From the Desk of London’s Renovation Maven
From the Desk of London’s Renovation Maven: The “Three Perfects” of Lighting
Often my UK-based clients ask me what’s new and fabulous in the world of London renovations. I respond that the big preoccupation right now is lighting. There is a new movement making big fireworks in town, and it is known in some quarters as the “three perfects.” London renovation professionals often refer to it simply as “the perfect light, at the perfect time, in the perfect location.”
However, don’t be misled by the seeming straightforwardness of this little phrase – its impacts are huge. It influences the way I think of my work as a London renovation pro every day. In this fresh series of 100% original blog posts titled “From the desk of London ‘s renovation maven ” I will attempt to take away the jargon and make sense of what this new outlook means for property owners in our nation’s cosmopolitan capital and indeed across the globe!
From the Desk of London’s Renovation Maven: Fresh Approaches to How we Understand Lighting
2011 is truly a breathtaking time for lighting pros who work in London’s renovation industry – both residential and commercial. I have personally noted how the lighting world is shifting from tungsten technologies of the 1800s to the latest and greatest silicon-based intelligent illuminators. The work of London renovation pros will never be the same again. Personally I believe that this is the biggest change since we did away with candles in favour of filaments back a couple of centuries ago!
But it’s not just the lighting technology itself that is changing the London renovation ecosystem… our familiar approaches to how we come to grips with and measure lighting are now being called into question. And the homeowner’s craving for green, environmentally conscious solutions is powerfully accelerating all of this. My friends are kind enough to refer to me as the queen of London renovations, but in truth I think I owe much of my success to the fact that my personal signature design philosophy intersects so perfectly with these new movements!
From the Desk of London’s Renovation Maven: The Legalities of Lighting
Lighting experts and London renovation professionals who work with lighting are naturally eager to boost the prominence of our work in the eyes of the public. We know that lighting is absolutely critical to “making a house into a home” and we crave amazing results for our clients that seriously enhance the excellence of their illuminated environments.
Over the past two decades, we have seen huge investments in lighting – especially in our high-end residential and commercial London renovation projects. However, politicians who like to meddle increasingly cause concern for the professional London renovation community! In recent years we have seen nonsensical policies like the EU’s efforts to ban the tungsten filament bulb. Similarly, London renovation pros have been caught off-guard by bureaucrats who are just so confused about ultra-efficiency lights, or who think that LEDs will solve 100% of the world’s energy issues (they won’t, but they can certainly help…. in certain situations!).
From the Desk of London’s Renovation Maven: Technical Lighting Terminology
Lawyers and politicians love to make up rules, and as far as this London renovation expert is concerned, they are mostly motivated by the right reasons. However, personally I am very disappointed that regulations such as Part L feature requirements for electricity usage that just don’t make sense. Just the other day I was enjoying a working lunch with a fellow London renovation pro who pointed out that using “total install load” as the favoured currency could in some cases actually push the designer toward less energy-aware implementation choices! My colleague was even more shocked when I explained that in a recent London renovation project we almost had to make some very serious compromises in a lighting scheme just to meet new requirements for low-load electrical schemes. (Fortunately my team of clever lighting hotshots saved the day by coming up with a nifty solution just in the nick of time!)
Lily Candice is regular article writer for Interior Design London – Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design services.
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