PH Loft Arias is a modern container home designed by HM.A Architects and located in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The construction was organized according to a very specific program requested by the owner, who wanted the residence to accommodate an office space, a playroom, a guest area and an outdoor zone for various activities. According to the architects, the morphology and positioning of the container was the result of a search for tensions applied to parts of the container, as well as to to the entire unit. Masonry walls, concrete and insulating fire bricks were further used to maintain the position of the container and provide insulation. The interiors are modern and originally designed, inspiring elegance throughout. The home is structured on two floors and is built around a large central living area. Not a bad use of space for a container shell, don’t you think?

Interior designers have many tools at their disposal when it comes to creating interior design schemes. One of these tools, however, is quite often overlooked as people don’t realize the potential that it has to transform a space. This tool is lighting and it has the power to make or break an interior scheme. Lighting can make a house into a home and will allow the personality of the owner to shine through. Without good lighting, the impact of all the other well-thought out details – sumptuous furnishings, opulent flooring, luxurious wallcoverings – will be lost. So getting the lighting right is essential if we are to make the most of our homes.

Lucy Martin is Design Director at John Cullen Lighting, a company whose 30 years’ experience in lighting and product design puts it at the forefront of lighting design and development. Lucy heads up the design team at John Cullen working in projects around the world. She also lectures at design schools and has just published her first book entitled The Lighting Bible, which offers a room-by-room guide to getting the most out of your lighting and provides the understanding, confidence and inspiration to actually go ahead and do it.

Here at Freshome we wanted to know more about how good lighting can transform our homes and we thought you might be interested too. So we asked Lucy Martin if she wouldn’t mind answering our questions and we were delighted when she agreed.

Can you please explain the differences that exist between natural and artificial light?

LM. The clarity of natural daylight at its best is hard to replicate, although this does depend on where you live. For example, the quality and intensity of light at the North Pole (on a good day) and in the Southern Ocean is quite stunning. In more temperate climates, such as the UK, the weather affects how much true brilliant natural light we perceive. Thus we often view natural light as dull, grey and flat.

Artificial light comes in all hues and intensities. The fast progression of technological development in lighting at present makes it easier to try to replicate natural light. However artificial light has different properties and has a different role to play in our built environment.

The need for energy efficiency is driving our built environment towards harvesting of natural daylight, for example the huge rise in the use of glass in domestic dwellings. Artificial light can thus be used more sparingly.

What are the main factors to consider when designing a lighting scheme for a residential interior?

LM. The more detail you can confirm before embarking on a lighting scheme, the better the lighting will be. Good quality energy efficient lighting, such as LED, that you might actually want to use in your home is expensive compared to standard compact fluorescent. From a budget point of view it makes sense to use it sparingly where necessary. The more idea a lighting designer has about finishes, furniture layout, joinery details, and an understanding of how the house will flow, are essentials to getting the lighting as good as it can be. A well lit room is used. A badly lit room is abandoned very early on!

Are there different types of lighting that are best suited for certain rooms?

LM. Good lighting sets the tone and creates the atmosphere in a room. The key is to understand the use of that room and apply the relevant lighting to ensure it functions well. For example a laundry or utility room will be well served with glare free compact fluorescent, whereas a study will require particular attention to task lighting. An open plan living/dining/kitchen needs to have several different circuits of lighting, perhaps a mix of LED spots and low level floor washers, LED undercupboard task lights, and mains voltage lamp light to create depth and texture in the space.

How important is it to get the correct balance between task lighting and mood lighting?

LM. Essential! Task lighting is specific and focussed and usually from one type of fitting. Mood lighting is potentially a soft, diffuse balance of several difference sources of light within the same space.

What are the main types of lighting used in residential interiors and what kinds of effects can be achieved?

LM. Mains voltage – this is still a perennial favourite for the atmosphere is creates. Human beings respond emotionally to their lit environment, and a mains voltage lamp light will always appear cosy and atmospheric.

Low voltage – the low voltage spot has been the mainstay of domestic residential lighting for the last 20 years. A good quality dichroic MR16 lamp provides accurate colour rendition and a neat compact fitting. Used for general lighting as well as specific lighting e.g. to light art work. Low voltage also enabled the revolution of low level light fittings such as step washers and in–ground uplights as these could be much smaller than their predecessors.

LED (Light Emitting Diode) – LED now replaces all the jobs that low voltage has been used for. The output and CRI – Colour Rendering Index (or ability to reflect a true colour) – of LED has improved sufficiently to allow like-for-like replacement. LED has the advantage of being virtually maintenance free as well as cool to the touch.

Compact and linear fluorescent – CFL’s have improved no end in line with the development of the LEDs. They are generally cheap and easy to install and have a role to play in functional ‘back room’ areas of domestic dwellings.

How are the dramatic improvements in lighting technology and the new energy efficiency regulations affecting the way that we are able to light our homes?

