FAQS
Our most popular questions
Q. Will the notes from my consultation be enough for my electrician to know what’s needed and TO finish the job?
A. This depends on the complexity of your design, and how experienced your electrician is with implementing a lighting design. A simple design? Then absolutely, they shouldn’t have a problem – although you will need to choose your own light fittings and answer all of their questions about placement and switching (we give you lots of help and advice on how to do that in the consultation). A more complex design? We think it's a bit unfair to ask them to do all the leg work, and it is certainly not something you can expect them to do for free! Most electricians and builders are happiest to receive clear, concise documentation that means they can focus on their trade and do an amazing job for you. It’s the same with any professional you hire – if you engage them to do what they’re good at, you’ll get a better result.
Q. I want to modernise my tired old downlights and ugly sconce without having to change anything structural or having to replace my plaster, can you help?
A. Absolutely! We’ve helped hundreds of homeowners update their light, transforming their home often after they’ve lived there in the gloom and dark for many years. Our knowledge of what light fittings can do, and the vast array of options when it comes to lights helps us give you the right advice to make dramatic changes to your home, without having to replaster or paint.
Q. I’m building with ‘X’ project builder, can you help me and integrate into their build process?
A. We’ve been working with homeowners building with Project Builders ever since we started back in 2012. It’s important for your builder that, as designers, we understand their specific build process and the way they run their projects so that our lighting design doesn’t de-rail your build. We understand that every builder is different, and we align our recommendations to their specific constraints to bring you amazing light – without negatively impacting your builder, their trades and ultimately your budget!!
Q. Why do some lights make everything look terrible?
A. This lands squarely in the field of "colour quality". There are two types of colour in light - the colour appearance described above, and colour rendering capabilities, which determine how objects look under a light source. For homes, we recommend a CRI (Colour Rendering Index) or "Ra" number of 90 or higher. If colour is really important in your home - especially for artworks or interior designs that utilise colour, a CRI (Ra) of 95 or higher is vital. With light fittings, as with anything – you get what you pay for, and more often than not, the cheapest available light fittings are typically installed into homes, leaving us living with poor quality light.
Q. MY ELECTRICIAN has told me they can get those $100 lights for $20 bucks.
A. He can't. He can certainly get low-cost low-quality LEDs for $20 that are called lights, but have you seen inside a low cost apartment block recently? I don't want to live with light like that, and I don't think you do either. It's a question of quality - quality of the light, and of the light fitting. There's always a cheaper option, and you get what you pay for. Save 10% and you're ahead, save 80%? Well, you may want to question that.
Q. How fast can you help me – the plaster is going up next week!
A. Sorry – but if you have plaster going up next week, then your electrician has already roughed in the wiring for your home and any changes will likely add significant cost and time to your build. Unfortunately, there is a point in a build where we can no longer effectively assist you. HOWEVER, if your builder and electrician are open to making changes to the wiring, and delaying the build, then it is of course possible to complete a lighting design with the current wiring in mind, minimising changes and maximising your light!
Q. CAN YOUR DESIGNS INCLUDE AUTOMATION by a control system or app of my own choice?
A. Yes they can! Where we have been engaged to produce a Full-Service Lighting Design, we can integrate our lighting designs with any control and automation system of your choice. We simply require the details of your preferred system and we will then ensure our fitting selections are compatible.
Q. I’ve received a lighting plan for my home, but it’s pretty ordinary with just downlights, pendants and some track – can you do anything better?
A. I’d certainly like to think so!! With over a decade’s experience in light and lighting design, our knowledge of light fittings, light performance and current technology suitable for our projects is second to none. There are so many exciting options with current LED lighting that we have produced many designs over the years with NO downlights at all! Standard lighting plans compare to our lighting designs like McDonalds compares to a fine dining Restaurant – both of them feed you, but with very different experiences and end results!
Q. At what stage should I hire you? Do I wait until I have completed plans? Do I need to have completed the interior design? Do I need to wait for Council Approval?
A. It is best to bring us in when you have an idea of how your interior joinery will be laid out and some sense of the colours you might use in your home (for our purposes that can be as simple as Light or Dark in the early stages of the design process). Ultimately, it depends on the complexity of design that you’re after as to the timing of bringing us in. Early means we can work with you and your design and build teams to integrate your lighting design into the architecture and interiors. Late means there will be some things that can’t be done in your home. If your rough in is planned for next week – then it’s too late. Essentially, the earlier you start, the more options we will be able to explore with you, and the more time we have to craft your design.
Q. Can you give me guidance on what DECORATIVE lights go where and what style they should be in my home?
A. We can certainly give you guidance and help you understand why you might choose one light over another, but when it comes to decorative lighting, we believe that pendants, floors lamps,table lamps and wall lights are a critical element of your interior design, and as such should be selected by you. Choose the lights you LOVE – or your interior designer if you have someone guiding you through the thousands of choices that make a home beautiful. What we do is make sure the light in your room works with the decorative choices you’ve made, as not all decorative lights make useful light!
