Approach
Light decides how a room feels before anyone notices it.
Most people only think about lighting when it goes wrong: a glare on the screen, a dining table that looks flat, a bedroom that will not settle at night. We design it the other way round. We start with how a space should feel at each hour, then work out the light, the control and the detail that make it so.
Layer
One room, three kinds of light.
Ambient light fills the room softly so nothing feels dark or harsh. Task light is brighter and closer, placed where hands work: a kitchen counter, a desk, a reading chair. Accent light is the smallest layer and does the most. It picks out a painting, a textured wall or a plant, and gives the eye somewhere to rest.
Each layer sits on its own control, so one room can be set for dinner, for homework or for a party without moving a single lamp.
- Ambient100 to 200 lux across a living room, soft and without hard shadows.
- Task300 to 500 lux at a kitchen counter or a desk, aimed so you never work in your own shadow.
- AccentThree to five times brighter than its surroundings, so it reads as a focus and not as a spill.
Unlit. The room has no depth.
Control
The day sets the light.
Our bodies read light as a clock. Bright, cool light in the morning and through the working day keeps us alert. Low, warm light in the evening helps us wind down. A well programmed system follows that rhythm without being asked.
Control should be quiet. We programme scenes by the hour and by the activity, then reduce the wall of switches to one or two. Nobody should need a manual to turn on a light.
- Morning4000 to 5500 K at a high level, to wake the room up.
- Evening2200 to 3000 K at 30 to 60 percent, for dinner and conversation.
- NightBelow 10 percent and very warm, so you can find the way without waking up.
19:00
Dinner · 3,000 K · 55%
Colour
Colour is only as true as the light.
Light that is missing parts of the spectrum makes skin look tired, wood look grey and fabric look flat. The measure is CRI, the colour rendering index, scored out of 100. Low-cost lamps often sit near 80. Switch between the two below and watch the same six colours change.
We specify 90 or above wherever people, food, art or material are on show. It costs a little more per lamp and changes how everything in the room looks.
- SkinFaces look healthy at 90 and above, and grey below 80.
- R9The red component of CRI. A strong R9 is what keeps terracotta, rose and wood alive.
- MixingKeep every lamp in a room to one colour temperature unless a scene says otherwise.
CRI 95. Every colour is where it belongs.
Detail
Show the light, hide the source.
A bare lamp on a ceiling edge leaves hot spots and glare. The same light tucked behind a ledge becomes one smooth wash. The difference is a few millimetres of joinery, and it has to be decided early, because it costs far more once the ceiling is closed.
Glare is the quiet enemy of a good room. If you can see the lamp from the sofa, the eye goes to the lamp and not to the room.
- ShieldingRecess spots deep enough that the lamp stays out of sight from normal seating angles.
- CovesSet the strip well back from the ledge so no bright line shows on the ceiling.
- AimLight a wall hanging from about 30 degrees off the vertical, which avoids both glare and shadow.
Hot spots and glare. The eye sees the fixture, not the room.
The numbers
How much light does a room need?
Less than most people think, and in more places. Pick a space to see the illuminance and colour we aim for. Illuminance is measured in lux, the amount of light that lands on a surface.
Illuminance
100 to 200 lx
Colour temperature
2400 to 3000 K
Process
From first conversation to the final scene.
Every project moves through the same six stages. Open any one to see what happens in it.
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We start with a conversation and a walk through the space, or with the drawings. Who lives or works here? What happens in each room at each hour? What should never be seen, and what should always be?
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A lighting concept in plain diagrams and references: the layers for each room, the moods, and a handful of key scenes. No products are chosen at this stage, so the conversation stays about how the space should feel.
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Fixture positions, beam angles and levels are drawn onto the plans and checked with calculations. We coordinate with the architect, the interior designer and the electrical consultant so that ceilings, joinery and wiring all agree.
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Every fixture, driver and control is named in a clear schedule with approved alternatives, so the site team can price and install without guessing. Good specification protects the design from substitution.
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On site we aim every fixture and write the scenes. Then we come back at dusk and adjust again, because that is when most rooms are used and when the light shows what it can really do.
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A short guide in plain language, a keypad or app set up for the whole household, and a record of what was installed and where, so the system is easy to live with and easy to change later.
Common beliefs
Four things people believe about light.
Tap a card for the other side.
Tell us about the space.
A short message is enough: where it is, what it is for, and when you want to begin.
Start a conversationWhatsApp number to be added