Let There Be Light

(But Not Too Much, Please)

Have you ever walked into a room and felt instantly uncomfortable without knowing why? According to our lighting expert, "Bad lighting is when you walk into a place and notice that the lighting is bad." Simple yet profound - because when lighting works, it's invisible. When it doesn't, it's all you see.

Take those Zara changing rooms - harsh illumination designed to make you question every life choice that led to trying on those jeans. I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. Blame it on a new local café, where stepping inside feels like walking onto a spaceship- LED strips on every available edge, bold overhead white ring lights, multicoloured panels just because. This is lighting that announces itself like an unwelcome guest.

For our restaurant, we're seeking something entirely different, warmth that feels like walking into Gina's home, where you can physically feel your shoulders drop. Our space bathes in natural light during the day, but needs a thoughtful transition into evening- lighting that guides guests from sunset to midnight without them ever consciously noticing the shift.

Lesson Learned: The Lighting Crisis I Nearly Created

I nearly made a catastrophic mistake, which is a running theme in all of my design newsletters it seems. Our original lighting plan (if you can call it that) involved a few tracks of functional lighting with zero consideration for ambience.

Three things saved us:

First, a CGI rendering that looked nothing like the cosy space we envisioned, a stark wake-up call. Below is our first CGI, the floor plan a bit like a corridor, very basic lighting and not at all what we were after.

Second, Krishna Mistry sliding into my DMs asking if we had a lighting plan at all, revealing there were actual experts dedicated solely to lighting (who knew?).

Third, a friendly chat with David at our local lighting shop.

What I thought would be a quick conversation for a quote turned into a gentle but thorough dismantling of everything I thought I knew about lighting. My modest plan of track lighting, hidden LEDs, and a few decorative pendants? David and Krishna made it clear I wasn't just underestimating- I was missing the entire point.

Working now with Krishna, our lighting budget has more than doubled- but so has my understanding of how crucial proper illumination is to creating not just a restaurant, but an experience.

The lesson? Sometimes what you don't notice is what matters most.

The Enlightening: Getting the Timing Right