Spaghetti Junction!

The electricians were first through the door and are now most of the way through their first fix. I popped up to London to visit John Cullen in the King's Road in London for some lighting inspiration. It's a great showroom to visit, where you can see different scene settings and the staff are extremely helpful. I took away some samples to show the head electrician on our project.  Choosing the right fittings and the positioning of them is key. One of my pet hates is seeing 'runway' lighting strips in ceilings. So many new builds seem to have this and often it's overkill. Lighting should be there to create mood and drama, as well as provide good ambient and task lighting. 

Two very good books on lighting, which I've pored over are The Lighting Bible and Perfect Lighting.  Both of these contain great ideas and recipes for lighting different  scenes and objects and are well illustrated.


Even choosing the right sockets and light switches has been important to me, as I wanted to find something elegant, that would stand the test of time and not be too commercial looking.  Do you go with chrome/brass with black or white inserts?  I decided on white inserts, as most of the flex from table lamps will be white and they will blend in better with the wall colour.  However, if you were going with dark coloured walls, then black may be the way to go. I would prefer to go with the screwless plates, but this would blow the budget, so will have to bite the bullet on that one.

The plumbers and carpenters are also working their way through now.