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10 Reasons Lighting Design is More Important Than You Think
It's often an afterthought, but lighting can make your project sing – and designers often pay for themselves with smart design solutions
Lighting plays a major role in the overall design of a house: aesthetically, practically and economically speaking. Depending on how well designed the lighting is in your house, it can either set the mood or ruin it. It can ease the performance of tasks or hinder them – and it can make for a pleasantly small power bill or a dreadfully high one.
It’s common to bring an architect or an interior designer on board when planning a new build or renovations, and we’ve long accepted that kitchen design is its own specalised skill. Yet lighting is all-too-often a mere afterthought. Here are 10 reasons why engaging an independent lighting consultant may be one of the best things you can do for your next project.
It’s common to bring an architect or an interior designer on board when planning a new build or renovations, and we’ve long accepted that kitchen design is its own specalised skill. Yet lighting is all-too-often a mere afterthought. Here are 10 reasons why engaging an independent lighting consultant may be one of the best things you can do for your next project.
1. An independent lighting consultant is part engineer, part aesthete – they will bring both technical exactitude and creative flair to your project.
2. They use computer-aided design to ensure the lighting plan is accurate and coordinates with architectural plans as well as electrical circuit plans. Having plans as accurate as possible saves time on-site with installation – and time is money.
3. Opting to engage an independent consultant rather than getting ‘free’ designs via lighting suppliers means that you’re paying that person a fee for their expertise – but the fee will absolutely pay itself back in end savings. An independent consultant is not trying to sell product, can use product from any manufacturer rather than being tied to particular brands, and can often pass on discounted trade pricing to the client.
10 outdoor lighting options
10 outdoor lighting options
4. Because a lighting consultant is not profiting from the lights being installed, they will never specify more lights than are needed – saving on the cost of product and the cost of the electrician installing the product.
5. Lighting technology is ever-evolving. A consultant’s job is to be up to date on the latest technology and exactly how to use it, which results in a design that is future proof.
6. A lighting consultant knows the science behind the buzzword. LEDs for example are revolutionising home lighting, but unless they are selected and installed knowledgeably, results can be disappointing. (Ill-selected LED strips are a spotty, glary case in point.)
7. The role that the colour temperature and luminous output of lighting plays is crucial and only a specialist lighting designer is likely to get this right.
8. They also know that the colour rendering index (CRI) of light fittings is vital. CRI describes the effect of artificial lighting on the way our eye perceives colour. CRI is the difference between a tomato looking like the bright red, appetising thing we know it to be, or a muddy-coloured blob.
See more of this house
See more of this house
9. Good lighting enhances the architecture, and really is an integral element of the architecture, so a good lighting designer works alongside the architect to achieve this.
10. Unlike the paint or the curtains you choose, if you’re not happy with the lighting layout, it’s not so easy to fix. Holes have been drilled, hundreds of metres of expensive electrical wiring have been looped around at an hourly rate that makes your eyes water, and lights have been fitted and plastered around. It’s very important to get it right, which is precisely what a specialist lighting consultant will do.
YOUR SAY
Have you used a lighting expert? Share your experiences in the Comments below.
MORE
Expert Advice: How to Get Kitchen Lighting Right
12 Ways Perfect Illumination Can Make a Dining Room Light Up
18 Ways Lighting Can Set the Right Mood
YOUR SAY
Have you used a lighting expert? Share your experiences in the Comments below.
MORE
Expert Advice: How to Get Kitchen Lighting Right
12 Ways Perfect Illumination Can Make a Dining Room Light Up
18 Ways Lighting Can Set the Right Mood