Creating a cohesive interior through lighting

Lighting is a key ingredient when considering the design of a home or commercial interior. Amelia Melbourne-Hayward of ArchiPro recently discussed how to use the latest trends in lighting to create a cohesive interior with Ben Lewis of Trenzseater, an award-winning New Zealand furniture and interior design company.

What are some key ideas around lighting that you always take into consideration when working on the interiors of a residential home?

Because lighting is such a key ingredient and has its own design flair, the most important thing is that the lighting fits into the overall aesthetic of the project to create a cohesive interior. There’s nothing worse than having one particular piece that’s different to what else is going in the home – consistency is important. The scale also needs to be right, so pieces don’t look too large or small in the space.

How do you use lighting as part of a layered design scheme?

Because it’s such an integral part of the design, we try to make sure that we optimise all the lighting we can in different spaces. We don’t just look at pendants but also items like table and floor lamps, reading lamps, wall lights, etc, to make sure that the whole room has a nice ambience at night, without needing to have base lighting switched on.

Lighting is an integral part of our designs and offering lighting in key locations ensures that we have interesting layers throughout the project.

What other layers are important?

We use a lot of wallpapers – such as sea grass or silk – around the whole room. Wall art, whether it be art, mirrors or decorative pieces, is an important layer, along with textiles, including fabrics, cushions, rugs. Basically, the more layers you see, the more interesting the room or home will be.

Tell me about a couple of the lighting brands that Trenzseater represents?

Each of the international lighting brands that we represent and use in our interior design is a bit different and getting the right mix of brands in any one project is important. When we work on a classic, timeless style of home, we tend to gravitate towards Eichholtz. For more industrial lighting, Buster + Punch has bold steel and brass fittings that come in tones such as brushed nickel or smoked bronze, which also look great alongside the studio’s door handle range.

Can you talk me through the design ideas behind the lighting chosen in your award-winning 2018 Prosser project?

It is quite unique in that it is a timeless design but one that pushes boundaries. The Jonathan Browning crystal pendants that you see over the kitchen bench and over the bath are pieces that haven’t been seen a lot in New Zealand yet. Jonathan Browning is based in San Francisco and is a brand that we’ve started to work with a lot, as it specialises in really top-end lighting with beautiful, hand-finished metal fittings.

There is also a lot of Eichholtz lighting used in the project; for example, the large globe pendant with agate stone and brass features located inside the front door is from Eichholtz, as well as the striking table lamps that feature throughout the home.

What are some of the trends you are seeing in lighting today?

There are more tinted metallic and speciality glass finishes coming to our shores from both Europe and America, which are highly different to the cheaper imported lighting that you might see from the east. These lights are truly artisan – they are all handmade with smoked bronze, brushed brass or oil-rubbed finishes.

These days, people really like the fact that each piece is so special and individual. Even if someone else has the same specific model, they might not have it in the same finish, size or certain form. Lighting has become highly tailored and each piece is unique.

Finally, why should homeowners care about lighting?

Lighting is one of the first things we look at when designing a project, because we can manipulate and change the rest to suit. It’s a feature that needs to be considered early on because it has such a big influence on the style of the home or project. Design continuity right through the house is also important. This starts with lighting and then considers furniture, fabrics and hardware. Every space needs to flow to the next and be balanced to create a truly remarkable interior.

Check out Trenzseater’s profile on ArchiPro to see all the furniture brands – including lighting – that the company represents, as well as its interior design projects.