Lighting does much more in a room than illuminate a space. Layered right, it's the ultimate mood-creator, adding drama and interest to a room and can pull a whole interior scheme together. Holloways Interior Designer Annie Blackledge shows you how to choose the perfect lights for every room in your home.
"Everyone knows the right lighting can transform a room," says Annie. "It's the starting point for every interior scheme we embark on for our clients. Making sure there's scope to add enough different types of lighting, and in the right places, is pivotal to the success of an interior design scheme, because it creates the room's atmosphere and informs the whole design."
Just like layering paint colours, or fabrics, layering lighting in a room is key, she says. "Lighting is the ultimate mood-creator," adds Annie. "From the task lighting of a beautiful desk lamp to the soft pools of light coming from a table lamp in a cosy sitting room. Day or night, summer or winter, it's crucial to understand how different light applications work in different settings."
take me to lighting
Wall lights
From sitting rooms to bedrooms, hallways to bathrooms, dimmable wall lights are as practical and as functional as they are decorative. They'll at once bring a mirror over a fireplace into sharp focus in a sitting room, create the warmest of welcomes in a hallway, provide crucial task lighting in a bathroom and create ambience in a bedroom.
"There's a huge range of wall lights to choose from," says Annie. "So no matter the period of your home, or your personal style, you'll find something you'll love at Holloways. The general rule of thumb is to place them around 5ft from the ground – but do take into account the height of your ceilings. This depth means you can layer light in a room, and they'll create useful pools just below head height."
Think about how you use the space you're lighting, and at what angle that lighting needs to be. In a hallway, you'll most often see your wall lights when you're walking through. In a study or library – or a reading nook in the sitting room – something that'll illuminate your book but also looks lovely from your chair is key. Carefully placed either side of a painting, a pair of beautiful wall lights will make your favourite artwork sing.
"In a bedroom, make sure your wall lights are dimmable," says Annie. "And ensure they have separate switches on either side of the bed. Having sconces or uplighter either side of a bathroom or dressing table mirror helps with hair and make-up, too. Dimmed, they're incredibly flattering.
"Dining rooms are the perfect spaces for decorative sconces, flanking doorways or drinks stations, or the fireplace. Here, wall lights offer much softer pools of light than an overhead pendant, creating drama and atmosphere for dinner parties and big celebrations alike."
Pendant lights
Pendant lights have had rather a bad press of late. But far from the single, soulless, overhead bulb hanging limply in your student house, today's statement pendants range from elaborate shaded chandeliers like the Hanover, pictured, to hand-woven scalloped uplighters and industrial-look metallic pendants like the Imperial. In kitchens, dining rooms and sitting rooms alike, there's a pendant to suit your home, offering useful overhead lighting to illuminate a large space.
"Pendant lights are great for task and ambient lighting," says Annie. "Over a kitchen island, a series of statement pendants will soften the space and make it feel like a convivial, sociable living area, rather than just somewhere to cook. A dimmable pendant hung over a dining table, or one which rises and falls, illuminates the main event and focuses guests around the food and wine, and each other."
For pendants, the rule of thumb is to keep the space between the fittings the same as the diameter of each one. So, if your pendants are 12" wide, the space between each should be at least 12" too. Even if they're hung from height.
"The number of pendants you choose depends on the size of the stationary object they're illuminating," says Annie. "So a small, round, four-seater dining table may only require one pendant, whereas a large 12-seater refectory table might take three or more, depending on the size."
Odd numbers almost always work best – to create a focal point and sense of balance, but there's no rule that says you can't use two or four. Make sure you hang them evenly spaced, starting with the middle pendant first, so you get an even distribution of light across your dining table or kitchen island.
Table lamps
"Table lamps offer a flattering pool of light and, if used in conjunction with wall lights, help layer lighting in a room to create an ambient glow," says Annie. Big and bold, sleek and contemporary, textured stone or smart metallics or even on-trend rattan – the choice is yours.
"In places that draw the eye, like a hallway table, a tallboy or dresser in a bedroom or a console in the sitting room, you can afford to go big and bold with a large table lamp, or even a pair of them. In functional areas – a workstation or writing desk – the more focused light of angled lamps work well. On bedside tables, go for a statement base or shade which will fill the space without dominating it."
Floor lamps
"Floor lamps can subtly enhance the feeling of space in a room, creating layered lighting in areas where you need light, but don't have the space for a table," says Annie. Statement floor lamps – you'll find lots of them in our Lighting Studio in our showrooms – can be the centrepiece of your scheme, not to be hidden behind a sofa or tucked away in a corner. If you're creating a reading nook, a vertical frame and simple shade like the Hanover, below, works well. Working in harmony with table lamps and wall lights, floor lamps help your spaces feel calm and relaxing.
Decorative lighting
Scallops and frills are a key trend in the world of interior design and decorative lighting this year. We love Neptune's Athena and Marina collections – hand-woven rattan pendants and wall lights which work beautifully in holiday homes, country houses and contemporary spaces alike.
Lampshades
The size of lampshade is as important as the fabric you choose. In a perfect world, the shade should hide the bulb and holder, but not too much of the base. Choose fabrics carefully. It's not just about its decorative qualities, colour and pattern, but how the fabric will let the light through. Our collections include pleated silk and linen shades, as well as cotton – subtly textured for the most flattering light.
Need some interior design advice?
Lighting can be one of the most difficult things to get right in a scheme, and it can be daunting. Our expert interior design team, headed up by Annie, is always on hand for help and advice. Working with you, our designers will walk through your project with you, understanding your rooms and how you use them, and will be able to recommend different light treatments to complete each space.
Call us on 01886 884665 to book a consultation, call into our showrooms and explore our Lighting Studio, or book online. Our interior design service is FREE.
