Clients will often employ Interior Design Consultancies because they crave a touch of flair, and because they need some professional help with style and coordination. In this three-part series which I call "How Interior Design Consultancies Use Feature Lighting," I draw on my experience working with some of London's top lighting design experts to explain how feature lighting may be a critical part of giving clients the results they desire.
Three-dimensional objects, such as flower displays or glassware, have unique lighting requirements. Interior design consultancies will choose to make these backlit, silhouetted or thrown into relief. Other options include lighting from one direction for surface texture or cross-lighting for a truly three-dimensional effect. When lighting a bowl of flowers or a decorative object or sculpture, interior design consultancies rely on the same principles as for picture lighting. Spotlights may be appropriate for all three, but certain sculptures may require the light to be directed at special angles. Interior design consultancies will often employ lighting specialists to focus specifically on this part of the design effort.
Glassware is beautifully responsive to illumination. Interior design consultancies are sometimes asked to showcase frosted glass objects, in which case downlighting will make the ornament look as if it is capturing the light as if illuminated from within. Some of the most progressive London interior design consultancies will recommend fibre optic sources from below, for eye-catching splendour and real visual impact.
To build mood, interior design consultancies will sometimes use backlighting to make an object look silhouetted. Some high-end London clients have their own collections of bronze pieces or sculptures that feature clean-cut shapes. The result is vibrant and engaging, as the backlighting showcases the two-dimensional within the three-dimensional whole.
With fabulous lighting, interior design consultancies can allow alcoves or bespoke shelving to take on a ornamental charm, as a focal point alongside the objects on display. Shelf lighting is important everywhere - even in a London kitchen or cloakroom, a touch of designer light can make even a prosaic set of glass bottles or shimmering stones into an engaging feature.
That brings to an end this series of articles called "How Interior Design Consultancies Use Feature Lighting." Thank you for joining me to learn about how some of London 's top interior design consultancies think about illumination in their designs!
Interior Design London - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design services.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Lighting Design: How Interior Design Consultancies Use Feature Lighting - Part II
Clients will often employ Interior Design Consultancies because they crave a touch of flair, and because they need some professional help with style and coordination. In this three-part series which I call "How Interior Design Consultancies Use Feature Lighting," I draw on my experience working with some of London's top lighting design experts to explain how feature lighting may be a critical part of giving clients the results they desire.
Interior design consultancies rely on three types of spotlight - surface-mounted, track-mounted or fully recessed into the ceiling. Spotlights ordinarily cast a narrow cone of light, but they can be muted or relaxed through the use of lenses. Interior design consultancies will specify speciality UV-blocker lenses to protect old paintings, valuable pictures or prized artwork purchased from London's top auction houses. Some of London's best interior design consultancies will deliberately use spotlights on thicker paintings that feature substantial texturing in order to make them look more dramatic. Any reflections from a glazed frame will be minimized when the interior design consultancy uses the spotlight specifically as an uplighter.
In some luxurious London residences, it may be appropriate for the interior design consultancy to recommend the most sophisticated type of feature lighting, namely the framing projector. This can be used to spectacular effect when illuminating paintings, prints and photographs. It can also be ideal for sculptures, especially in cases when direct lighting may be too aggressive due to its sharp shadows. The interior design consultancy will install the framing projector so as to focus only on the object itself, with no shadow appearing on the wall behind and no spill of light beyond the object. London interior design consultancies will employ a framing projector to create an effect whereby a picture seems to be illuminated as if by magic from within. Sculptures will appear suspended theatrically in thin air. One note of caution: the interior design consultancy must select a suitably skilled master craftsman who will cut the copper shield that masks the light to exactly the correct shape. Some of London's top interior design consultancies have even been known to use this type of system in garden designs, with the projector housed in a waterproof securement.
Interior Design London - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design services.
Interior design consultancies rely on three types of spotlight - surface-mounted, track-mounted or fully recessed into the ceiling. Spotlights ordinarily cast a narrow cone of light, but they can be muted or relaxed through the use of lenses. Interior design consultancies will specify speciality UV-blocker lenses to protect old paintings, valuable pictures or prized artwork purchased from London's top auction houses. Some of London's best interior design consultancies will deliberately use spotlights on thicker paintings that feature substantial texturing in order to make them look more dramatic. Any reflections from a glazed frame will be minimized when the interior design consultancy uses the spotlight specifically as an uplighter.
