For this spacious barn conversion, located in the South Downs National Park, we created a lighting scheme which is very much in keeping with the atmosphere of the house – characterful, with a modern twist. The big kitchen and dining area needed careful lighting as it is vaulted, with exposed beams. Small Spectrum spotlights are positioned on the edge of the tresses where they are hardly seen, but wash a glow of light up the beams to effectively draw attention to them.

For the main working light, two types of pendants are used – red/orange Silva pendants in the kitchen area, and iconic Louis Poulsen pendants over the dining table. The Silva pendants have iridescent glass which appears to change colour when viewed from different heights. Because of the required position of the table, the cables for the Louis Poulsen pendants had to be installed with the wires going right through one of the beams, directly over the table! The lighting in this area is controlled by a Lutron system, facilitating zoning and layering techniques.

The entrance hall is the stunning showpiece of this barn conversion, with double height glass at the front. On the back wall, we situated a row of Sento Verticales, which cast dramatic V-shaped sculptures on the wall. Superimposing modern fittings like these onto the rustic background of the barn worked immensely well! Other modern fittings are used very effectively in this refurbishment, such as the glass staircase, which has LED spotlights installed underneath it, casting atmospheric shadows up through the treads when the room is dark. The second staircase has a 'nightlight' row of plastered in marker lights.