CREATING PERFECT LIGHT IN YOUR HOME
It is lovely to enjoy some summer sunshine at this time of year. Light is vitally important to our health and wellbeing and it plays a central role in our homes. The lighting of our homes affects how we use the space, its atmosphere, and our mood. Good design will maximise the natural light of the space and, in tandem with this, deliver lighting design to create a home that is beautiful, functional and welcoming. The best way to ensure this is to have the architectural design working together hand in hand with the interior design, lighting design and garden design from the outset.
Architecture and Interior Design Working Together
When architecture and interior design work together in harmony from the inception of a project, natural light and artificial lighting design can be perfected in the space through structural elements, decoration and furnishing, with each element operating in coordination. This is equally true in new builds, extensions to existing spaces, and in renovations.
For example, when Nancy Gouldstone Architects first visited our Battersea townhouse, a lovely, grand Victorian house with our client, we decided that the dark entrance hallway would need a bold intervention to make it feel light and airy. This encompassed structural changes, decorative choices and a range of lighting elements.
The house at raised ground floor level had a guest WC taking up a portion of the living room which also meant another door leading off the hallway, congesting the hallway and making it feel cramped. Nancy Gouldstone Architects decided to remove the WC and create double doors leading from the hallway into the rear living room, flooding the hallway with natural light and making the living room feel more spacious.
A contrasting colour scheme was chosen – a rich deep blue for the living room and bright white walls for the hallway where the lighting levels were naturally lower due to less windows. The white walls in the hallway reflected and maximised the natural light in the hallway.
A set of decorative and functional lights were chosen: a beautiful antique chandelier, two gorgeous wall lights and some discreet downlights to up the lumen levels at the rear portion of the hallway.
2. Bespoke Lighting Design from Day to Night
When natural light is maximised in the architectural design of a home and artificial light is perfected in bespoke lighting design, your home will have beautiful and sympathetic lighting across day and night. Just as our bodies need bright light in the daytime and dimmer light in the evenings, our needs for lighting in our homes vary according to the time of day.
Bespoke lighting design integrated into the design project from the outset allows for these needs to be anticipated. In this project, Nancy Gouldstone Architects carefully designed the dressing table so that the client could get ready in the day or night time with optimum light levels. During the day, two large roof lights flood the area with sunlight. At night, a hidden light behind the shadow gap of the mirror illuminates the area alongside two jewel-like wall lights.
3. Connecting the Indoor and the Outdoor
As well as the interior design working with the architectural design to influence the lighting of your home, garden design can also have a profound effect. In this four-storey Victorian house, Nancy Gouldstone Architects proposed a bold yet subtle extension on the lower ground floor that connects the indoor and the outdoor, flooding the space with natural light and creating a comfortable and joyful space for family meals as well as a dynamic entertaining space.
Nancy Gouldstone Architects Brompton Townhouse Project
Computer visualisation: Haze
A frameless roof light, a new massive arched doorway and pop out picture window drenches the area with natural light during the day. During the night, beautiful sculptural wall lights by Apparatus, ceiling spot lights and the glow from the fire illuminate the space softly. During the summer the doors can be left open so that the garden courtyard and dining areas can flow into one another. During the winter, the triple glazed doors, window and roof light keep the area warm and thermally insulated.
We would love to work with you on your project; please get in touch to discuss how we can help.