In some luxurious London residences, it may be appropriate for the interior design consultancy to recommend the most sophisticated type of feature lighting, namely the framing projector. This can be used to spectacular effect when illuminating paintings, prints and photographs. It can also be ideal for sculptures, especially in cases when direct lighting may be too aggressive due to its sharp shadows. The interior design consultancy will install the framing projector so as to focus only on the object itself, with no shadow appearing on the wall behind and no spill of light beyond the object. London interior design consultancies will employ a framing projector to create an effect whereby a picture seems to be illuminated as if by magic from within. Sculptures will appear suspended theatrically in thin air. One note of caution: the interior design consultancy must select a suitably skilled master craftsman who will cut the copper shield that masks the light to exactly the correct shape. Some of London's top interior design consultancies have even been known to use this type of system in garden designs, with the projector housed in a waterproof securement.
Interior Design London - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design services.
Lighting Design: How Interior Design Consultancies Use Feature Lighting - Part I
Clients will often employ Interior Design Consultancies because they crave a touch of flair, and because they need some professional help with style and coordination. In this three-part series which I call "How Interior Design Consultancies Use Feature Lighting," I draw on my experience working with some of London's top lighting design experts to explain how feature lighting may be a critical part of giving clients the results they desire.
Feature lighting is truly breathtaking when interior design consultancies use this type of illumination to bring focus to valuable or attractive possessions. Many London homeowners have a variety of these types of objects - including trophies, ornamental glassware, sculptures and ceramics. The interior design consultancy will work with the client to decide whether to showcase these objects alone or in groups, perhaps in bespoke glass cabinetry.
Feature lighting needs to be fine-tuned by the interior design consultancy in accordance with the object to be illuminated. Pictures, photos or paintings commonly require a "picture light." London interior design consultancies will often choose low-voltage halogen options with remote slimline transformers as a fashionable and versatile solution. Their sleek profile is a major benefit in smaller London residences. Interior design consultancies rely on halogen illumination because it is snow-coloured, avoiding the yellow tinge that is associated with tungsten alternatives. This results in improved colour temperature consistency. For best results, the interior design consultancy needs to choose a picture light that offers a good throw of illumination. This is directly impacted by the dimensions of the picture light arm. Professional interior design consultancies know that a beautiful London-designed short-armed picture light which is ultraslim and sophisticated will only be suitable for the smallest picture.
Interior design consultancies will specify that picture lights should be secured right next to the frame, or even onto the frame itself. In low-ceilinged London residences, wall-mounted lights can be a little impractical. Accordingly, interior design consultancies will conduct initial dimensional studies to make sure that the light will illuminate the picture, rather than the adjacent wall.
Interior Design London - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design services.
Feature lighting is truly breathtaking when interior design consultancies use this type of illumination to bring focus to valuable or attractive possessions. Many London homeowners have a variety of these types of objects - including trophies, ornamental glassware, sculptures and ceramics. The interior design consultancy will work with the client to decide whether to showcase these objects alone or in groups, perhaps in bespoke glass cabinetry.
Feature lighting needs to be fine-tuned by the interior design consultancy in accordance with the object to be illuminated. Pictures, photos or paintings commonly require a "picture light." London interior design consultancies will often choose low-voltage halogen options with remote slimline transformers as a fashionable and versatile solution. Their sleek profile is a major benefit in smaller London residences. Interior design consultancies rely on halogen illumination because it is snow-coloured, avoiding the yellow tinge that is associated with tungsten alternatives. This results in improved colour temperature consistency. For best results, the interior design consultancy needs to choose a picture light that offers a good throw of illumination. This is directly impacted by the dimensions of the picture light arm. Professional interior design consultancies know that a beautiful London-designed short-armed picture light which is ultraslim and sophisticated will only be suitable for the smallest picture.
Interior design consultancies will specify that picture lights should be secured right next to the frame, or even onto the frame itself. In low-ceilinged London residences, wall-mounted lights can be a little impractical. Accordingly, interior design consultancies will conduct initial dimensional studies to make sure that the light will illuminate the picture, rather than the adjacent wall.
Interior Design London - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design services.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Let's FOCUS on Interior Design: Lighting for Drama - Part III
Interior design professionals are accomplished at merging both function and form to create breathtaking results. In this three-part series which I call "Let's FOCUS on Interior Design," I draw on my experience working with some of London's top interior design experts to explain how to create focus, balance and drama through the use of lighting.
As explained in my previous articles, Interior Design Professionals rely on focus lighting to showcase favourite features of a room. However, focus lighting can also draw out the intimacy of a London dinner party. Some interior design professionals will incorporate just a single downlighter over the dinner table, attracting guests like moths to cashmere. I have known some famous interior design teams to add a dash of candlelight to evoke a wink and a glitter on glasses and chinaware. It is important for the interior design professional to also provide a low level of general light for infill, beautifying the faces of London guests and smoothing out any wrinkles or blemishes.
