating layers of lights for pre-set scenes, taking you from bright homework mode to atmospheric dinner party at the touch of a button. Motion sensors can be used with or without smart controls to control lighting in spaces that are only used for a short amount of time e.g. coat cupboards or a downstairs loo.
In this East Sheen home we used concealed LED lighting on a sensor which lights up when the bar door is opened.
Bright ideas for using lamps in your home
We’ve dedicated a whole section to lamps as we can’t get enough of them! There’s so much choice and they are such a good opportunity to have fun and add personality to a room, mixing bases and shades together to create something characterful.
If you are not rewiring a room, lamps are the single best way to improve and layer the lighting in a space, for example, a few strategically placed lamps can really define a cosy living space within a larger room. USB rechargeable lamps are now widely available, meaning you can use lamps anywhere in your home (or outdoors!) without a socket. A slim table lamp is a romantic way to illuminate a dining table, or add warmth to a mantlepiece or side table in the middle of a room.
Wall mounting a lamp over a desk or bedside table can provide task lighting without taking up surface space, and decorative cables become a feature dropping down the wall to the plug.
If you are rewiring a room then do consider a lamp circuit. This means that you can create a cosy atmosphere at the flick of one switch.
A fabulous oversized lamp becomes a statement feature at this project in Chiswick.
Creating outdoor atmosphere with external lighting
If you are creating a new extension with lots of glazing then you definitely need to put some thought into lighting the garden beyond. Expanses of glass will just look black at night but lighting the garden will draw the eye outside and retain the feeling of space and openness that you have achieved in the day.
Wall lights or overhead lights will create general ambient light on a patio area, but what really adds a magical touch in a garden is accent lighting. Begin by calling out any hard landscaping like paths, steps or an attractive wall with uplights. Then add highlights to the soft landscaping. Uplights on spikes are a very easy option to use in beds around trees and other structures, or to create interesting lighting effects through leaves and grasses.
For sustainability ideally outdoor lights should be on a sensor so they automatically switch off in daylight or when not required.
Outdoor lighting at a project in Ravenscourt Park
A final word about lighting (don’t switch off yet)
Before starting a build or renovation, make sure you have a set of plans with a full electrical scheme marked out. This will show all your circuits and where every light fitting, socket and switch will be positioned, along with other electrical fixtures such as extractors or alarm systems. Take time to check this plan carefully, as it’s much easier to add an extra light at this stage than after your plasterer has packed up and left!
Decorative lighting is an opportunity to have some fun. Here in Shepherd’s Bush we mixed up colours and invested in some decorative cable to add a cost effective designer look.