10 simple lighting ideas that will transform your home
If you’ve been in the dark about the best way to light your home then allow me to illuminate you with the best ideas I got from my evening spent on the John Cullen Lighting master class. It’s like Harvard university for interior designers headed up by head girl of lighting Sally Story, and her team of lighting prefects. The group attending was 30 strong so they divided us in two to show us around their sexy showroom installations, including ‘the pod’. We witnessed a speed school lesson on the absolute mastery that can be achieved with light. There was lots of talk of layering textures, painting with light, creating illusions, depth, focal points and features. Who knew that the dismal pendant light was up against so much competition.
The fact that it was the best night out I’ve had in ages is both testament to how sad my social life is and what a total fanatic I am about interior design. The showroom is set on the west end of Londons Kings road nestled among plenty other glossy glassy interior design boutiques. There was a lot of grey marl cashmere and suede loafers on show last night. However the crowd was a mix of professional designers, self-builders and home renovators all thirsty to be shown the light.
I came away literally bursting with enthusiasm and excited at the new ideas that I can apply to our current annex project. It also made me realise there isn’t one light fitting in the correct position in my own house. However one of the attendees last night was queing up to ask Sally questions at (great opportunity to raid that talented design brain) and mentioned that she felt totally overwhelmed by the complexities of it all.
There is no doubt that if you employ a lighting designer, of the caliber of John Cullen lighting you are going to get a masterpiece. But there was oodles of great take away tips that I think could be easily employed in the average home. The evening demystified the ‘science’ of lighting and reminded me that, like everything great about interior design, it’s very much an art form (within the context of residential interiors).
Here are my top 10 light bulb moments from last nights master class that you could easily use in your own project.
- Rule number one of Lighting is it must be on a dimmer. Only utility rooms are the exception!
- Never ever position your down lighters in a grid across the center of the room. This is better known as Developers acne. They just accentuate the ceiling and the floor, which is rarely the highlight in any interior design scheme. Instead use the down lighters to highlight focal points. For example position around 150mm from the wall to highlight artwork or a textured wall. Use a beam spotlight over the dining or coffee table to highlight a tabletop arrangement.
- The most effective and flattering light for bathroom mirrors and dressing table areas is two wall lights, one either side. If you want to highlight the basin use a ceiling recessed spot directly above.
- In the kitchen position down lighters over the worktop and island, not in the standing areas, otherwise you’ll just cast shadows in the areas where you are trying to work
- Linen lampshades cast a much nicer glow to a room than card shades, which create hard shadows. Choose a naturally warm coloured shade to increase the glow
- In the bathroom position a down light above your towel radiator to highlight your towels. That soft fluffy texture is much needed in an otherwise hard space.
- Use the same manufacturer of LED bulbs in all your down lighters for continuity of colour. Use tungsten bulbs, if you can get them, in lamps for a warmer glow
- Large sliding or bifold doors are all the rage with modern extensions but just create a large black mirror at night. Place some outdoor lighting close enough to highlight the immediate area outside the glass, and by that you shift the focus through the glass and beyond.
- Make LED tape your friend. It’s affordable and easy to install and gives a gorgeous glow to joinery. Place it inside a recessed channel at the front to highlight books or at the back to highlight objects. Can also be added under kitchen shelves, above tall larder units or behind the headboard for backlit Hollywood glamour!
- Have your lighting on different circuits that can be controlled independently. This way you can have that bright ‘where the hell did I leave the keys’ light through to candle style, ‘don’t notice me smuggling a bar of chocolate onto the sofa’ low level lighting.
If you want to know more about how lighting can be employed to enhance an interior then I’d wholeheartedly recommend attending the Masterclass at John Cullen Lighting. At £35, including posh plonk and nibbles, it has to be the best value for money around. There is no hard sell and the John Cullen team are genuinely passionate about what they do and sharing their knowledge.
**Disclaimer: I was given free entry to the course by John Cullen Lighting. However the review is entirely my own opinion and I would have happily paid for it!
comments
I completely agree with your ten rules Sophie, in particular #1 and #3. I’d better getting inspiration by #6, because the lights of my bathroom are not very functional, and since it’s a room without windows it could be the right fix.
We’re just designing a very small bathroom with no view and its no less than 10 light fittings in it!
You can have both! That is what we are currently installing in our new annex project. The Lighting deisgn is by John Cullen so its really superb. I’ll be able to share it with you soon
It’s a whole subject in its own right, but worth getting your head around. I’ve loved learning all the insights and will be using them on my own proprty
The tip I got for landings was not to place recessed lighting down the centre but off set it towards the edge- around 20cm from the wall. This way the light washes down the walls which is really effective