Focus tends to be less important in non-primary areas such as passageways, cloakrooms and conservatories, where the interior design professional will more often think mainly about function. However, in my experience the very best London interior design teams treat these "transitory" spaces with just as much energy, because of their atmospheric, mood-giving qualities. A London mansion design just won't make sense if the rooms are beautifully and dramatically illuminated but a dull, flat hallway outside lacks inspiration.
London passageways, basements and staircases are often structurally intriguing, featuring unfamiliar frames of reference, level shifts, and historic interest such as bell-curved walls or pointed archways. Subtle lighting effects are the ideal interior design choice here. Too many inexperienced interior design teams make the mistake of including just one central illuminator, missing a great opportunity to articulate qualities or structures that may enlarge the visual space or add interest. The result is often disappointing - either too washed-out or too shadowy.
If the interior design team sees a cove or niche, it can be backlit for silhouetted intrigue. Floorsprayed lighting on stairs can be another interesting interior design option, with high-visibility but muted illumination emphasising each step while simultaneously meeting health and safety guidelines.
Thank you for reading my series on how London interior designers create focus and drama with light!
Interior Design London - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design services.
As explained in my previous articles, Interior Design Professionals rely on focus lighting to showcase favourite features of a room. However, focus lighting can also draw out the intimacy of a London dinner party. Some interior design professionals will incorporate just a single downlighter over the dinner table, attracting guests like moths to cashmere. I have known some famous interior design teams to add a dash of candlelight to evoke a wink and a glitter on glasses and chinaware. It is important for the interior design professional to also provide a low level of general light for infill, beautifying the faces of London guests and smoothing out any wrinkles or blemishes.
Focus tends to be less important in non-primary areas such as passageways, cloakrooms and conservatories, where the interior design professional will more often think mainly about function. However, in my experience the very best London interior design teams treat these "transitory" spaces with just as much energy, because of their atmospheric, mood-giving qualities. A London mansion design just won't make sense if the rooms are beautifully and dramatically illuminated but a dull, flat hallway outside lacks inspiration.
London passageways, basements and staircases are often structurally intriguing, featuring unfamiliar frames of reference, level shifts, and historic interest such as bell-curved walls or pointed archways. Subtle lighting effects are the ideal interior design choice here. Too many inexperienced interior design teams make the mistake of including just one central illuminator, missing a great opportunity to articulate qualities or structures that may enlarge the visual space or add interest. The result is often disappointing - either too washed-out or too shadowy.
If the interior design team sees a cove or niche, it can be backlit for silhouetted intrigue. Floorsprayed lighting on stairs can be another interesting interior design option, with high-visibility but muted illumination emphasising each step while simultaneously meeting health and safety guidelines.
Thank you for reading my series on how London interior designers create focus and drama with light!
Interior Design London - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design services.
Let's FOCUS on Interior Design: Lighting for Drama - Part II
Interior design professionals are accomplished at merging both function and form to create breathtaking results. In this three-part series which I call "Let's FOCUS on Interior Design," I draw on my experience working with some of London's top interior design experts to explain how to create focus, balance and drama through the use of lighting.
Deciding when to use contrast is critical for top-notch interior design results. At nighttime, feature lighting can be wonderful - think of a dusky London back garden that suddenly gets illuminated from under the flower bushes! By daybreak, however, interior design professionals know that clients crave a more even brightness. This will be less wearisome for one's eyesight than constantly gazing from a super-bright illuminator, such as a desk lamp, to an environment that is often shrouded in shadow. Top London interior design professionals always bear this in mind when planning home office spaces.
Having said all that, the secret to creating focus really is all about feature lighting. This type of illumination must be crisp, accurate and controllable using different settings than the rest of the light sources. Often the London Interior Design Professional will be asked to focus on a structural feature or a treasured sculpture. In such cases, the interior design team should use muted lighting, gently shifting the guests' attention onto the chosen object instead of causing diversions. The interior design professional is only allowed to make the illuminator centre-stage if it really is a solo feature - like an historic chandelier in an opulent London mansion, for example. Most interior design boutiques will employ dimmer circuitry to modulate the balance between general and feature illumination. The results can be theatrical and exciting - giving the client complete control of the atmosphere and mood.
Many London interior design professionals love to re-imagine living and dining rooms - places where we unwind and receive guests. Decorative accessories are often a contemplative focus for welcomed guests, and some of London's top interior design teams will rely on bespoke light sources to realise this. A fabulous vase will look mystical and historic, maybe as if illuminated from the interior, when the interior design professional paints it pastel pink using a narrow-beam downlight. A prize photograph can act as a foil when showcased by multi-view up/downlighters on either side. Interior design professionals will similarly give the focus treatment to plants and flower arrangements, as light brings out the texture as well as the hues of petals and buds.
Interior Design London - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design services.