LM. Lighting a house with LED is not so much a choice as a necessity now. Although good quality LED spots will cost more than a traditional low voltage spot, LED requires little if any maintenance and running costs are massively reduced. However good design is a must to achieve a space in which you actually want to live. LED behaves very differently to low voltage and mains voltage light. LED is a direct light source and does not have the same ambient qualities as mains and low voltage so you really need to know what you are doing with LED in order to achieve the best possible design.

How important is the positioning of lighting to the success of an overall scheme?

LM. The golden rule of good lighting design is to use the right type of light fitting in the right position. A good rule of thumb is to question the function of every fitting. If it does not have a specific task you should delete it from a scheme. Beware scattering fittings throughout for ‘general infill’. These will light only the floor and visually ‘close a space down’.

How important is it to consider the effects of reflection and shadow in a lighting scheme?

LM. Light, shade and reflection are the essential components of any scheme. Light is important but without shadow you cannot achieve any variation, texture or atmosphere. Understanding the space in which you are working will allow you to use reflection to your advantage where required and mask it where necessary.

In what ways can lighting be used effectively to enhance small spaces and break up or divide large open spaces?

LM. Directional recessed spot light used correctly to bounce reflected light off walls is the best way to open out a space. Your eye is always drawn to the brightest point thus reflected light will make a small space appear larger. In a large open plan space, breaking up the lighting utilising several different circuits is the first thing to do to ensure you can use all or just parts of the open plan space.

How important is the level of control that we have over the lighting in our homes?

LM. Being able to control lighting is essential to any domestic scheme. Dimming a lighting circuit adds instant flexibility and mood lighting to the simplest of schemes. At the other end of the scale a whole house control system can allow a client to live efficiently, conveniently and economically and a well designed lighting scheme will come into its own. Where a control system is used it is paramount that the system is properly commissioned by the lighting designer.

How can lighting be used to provide focal points within a room?

LM. The eye is always drawn to the brightest point. Thus a correctly recessed spot will highlight art or a mirror over a fireplace in a living room. Equally in a listed building where recess may not be available, the use of two plug-in compact floor based uplights will frame the fireplace creating a stronger central focal point.

Can you explain what is meant by ‘layering light sources’?

LM. Rooms are three dimensional. Lighting can be recessed in the ceiling, mounted on or in walls, recessed in the floor or in walls at low level and inserted into joinery. Also lighting that can be plugged in comes in all shapes and sizes. Taking all these elements into account will help to build a better scheme. Think about how lighting might be used in the floor, wall and ceiling when planning. This will result in a more cohesive lighting scheme.

What are your top tips for getting the best out of your lighting?

LM. Use a designer if at all possible. So much has changed in lighting over the last two years, it is a minefield to understand so if at all affordable get help. It will reap dividends in the future.

Even in the simplest schemes use a dimmer for instant flexibility!

Steer clear of compact fluorescent lamps in your table lamps. Use energy saving lamps instead. They are closer to traditional incandescent lights sources, dimmable and easy to recycle.

You get what you pay for with light fittings. Get the best you can afford. It really does make a difference to the space that you live in. Your lighting is as important as the structure of your house. If it’s not good, the interior just won’t work however much money you spend on your interior design.

Thank you Lucy for agreeing to be grilled by Freshome and thanks for sharing your knowledge and expertise with us. For anyone who wants a more in-depth guide to lighting residential interiors Lucy’s book is available to buy here. We hope you found this interview useful and please let us know if you will be taking Lucy’s advice and trying any of the techniques in your own home!

Some ideas can express, in a simple yet stylish way, the beauty that comes from adjoining several items that shape two defining action – cooking and eating. Each plate and fork, each bowl or napkin have something to contribute to the overall success of the meal. Capturing the very best of IKEA’s creativeness and tableware, photographer Carl Kleiner shows us how stylist Evelina Bratell conceptualize d a follow-up campaign of IKEA’s 2010?s hit campaign named “Visual Recipes”. The IKEA Kitchen Table Art expresses the collective efforts of all the people involved in this project and offers an artistic visual standstill of the company’s present. Kitchen items were carefully selected and arranged to shape a few examples of how tableware can be inspiring and still display a story in pictures. Lunch, dinner, party, spaghetti night or eggs and coffee for breakfast – all these fundamental events in our daily lives were captured in the table art found on Twisted Sifter.

Architects Gonzalo Mardones Viviani have completed the design for Miele Commercial Gallery in Santiago, Chile. The new building is located in a residential neighborhood entitled Nueva Costanera Avenue and known for its commercial and cultural identity. Therefore, the project had to stand out, showcase the products of the brand and create awareness: “Our architectonic proposal is a building that opens to the corner (the most public place) in a play of facades of concrete and inclined crystals. The interior result of the idea permits the connectivity of all the levels. Spaces are architectonic labyrinths paths that are even penetrating the underground spaces, a unique possibility of light and natural ventilation. The circulation path into the entire building was created in red steel (red is the Miele corporate color) leaving a contrast to the materiality of the building, white concrete with titanium dioxide incorporated. This red strip distinguishes over the white as a fauve and runs over all levels to the roof“. Find this architecture approach inspiring? [Photography by Nico Saieh]

Greatest architects, famous buildings and legendary quotes-these are just some of the modern architecture fields you will have to discover and overcome in the questions addressed by The Modern Architecture Game. Developed by Next Architects, this captivating means of socializing tests your knowledge, with no less than 1000 modern architecture questions. According to Next, “The Modern Architecture Game is the second edition of the architecture game. The first edition was launched on 30 August 1999. It was the first project collaboration involving the four partners at NEXT architects and was distributed in the private environment of Delft University of Technology. Ten years later, we\’ve produced a revised version of the game, analytically unravelled and improved. This edition is an international version, in the sense that it is produced in English, but also that the questions range right across the breadth of modern world history“.

