I am working on lots of open plan areas the moment – mainly kitchen / dining / living rooms, so I thought it might be useful to share a few…

One of the most frequent conversations that I have with clients is whether to have light switches, dimmer switches, or lighting controls. Most clients have heard about lighting control systems….

Lighting – Made in GB My Made in GB Monday this week is a staple range for those of you creating a gentlemen’s club look whether it’s for an actual…

The Best Way To Light Artwork A happy 2019 to you all!  For my first blog of the year I’ve decided to cover a question that I’ve been asked a…

In this week’s blog I am returning to the main types of lighting.  Having covered what accent lighting is a few weeks ago, this week I will look at task…

This week I’m making good on my promise of last week about giving you some pointers about what to look for when choosing LED lights.  We’ll start with my mantra…

This is definitely an FAQ for me.  My tongue in cheek reply is that “expensive” is a subjective thing and that “what’s expensive to one person is cheap to another”! …

Choosing a Lighting Designer I count myself as very lucky that I get to work on some amazing new build and renovation projects with a whole host of very talented…

Lighting Design in listed buildings I have a passion for old buildings and I particularly love the challenge of working on listed properties.  Any of you who own or have…

When I am looking for focal points to highlight in rooms one of the more obvious ones is the fireplace – especially if it’s going to have a massive tele…

One of the things that can make a project enjoyable or a living nightmare for me is a client’s choice of electrician.  I have been privileged to work with some…

Last week I mentioned that on Grand Designs Series 19 Episode 3 the subject of bio-dynamic lighting had come up.  The impression was given that the clients had ended up…

I must admit that I am a Grand Designs addict who has followed it avidly since it first aired in 1999.  I know the format off by heart – Kevin…

In last weeks blog I discussed how LEDs light sources can vary hugely in their efficiency – simply some produce more light for the wattage that they use than others. …

This has become my mantra of recent years – “it’s the lumens not the watts that matter.” When people bought halogen or incandescent lamps (AKA light bulbs) they just looked…

Common downlight design mistakes I’m on a roll with my “gotchas” – these are what I call the mistakes that people make with their lighting that can either “get them”…

Drivers are similar to the transformers that you may know about for using with low voltage downlights.  They can also be called LED power supplies.  Their main job is to…

Common lighting design pitfalls waiting to get you It’s a good job that I love learning new things.  I think that a day when I haven’t learned anything is day…

Accent lighting is also commonly referred to as feature lighting or highlighting.  To me, it is the most important type of lighting as it’s what creates visual interest in rooms. …

I must admit that I’m not a big fan of rooflights.  I get that they offer free natural light. I get that in the spirit of trying to be as…

This week I want to address the subject of using working lighting samples.  I have two meetings booked in over the next couple of weeks where I will be trouble-shooting…

Save 50% of lighting products It’s a pretty short blog this week as I’ve already posted on my Facebook page Getting Light Right With Sam Coles about the new branding…

When I ask my clients what their lighting budget is I usually refer to it as the “B-Word” as it seems for so many of them that it’s something nasty…

For those of you that are handling their own lighting design, my blog covers a bit of basic training this week.   For simplicity, light fittings tend to be grouped…

For most of the projects that I work on I have been recommended to my clients by someone such as a friend or another professional on their project like their…

How I became a Lighting Designer My name is Sam Coles and I am an accidental Lighting Designer.  My design career began in quite a different direction with a BA…

Air-conditioning ducts vs ceiling downlights My wisdom this Wednesday is a regular challenge for me – the battle of air-conditioning ducts vs ceiling downlights.  In my opinion this issue is…

Antler range from David Hunt Lighting My Made in GB Monday product for this week is a staple for those of you creating a gentlemen’s club look, whether it’s for…

The 5A lamp circuit My fave this Friday isn’t one light from one manufacturer or designer, it isn’t even one particular type of light, it’s a way to make using…

