The Hill House is an optical illusion, designed to appear as if it is floating — even though it is tethered to a concrete slab. To assist in creating the illusion, the team at Lighting Solutions were tasked with designing a lighting plan that would lift the house off the ground, visually, and act as a guide to direct occupants around the home.
“Our lighting plan accomplished the two main ideas for this project: create the illusion of a floating home and provide a visual guide, plus a few statement pieces to add character,” says Deelan Prabhu of Lighting Solutions.
Designing for lift-off
Stylistically, the team took a minimalist approach with a focus on indirect lighting systems.
“The majority of the house features small recessed downlight fittings which produce an impressive amount of light,” Deelan explains.
“Linear battens, striplighting, spotlights, and indirect lighting systems were also used. We achieved the minimalist and linear indirect lighting styles by using a linear system from one of our suppliers that boasts a double LED strip and spotlight system — both completely ‘invisible’ when turned off.”
This linear lighting system starts at the indoor library, goes through the master bedroom to the sunken lounge, scullery and kitchen, and then through the living and dining area to finish outside the house.
“It’s all completely flush recessed for an ‘invisible’ look,” Deelan says. “The sunken lounge was proposed with a fitting called ‘MAMBA’ from the Martinelli Light Collection that consists of 30°, 60°, and 90° modules and a linear run that can be combined to make any shape you want. We chose to go for a ‘half-peanut’ shape which acts both as a statement piece and conversation starter. Installed suspended in the area — also known as a conversation pit — we thought this was a great proposal.”
The lighting plan also extends into the exterior, creating a feeling of indoor/outdoor flow with dimmers to ensure the light levels are balanced for a natural transition between daytime and nighttime, and indoor and outdoor areas.
“Our plan continues the theme of soft, indirect lighting outdoors. We achieved this by installing small up lights on the roof and canopy support beams, and striplights that follow the entire contour of the deck. This creates the illusion that the house is ‘floating’ whilst providing light for navigation in low-light settings. The house also has a lot of windows, so we chose to illuminate these areas to throw light outside and connect the indoor and outdoor spaces.”
Navigating the challenges
The lighting installation was designed to offset the center of the house, illuminating the whole space from one side. This was challenging when navigating sections of the home that couldn't accommodate recessed lighting.
To solve this problem, the team proposed a double asymmetric solution with more power installed and a dimmer system adjusted ‘per area’ to maximise the lighting effect. One or two pieces were also strategically installed to support the more distant areas. The kitchen and the living space were completed with dedicated spotlights to enhance the light levels in hard to reach areas.
“The recessed lighting channels had to be resized to meet the lowered internal volume, so we ended up custom making the extrusion and proposing a high-powered dimmable LED strip in the smaller extrusion. This allowed us great indirect light distribution that covered the areas needed,” Deelan explains.
This project was a first for Lighting Solutions, having never lit a home using only indirect lighting.
“Using the correct techniques and ideas to bring the client's wishes to life was a huge confidence boost for us. We’re looking forward to opportunities that allow us to do something similar in the future.”