The purpose of the game is to reach the middle of the board, before anybody else does. This is possible by answering all the questions correctly: “Give a wrong answer, and the infamous round glasses of Le Corbusier are passed on to the next player.” The design of the game was paid special attention, as the game pins are all inspired by famous modern buildings, and the board has a smooth, black construction drawing. Be sure to check out the video below for the game trailer and tell us if you are ready to take the challenge.

La Vinya is a massive residence designed by studio Lagula Arquitectes and located in Caldes de Malavella, Spain. This 4,560 square foot, two story, modern home has a design based on a strong indoor outdoor connection. All the patios and porches seem to extend outwards, slowly fading into the natural landscape. According to the architects, “the vision for this home is laid out around a series of symbolic spaces, in homage to a Mediterranean country villa. The home is accessed from an elevated patio, reinstating the main carriage entrances of the Palladian villas. The terrace offers magnificent views over the golf course, extending the vista from the living room and making it a privileged vantage point overlooking the landscape. Protected from view and occupying a dominant position, the swimming pool blends beautifully with the house in a spectacular bathing area in which to enjoy an exceptional sensory experience”. How do you find this architecture project?

The East Market House was designed by COOP15  and is located in Kirkland’s East of Market neighborhood, in Seattle. The residence is adapted to the urban character of this part of town and displays a highly modern design. According to the architects, “living spaces are tightly organized and vertical, stacked over the garage, with a shifting geometry between floors creating a more dynamic form and living spaces. That shifting language continues with the built-in cabinetry in the kitchen and at the large central stair and wall. The stair wall, along with a simple singular accent color, ties the three stories together, creating a datum around which other programmatic elements align. Materials are tough and weatherproof, with limited use of natural wood accents. A green roof sits atop a main floor bedroom drawing the landscape up into the stacked forms of the architecture“. Have a look at the photos and tell us what you think!

Italian company Componendo produces the most beautiful products for the bathroom made from the highest quality stainless steel in combination with other materials such as wood, Corian and glass. Using the very best technologies in combination with unrivalled Italian craftmanship, Componedo is able to offer unique, hande-made, high-design furniture pieces with a specific focus on quality.

What do you think of these glamourous bathroom pieces? Do you love the shiny sophistication as much as we do?

Tags:

• componendo bathrooms
• shape in interior design

We recently received photos of a fantastic coffee table that can be modified to suit your needs. The REK Coffee Table, created by architect and designer Reinier de Jong, transforms from a wooden block into a multitude of designs with a few simple moves. After deigning furniture items like the REK bookcase, KEER chair and VOLT table, the talented Reinier de Jong created a versatile piece of furniture to accompany your everyday coffee. He explains the inspiration, use of materials and functions of this modern coffee table: “REK is a coffee table that grows with your coffee needs. When you have visitors, just get some chairs and extend the table any way you like. Enough space for all those coffee cups and store your book or knitting set in the spaces underneath the tops. 

You can extend REK in various ways. Built-in stops make sure you will not extend the sliding parts too far. Of course you can also put REK in a permanent position that fits your interior. The top and two sides of REK are white HPL and the edges are finished with your choice of parquet wood: oak, berch or beech. The end grain side of the wood is beveled in order to get a grip: a subtle detail. The dimensions of the REK table obviously vary with its configuration. REK is 60 by 80 cm in collapsed state, its maximum length is 170 cm and its maximum width is 130 cm. REK coffee table is related to another REK by Reinier de Jong Design- the bookcase that grows with your book collection. ”

The design collaboration between Simon Laws of Anthill Constructions led to the development of an original home entitled Drew House and located in Queensland, Australia. Situated near the famous Great Barrier Reef, it goes without saying that this dwelling had to be as environmentally-friendly as possible. Here is how the architects took this challenge: “Living and sleeping pods along with a bath house were built in Brisbane, close to construction services and transported the 500 km to the fully completed site. The prefabricated parabolic roofed structure and decks were erected on site and the various pods were connected through a large central outdoor living and dining area. Natural oiled timbers and other low-finished materials create a neutral environment that along with the dynamic indoor/outdoor spaces, allow the maximum enjoyment of the wonderful bushland setting and mild sub-tropical climate. Rainwater tanks, solar hot water and electrical panels and a passive energy efficient design make the house largely self sufficient“. Modern living, beauty all around and peacefulness: find this home as appealing as we do?