‘For
illuminating a
space, architectural
lighting - such as down
lights and spot lights - is often
the best. Decorative lighting is
the most exciting and adds
personality to the home.’
Mark Holloway, owner Holloways
of Ludlow
Sally Storey used Polestar
to downlight the hallway
and LED Lucca uplights to
highlight the arches
homes
HOW TO LIGHT
UP YOUR HOME
Sally Storey, Design Director at John Cullen Lighting, shares some trade
secrets to help you achieve a successful – and chic – lighting scheme
Story KARA O’REILLY
KNOW YOUR LIGHTING
There are three main types of lighting:
ambient, which is the general lighting of
a room and which sets the background
(this could be from a chandelier and
some table lamps, or an arrangement of
down lights and wall lights); you then
add in the task lighting, such as a
reading lamp by a sofa, under-cabinet
lights in a kitchen or wall lights in the
bathroom; finally, you create the mood
by dimming the ambient lighting and
bringing up your feature lighting – such
as a picture light to draw attention to a
specific painting.
Feature pendant
lights from Oliver
Hayden, prices
start at £1,115;
0844 3350710;
oliverhayden.com
Lucca uplights from John
Cullen Lighting were placed
along the skirtings to light
the wall
LOOK AT YOUR LAYOUT
When planning a lighting scheme, the
first thing to look at is the furniture
layout as that shows how the room is
going to be used. From there I can see
where the table lights will go and if there
are any key pictures that should be lit.
Sometimes, in a large room, sofas are
placed in the middle of the space, so it is
worth putting in some floor sockets,
otherwise you either end up with lighting
all around the perimeter of the room and
an emptiness in the centre, or flexes
trailing everywhere.
LIGHT UP YOUR WALLS
When you walk into a room, you look at
the walls, not the ceiling, so think about
how you are going to light them –
whether with up-lights or picture lights
or wall lights. People often focus on the
pendant and forget about the walls and
then wonder why the room doesn’t feel
right. Avoid down-lights directly above
people’s heads.
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theresident.co.uk | November 2014
35
homes
Nymph Chandelier by
Koket; £POA
bykoket.com
MAKE A STYLE IMPACT
You set your style with your decorative
lights, so it’s essential they have visual
impact. For more classic looks, I love
Charles Edwards; for classiccontemporary, Porta Romana. For a more
crafted look, I like Ochre, while Heal’s
and Designers Guild have some great
contemporary lighting.
USE DIMMERS
If you end up with several layers of
lighting on quite a few different circuits,
avoid a bank of switches by using a
small digital dimmer system. These are
very useful as they allow you to pre-set
your different circuits to different levels
for different times of the day. The
lighting level you want in the early
evening, for example, is very different to
that for night-time. If you only do one
thing, put everything on dimmer
switches. That way you can control the
level of lighting within a space to suit
the effect you want to create.
Mini Starlights from
John Cullen Lighting
were dotted around
the skylight in this
dining room
‘Industrial
lighting is making
a real statement in
metallic finishes, while
modern chandeliers are
becoming popular. We’re also
seeing the use of more
traditional techniques.’
Lucio Longoni, Lighting Buyer at
Heal’s
HAVE FUN WITH TRENDS
Trends-wise, anything goes at the
moment. The look is much more eclectic
with people mixing up different styles.
There are so many types of lights now
available and people are being braver
with materials or colour. One of the
most simple, yet effective, looks is to
suspend a whole collection of shades in
a group. Contemporary designers, such
as Tom Dixon, do this very well. Other
nice ideas are to back-light, rather than
front-light shelves, which has the effect
of silhouetting your objects –
particularly good with a collection of
glass. And if you can’t rewire, plug-in
up-lights can be rather useful for
creating good effects.
020 7371 9000; johncullenlighting.co.uk
›
theresident.co.uk | November 2014
37
LIGHT
MOVES
TABLE LAMPS
London metal table light,
£399, from
originalbtc.com
Kara O’Reilly picks autumn’s best
new lighting buys
Lustre Planetes installation,
Vessel Gallery;
vesselgallery.com
Lupin glass table lamp,
£1,512, from ochre.net
Antique Metal steel
table light, £110; from
frenchconnection.com
Antler metal table
lamp, £99 (not
including shade), from
OKA; okadirect.com
Claw painted nickel
table lamp, from £1,320,
by charlesedwards.com
Blue velvet
table light,
£750, by Squint;
squintlimited.com
Crystal Bulb table
lamp, £220, by
leebroom.com
38
November 2014 | theresident.co.uk
homes
P E N DA N TS
FLOOR LAMPS
Kuta copper-finish
lamp, £299, from
boconcept.co.uk
Quintet chandelier, £2,340,
by Martin Huxford Studio;
martinhuxford.com
Navy tripod floor
lamp in grey,
£99, from
made.com
Muffin hand-blown
glass and oak floor
lamp by Brokis,
from £1,661, from
hollowaysofludlow.
com
Junction Chandelier
in copper, £195, from
heals.co.uk
OverNight
Pendants from
vesselgallery.com
Kemble floor
lamp, £330, from
abigailahern.com
Brass Original 1227
Maxi Pendant in
dusty blue, £175, by
anglepoise.com
Hanna hand-crocheted cotton
pendant, £1,500, by
naomipaul.co.uk
Jensen dark oak
floor lamp, £199, from
marksandspencer.com
Antler chandelier by
Jason Miller for Roll &
Hill, £6,375; from
scp.co.uk
Bain black caged
metal floor lamp,
£130, from
habitat.co.uk
Prague Estates
Theatre crystal
glass lampshade,
£1,540, from
conranshop.co.uk
Solid cylinder pendant in nero
marquina marble, £197, by
terencewoodgate.com
Grasshoppa floor
lamp by Gubi,
£565, from Aria;
ariashop.co.uk
Joanna mango wood floor
lamp, £240, from
johnlewis.com
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