Opinion
kbb Birmingham 2018 Show Special
How to… design lighting plans that work
Though lighting can make or break a kitchen or bathroom design, it’s often the aspect that KBB retailers only consider at the end of a plan. In the first of two articles on this important topic, Luke Thomas, design director at John Cullen Lighting, spells out the dos and don’ts of an effective lighting scheme
W
e’ve spent the past 35 years trying to educate our clients and industry partners on why lighting is so important and what it can do
to enhance interiors and architecture. Public opinion is changing and the significance of lighting is better appreciated, but it is still too often an afterthought. Good lighting requires good lighting design and this means early planning. Every room and every client is different, so there are no rules for how to light a space, but we use a few basic principles that I find are a good starting point.
Effective lighting design is not about creating architectural symmetry on the ceiling using grids of downlights. This results in a very flat and lifeless feeling within a room. Lighting works best when carefully considered in relation to the features within a space
make a big difference. A polished marble floor in a bathroom can dictate whether to use an LED strip under a vanity unit to create a floating effect. To see a reflection of the LEDs in the polished floor would be a disaster. With every light that’s added, try to justify why
Bathroom with Lucca uplights and Polespring downlights by John Cullen
and takes into account how the client wants the space to work for them.
I find it useful to think of both light and shadow when designing a scheme – both are equally important. If everything was lit with a blanket illumination, there would be no depth and texture to the space. Shadow allows the things that are lit to stand out and become the focus of your attention.
Planning
With every light that’s added, try to justify why it’s there. What is its purpose? Does it provide task lighting or accent a feature? If you don’t have a good reason for why the light is there, is it really needed?
It is important to have key information up front when starting a lighting design. Assuming that architectural plans of the space are available, the next most important item of information will be the furniture layout. Some clients struggle to visualise this before a house is built. This is where an interior designer can really help. But if we can get positions confirmed for the sofa, dining table, etc, then we can make the lighting really transform the space.
If this information is not available, then only a very generic lighting scheme can be implemented. It would be much nicer to have a focused light on a dining table and to ensure that when sitting on the sofa, or lying in bed, your client doesn’t have a spotlight directly above their head. Wall, floor and joinery finishes can also influence the
design. Pale colours reflect light back into the room, whereas darker finishes absorb more light. This can
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it’s there. What is its purpose? Does it provide task lighting or accent a feature? If you don’t have a good reason for why a light is there, is it really needed? I always design with low-glare, discreet and baffled lights that do not draw attention to themselves. It is the effect of the light that should be visible, not the source of the light. If we get this right, it will lead to a magical effect, where attention is focused on features in the room and the lighting disappears into the background. Once you have the information you need, think
about how best to layer the lighting to create a flexible scheme. This allows the homeowner to adapt the lighting to suit different activities. When layering light, you build up a scheme combining different effects – general light, feature light and task light. Each of these can be achieved in different ways, for example, downlighting, uplighting, wall washing and specific highlighting. You need at least two elements, and the best schemes may involve three or four. Our desire for open-plan living demands a layered lighting scheme to suit. A kitchen is not just a functional space, it is more often than not a part of the dining and living area. Kitchen lighting needs to give excellent task light for work surfaces, but it also needs to blend into the other areas and offer a more relaxed setting when dining or entertaining. A low-level lighting effect under a kitchen island would be the perfect addition to the task lighting. In the evening, the downlights can be dimmed right down and the low-level lighting kept bright to create a moody and dramatic effect.
• Luke Thomas will be speaking at the kbbreview Retail & Design Conference, see pages 8-9 for the full programme
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