Deciding when to use contrast is critical for top-notch interior design results. At nighttime, feature lighting can be wonderful - think of a dusky London back garden that suddenly gets illuminated from under the flower bushes! By daybreak, however, interior design professionals know that clients crave a more even brightness. This will be less wearisome for one's eyesight than constantly gazing from a super-bright illuminator, such as a desk lamp, to an environment that is often shrouded in shadow. Top London interior design professionals always bear this in mind when planning home office spaces.
Having said all that, the secret to creating focus really is all about feature lighting. This type of illumination must be crisp, accurate and controllable using different settings than the rest of the light sources. Often the London Interior Design Professional will be asked to focus on a structural feature or a treasured sculpture. In such cases, the interior design team should use muted lighting, gently shifting the guests' attention onto the chosen object instead of causing diversions. The interior design professional is only allowed to make the illuminator centre-stage if it really is a solo feature - like an historic chandelier in an opulent London mansion, for example. Most interior design boutiques will employ dimmer circuitry to modulate the balance between general and feature illumination. The results can be theatrical and exciting - giving the client complete control of the atmosphere and mood.
Many London interior design professionals love to re-imagine living and dining rooms - places where we unwind and receive guests. Decorative accessories are often a contemplative focus for welcomed guests, and some of London's top interior design teams will rely on bespoke light sources to realise this. A fabulous vase will look mystical and historic, maybe as if illuminated from the interior, when the interior design professional paints it pastel pink using a narrow-beam downlight. A prize photograph can act as a foil when showcased by multi-view up/downlighters on either side. Interior design professionals will similarly give the focus treatment to plants and flower arrangements, as light brings out the texture as well as the hues of petals and buds.
Interior Design London - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design services.
Let's FOCUS on Interior Design: Lighting for Drama - Part I
Interior design professionals are accomplished at merging both function and form to create breathtaking results. In this three-part series which I call "Let's FOCUS on Interior Design," I draw on my experience working with some of London's top interior design experts to explain how to create focus, balance and drama through the use of lighting.
The London Interior Design Professional is adroit at creating balance by fine-tuning the various lighting levels in a scheme and reducing global brightness. This process is critical in building mood and drama. Away from the field of interior design, think of how natural light works. Imagine the sleek freshness of a shaft of London sunshine through a skylight, which causes the gloomiest room to brighten up vivaciously. London's interior design professionals often use the word "emphasis" to describe the resulting contrast between brightness and shade.
For example, in a given interior design concept, the client will often ask for a favourite ornament or table to be highlighted. In such cases, the interior design professional may decide to wash the area around the highlight with low-level general lighting. A graphic artist or web designer uses the same approach to incorporate both bright-lights and contrasting dimmed-lights in a painting. Achieving proper emphasis is critical to any lighting scheme, whether in an interior design setting or not.
London's inclement weather can pose a challenge for those who work extensively with light. For example, many London photographers need to take special classes to learn how to use a light meter in order to measure intensities and guarantee the proper illuminative balance. The interior design professional doesn't need such fancy equipment and mainly relies on her eyes and ears. Instead, interior design professionals learn about reflectivity in their colour and lighting classes. Matt and gloss metrics, together with saturation quotients, all determine the reflectance value. An object that is highly reflective is difficult to photograph, but easy for the eye to make out. The interior design expert knows this, and understands how to use infill lighting to mellow out the contrast values and thereby create more cohesive and melodious interior design concepts.
Interior Design London - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design services.
The London Interior Design Professional is adroit at creating balance by fine-tuning the various lighting levels in a scheme and reducing global brightness. This process is critical in building mood and drama. Away from the field of interior design, think of how natural light works. Imagine the sleek freshness of a shaft of London sunshine through a skylight, which causes the gloomiest room to brighten up vivaciously. London's interior design professionals often use the word "emphasis" to describe the resulting contrast between brightness and shade.
For example, in a given interior design concept, the client will often ask for a favourite ornament or table to be highlighted. In such cases, the interior design professional may decide to wash the area around the highlight with low-level general lighting. A graphic artist or web designer uses the same approach to incorporate both bright-lights and contrasting dimmed-lights in a painting. Achieving proper emphasis is critical to any lighting scheme, whether in an interior design setting or not.
London's inclement weather can pose a challenge for those who work extensively with light. For example, many London photographers need to take special classes to learn how to use a light meter in order to measure intensities and guarantee the proper illuminative balance. The interior design professional doesn't need such fancy equipment and mainly relies on her eyes and ears. Instead, interior design professionals learn about reflectivity in their colour and lighting classes. Matt and gloss metrics, together with saturation quotients, all determine the reflectance value. An object that is highly reflective is difficult to photograph, but easy for the eye to make out. The interior design expert knows this, and understands how to use infill lighting to mellow out the contrast values and thereby create more cohesive and melodious interior design concepts.
Interior Design London - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design services.
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