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!



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