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Cover Feature
The Light Fantastic
For many years, the role of lighting in residential interiors was severely overlooked, but without a well designed lighting scheme no interior will ever be able to fulfill its true potential, writes Stacey Sheppard
A
residential interior can be brimming with cosy carpets, fabulous furniture,
flamboyant fabrics and wonderful wallcoverings, but without the right lighting to illuminate it in all its glory, is it really worth it? Sonia Murton, interior designer and founder of Belle interiors thinks not. “I really believe that although you can spend thousands on beautiful furniture, unless you illuminate your interiors properly you simply won’t benefit from the full effect of the designs,” she says.
LIGHT UP YOUR LIFE Good lighting design can transform an interior allowing the personality of the owner to shine through. It can change the perception of a room and make a house into a home. But as with most elements of interior design, lighting is a very personal thing and needs to be tailored to the needs of the end user. “Every scheme needs to work with the lifestyle and character of the people living in a house as well as with the architecture itself, so every project is different,” says Sally Storey, Design Director at John Cullen Lighting and author of numerous books on the subject. However, there are a few guiding principles that the experts swear by when creating a successful lighting scheme. “It is paramount that lighting in a residential interior works on both a practical and an emotional level,” says Michael Linsky, MD of Sensio Lighting. “Whilst lighting fundamentally provides illumination for tasks, it can also dramatically change how you feel about a space.”
THINK FUNCTIONALITY As a general rule, Steven Thorne of Steven Thorne Design, says that the more functionality a room requires, the more lights it should have. “The light is chosen based on the room’s design requirements. For example, a kitchen, which is a functional room, requires generous amounts of light to work from. The same theory applies to the bathroom,” he explains. And this is a theory that most designers tend to agree with. “It is essential to ensure that kitchens
are extremely well lit,” says interior designer Katharine Pooley. “Kitchens should always have spotlights that are arranged above
all preparation areas as well as under wall mounted cabinets. If there is a dining area within the kitchen, such as a breakfast bar, it is a good idea to have these lights on dimmers, so when the cooking is complete, you can soften the lighting for a relaxing atmosphere for eating and entertaining. “Bathrooms too should have excellent
task lighting as well as softer, dimmer options to create mood lighting to recreate the spa feeling.” In recent years, we have seen the usage of both kitchens and bathrooms evolve from primarily utilitarian spaces to more of an area for entertaining and relaxing. This has
Above: The Vos Pad is a state-of-the-art prototype apartment designed by Marcel Jean Vos and was the world’s first apartment to be lit entirely using fully dimmable, colour- changing light emitting diodes (LEDs)
Below: Sensio Lighting’s LED
dimming remote allows the user to vary the degree of light at the flick of a switch
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