Grand Designs – Lighting Up a Statement Home
Lighting up a contemporary modern home for the TV programme Grand Designs, which is based on a malthouse that was originally on the site in the 19th century, demands luminaires that match its elegant design.
Zara and Giuliano’s dream home began as a one-acre plot that they purchased for £135,000. To pay homage to the malthouse that was originally on the site, the self-build is a long and narrow structure that sits across the width of the plot. The couple wanted to capture the character of the original building that was on the site, but to add their own contemporary style to it.
The building is a blend of traditional looking materials, such as handmade distressed bricks and a grey slate roof, but with large statement glazing including a huge central glazed central area and slimline bifold doors.
Much of this glazing faces south to the rear of the property and provides most of the light during the day. Giuliano and Zara wanted this as a connection to the outside world.
As daylight fades, this ambient light needs supplementing by luminaires. The couple chose our 1901 spotlights that are easily configurable in design, beam angle and the colour temperature of light to meet the different needs of the rooms in the home.
To match the same design feel as the building, the couple chose an all-black housing with a black baffle. All the lights were set to a warm white light of a correlated colour temperature of 3000K.
For most rooms, they selected a wide beam angle to provide an even distribution of ambient light, with some, for smaller or narrower areas such as the landing, ensuite or dressing room, having a medium beam width.
Says Giuliano: “The light quality is extremely important to the way that we enjoy our new home, which is why we have maximised the amount of natural light we get from the large, glazed areas in the home.
“In the evening and in the winter, we need artificial lighting and we wanted to mix luminaires that are elegant, yet unobtrusive with some individual statement fittings of our own such as a chandelier over the stairs. The fact that we could tailor Collingwood’s 1901 fittings to what we wanted both aesthetically and to meet our lighting needs was a key reason for selecting them.”
Products used:
1901 Downlights. Black housing and black baffle.