If you want to use colour changing LED lighting the wiring for it is not the standard 3 core cable most commonly used on site.  If you are wanting to…

Are walls deep enough for light fittings My wisdom this Wednesday comes as usual from over 15 years’ experience as a Lighting Consultant – not necessarily by making the mistakes…

Beautiful Bronze lighting Bronze finishes in lighting have been making a steady come back.  I have been involved in a number of projects over the last few years where the…

Zora – mini LED architectural lights My made in GB for this Monday is one of my favourite mini LED architectural lights – the Zora from Light Corporation: This fitting…

My fave this Friday is an entire type of light – the “snake arm” LED reading light:   These bedside reading lights have many attributes: They don’t take up space…

When I started my “mini blogs” at the beginning of the year I wanted to have a theme each day to ensure I covered a wide range of lighting related…

Ground lights plus underfloor heating My wisdom this Wednesday, mainly borne from (sometimes bitter!) experience, is regarding the placement of ground lights indoors.  If you are considering having ground lights…

Beautiful Brass Lighting This time around the trend for using brass in our homes and businesses isn’t the highly polished brass (all too often with the horribly thin and garish…

My Made in GB product for this Monday is the Dekard from the Light Corporation: This architectural light fitting is primarily designed to provide a subtle wash across floors and…

Low brightness night lighting How awake or sleepy we feel is regulated by a hormone called melatonin – high levels of melatonin make us feel awake whilst low levels make…

As a Lighting Consultant I have to ensure that I specify light fittings in wet areas such as bathrooms, swimming pools or outside that are watertight enough to particular levels…

Length of ceiling lights My wisdom this Wednesday is related to the length of ceiling lights – whether they are flush fitting: Semi-flush fitting: Or a pendant of some type:…

Wooden lighting shades Linked to the trend for all things Scandi is the trend for lighting made from natural materials and in particular – wood.  It’s a surprisingly versatile material…

Pillar Lite from Hunza My Fave this Friday is the Pillar Lite from Hunza – the original but often emulated up and down lighting exterior wall light: It’s got many…

Part L – Lighting Requirements As a Lighting Consultant I take on the responsibility for ensuring the lighting designs and specifications I produce for my clients are compliant with the…

Lighting a curved wall Curved walls are an interesting architectural feature and very few homes have them.  I see one of my jobs as a Lighting Consultant as highlighting interesting…

Scandi style lighting One of the biggest trends or recent years has been Scandi style.  Did we fall in love with their furniture and then try out their TV programs…

Electrical floor boxes from Cableduct My made in GB this Monday is the fabulous range of floor boxes from Cableduct in south-east London.  Last week they sent out bespoke 5A…

My fave this Friday is a unique floor washer   All of the other floor washers that I have come across are completely recessed or flush mounted and don’t project…

Not all light fittings and lamps (bulbs) are designed to operate at mains voltage which is 240V in the UK.  One of the most common types that have been around…

Send me your lighting design questions Wisdom Wednesday is taking a bit of a new format this week – I will do my best to answer the first 3 questions…

Smoked light shades A few of the trends that I’ve recently been writing about have been around for some time.  This week’s Tuesday trend is a little bit newer and…

Rako scene setting lighting controls system This week’s Made in GB Monday is a complete range rather than a single product.  The Rako scene setting lighting controls system allow lighting…

Random pendant light from Moooi My fave this Friday is the iconic Random pendant from Moooi designed by Bertjan Pot 15 years ago: The Random is made by a yarn…

Light Output Ratio In the lighting world “efficiency” is the measurement of the quantity of useful light that is output by a particular light fitting.  The industry standard term of…

Plan ahead when fitting ground lighting As a Lighting Consultant one of the things that I take responsibility for is ensuring that anything “lighting” happens in the correct order and…

Marine lighting can look great in the home Marine lighting has been available for many decades to light boats and yachts and those lights slowly migrated on to land and…

