Light Show
Showhouse Magazine, January 2009Getting buyers in the mood to make the biggest purchase of their lives can be seriously enhanced with the right lighting in place.
Choosing in-vogue lighting is no longer as simple as specifying a chrome switch plate – there’s now a much greater emphasis on lighting affects and their ability to make or break a sale. Clever developers are now using accent lighting to highlight key features. Leaving not so exciting areas in the shadows, while the truly adventurous are embracing coloured lighting, LEDs, dimmers and advanced lighting circuits for show homes that dazzle – even in a dimming economy.
“Lighting is no longer a secondary interior feature. It is now appreciated that lighting is an important factor, which can create the moods and ambiences potential buyers are looking for in a home, “agrees George Bond, regional director of the British Interior Design Association.
Focusing Attention
Obviously carefully designed lighting can be used to enhance the whole home, but those designers looking to produce dramatic results on a budget will do well to focus their lighting efforts on just the kitchen and bathroom.
In particular, the trend for open-plan living has greatly increased demand for split-circuit lighting that is intelligently designed in order to allow this multifunctional space to progress smoothly from day to night.
“Home owners expect a lot more today from a property’s standard specification,” says Bernadette Cunningham, director of the Thornsett Group.
“In open-plan kitchen and reception rooms, one would expect both areas to be lit separately so that the space can be used as one or individually. We use down-lighters only in the kitchen areas so that you can have an interesting back drop of lighting when the kitchen is not is use, as well as clear and practical lighting for when preparing food. We then install pendant lights above dining areas which allow the property owners to be creative with lampshades or chandeliers.”