  Ceiling downlight from Orluna This week’s Made in GB Monday light is the Detail Mini Tilt and Rotate ceiling downlight from Orluna which is one of the staples in…

Surface mounted LED My fave this Friday isn’t the latest thing to come out but it is very clever.  I remember being fascinated by it when I first saw it…

Colour Rendering Index CRI is the shortened form for Colour Rendering Index.  CRI is a measure of how accurately an artificial light source reveals the colours of objects that it…

Bedside Lighting One of the main problems in the bedroom that regularly crops up when I’m designing lighting for my clients’ bedrooms is the position of bedside lighting.  It’s crucial…

Plaster lighting products The last few years has seen a steady rise in the number of companies offering plaster lighting products in their ranges – some offer just a couple…

Beautiful lights cast in resin David Hunt Lighting have been manufacturing in the Cotswolds for around a 100 years, making them one of the longest surviving lighting producers in England. …

The Sento range from Occhio My fave this week is actually a series of faves as it’s a capsule range of elegant, simple and highly architectural ceiling lights, wall lights,…

Energy efficient lighting Whether you are an interior designer, architect, electrical contractor, lighting designer, mechanical and electrical engineer or anyone else responsible for the lighting design and specification for a…

Electrical Floor Sockets As a lighting consultant one of the most important things that I do for my clients is ensure that things get done in the correct order and…

Beautiful lighting with a copper finish Without a doubt one of the biggest lighting trends of the last few years has been lights made from or finished to look like…

Clear acrylic lighting switch plates  My Made in GB product for this week is the Prism Clear Acrylic range of electrical accessories from Focus SB based in Sussex. The clear…

Recently I was tasked with finding 4 wall lights to go on the side walls of a pair of dormer windows to light a pair of window seats. The wall…

LED Lighting Colour Temperature Since 2006 the low energy requirements for lighting in the UK Building Regulations has ensured that new and extensively refurbished or extended homes have become more…

Lighting Pendant Lengths I started my lighting career in 2001 in a lighting showroom.  The number one reason for customer return requests was ceiling pendants that were too long for…

Lighting that’s not too industrial Like the industrial look but find a lot of the light fittings a bit too harsh and stripped back for what you need?  You may…

If you are using a single pendant match it to the shape of the table. If you use a round or square pendant over a very long or extendable oval…

Don’t stick to rows or grid patterns of ceiling downlights unless they match up with what you need to have illuminated. If your kitchen is part of an open plan…

I usually find that my clients’ main priority with their exterior lighting is creating “kerb appeal” at night. Or, if the property can’t be seen from the road, making it…

1. A ceiling pendant, such as a chandelier, not only looks great in a bedroom but its multi-directional illumination can fill every corner of a room. Bedroom lighting needs to…

I often get asked by clients about whether they should have coloured LED or LED colour changing lights in their homes or not. I must admit that I have a…

Recently a client’s Interior Designer asked me if a decorative pendant hanging over their current dining table could be installed in the master bathroom of their new home which is…

Bathrooms should be able to be brightly illuminated when they need to be – e.g. for bathing children or it might just be so that they can be cleaned properly….

Poor hotel lighting A couple of months ago my partner and I had a few nights in a contemporary hotel that had acres of dark grey textured walls, dark wood…

1. Your decorative lighting should reflect your personality and compliment your overall intentions for your interior design scheme, whether it’s sophisticated, fun, funky, traditional, modern, cutting edge contemporary, or whatever…

1. Recognise that even lighting levels (I usually call it “blanket lighting”) should rarely be your aim (with very few exceptions). Commercial lighting schemes, such as those for offices or…

It seems like another life ago when decorative lighting was the main light source in UK homes. At the basic end there would be a simple pendant, lantern or shallow…

Why is it that ceilings all over the UK are peppered with downlights? For me it can be a depressing experience walking around the show homes of the average developer…