Q. Can you supply me with lights?
A. Nope. We don’t sell lights. It’s our greatest strength – our independence means we are more interested in giving you the right advice, than selling products. It also means we can recommend commercial quality light fittings from a huge range of suppliers, with all of our decisions guided by what you want in your home (and how we’re going to light it for you) – rather than what we’ve got in our catalogue.
Q. I need a qualified lighting engineer, can you recommend one?
A. Yep – Adele. Adele is a MIES grade member of IESANZ (and she used to be the President of it, both in Victoria and then later across Australia and New Zealand). That makes her a “qualified person” in legal terms to complete lighting design projects within her scope of expertise. So, if you’re looking for someone to design retail, hospitality, offices, warehouses – essentially anything interior, she’s your illuminating engineer! If you need Road Lighting, or Sports Lighting – or anything else that’s not in her wheelhouse, then she will put you straight onto one of her colleagues at another firm that specialises in that type of design.
Q. I’m renovating in stages; can you help with just one room now?
A. It’s best to create a masterplan for your renovation, detailing all of your lighting at the start, and then implement the design in stages as you go. It’s very difficult for us to assist with just one room, however we will happily guide you to a local resource (if we know of one) that might be able to assist. Many people also find out blogs and online educational content useful for resolving the lighting in a room.
Q. There are so many choices in lighting, how can I know if I’m making the right choice?
A. It’s impossible to make the right choice in anything if you don’t understand the differences between the options in front of you. That’s why we share so much of our knowledge on public forums like Instagram, Tiktok and Facebook. We want you to understand different lights and how to evaluate them. We know that if you understand light and its value, then you will be able to make informed choices for your home. Ultimately, engaging a professional means that those choices are made with you, by someone who has years of experience and knowledge, and who can confidently guide you to the right choice for your home.
Q. Can you work off a house plan / technical drawings or do you need to see the space?
A. Yes! We absolutely can work from plans and technical drawings. The vast majority of our projects are done from only the plan, often even renovations of existing homes. We also produce plans and technical drawings in our own design process – so really, you’re speaking our language if you have plans and elevations for us to work from. Our experience in design and construction means that we know how to imagine the real-world version of your home when we read your plans and elevations, which means it is not necessary for us to see the space in person.
Q. I’ve had a plan drawn for me by a lighting shop, what’s different about what you produce from what I have from them?
A. As independent professional designers, we are focussed on the light we are creating for you – not what fittings are in the shop that need to be sold. Our process is in depth, and backed by years of experience working on every type of home you can imagine. Also – and this may be the most important difference – our design will not fill your ceiling with a grid of pancake downlights (or even “normal” downlights for that matter). We approach light from a unique perspective. Our design process is inclusive and personal, and our knowledge of what can be done with light is unsurpassed. We can work with any brand, from IKEA to ERCO, and we know how to make any room “just right” for you.
Q. I’m planning to sell in a couple of years, but want decent light while I live in this house, can you give me advice with re-sale in mind?
A. Re-sale value is critical, and we understand that. We’ve completed designs over the years for mirror image townhouses – one to keep and one to sell – and we craft beautiful light in both, just with a stricter budget for the re-sale side. If you’re living in your “for now” home, we know you don’t want to over capitalise, so we’ll make sure our advice improves your time in the home for a modest investment, and helps you sell it for the best price when it’s time to move on
Q. We’re building passive/off-grid / rammed earth / sustainable / thermally controlled – do you know how to design the right type of lighting for that?
A. We do! There are lots of tricks with light that we can utilise to bring you a beautiful design, without compromising the integrity of your building. Many builders address the lighting in these types of homes with cheap diffuse IC-4 rated downlights – because you can cover them with insulation – but really? That’s just not thinking outside the box. The time we spend with you in your consultation, explaining how light works and showing you the different ways you can use it, will open you mind to the thousands of ways any room can be lit – depending on what you want to see!
Q. I don't like that cold blue light — what should I use?
A. We recommend that every home use 3000K warm white light - or even 2700K which is warmer still. These colours of light closely mimic halogen and creates a cosy feel. The numbers "3000K", "2700K" are temperature measurements in units called Kelvin. This measurement is used to define the "colour" of the light from a light globe. The light turns bluer the higher the number - so 4000K is a "neutral" cool white, and 5000K and above are Cold White light (which looks blue to our eyes.) Interestingly - sunlight is up around 10,000K (very blue), but this colour inside a home is very unpleasant, and uncomfortable.
**The method of measuring the quality of the Colour Appearance (degrees in Kelvin) currently in use is "SDCM". This is provided as a number in the technical information with quality light fittings. For homes we recommend an SDCM <3, which means any colour change is barely noticeable. higher numbers mean you are more likely to see the different colours of "white light".
Q. Can you get me wholesale or trade discount pricing?
A. Nope. Unless you are planning on buying hundreds of lights from one supplier, they just won’t do it – and ultimately, nor should they. Without volume, wholesale pricing just means that supplier can’t actually afford to support their products with warranties and technical advice. Decorative lighting is sometimes different (if you’re buying lots from one place), but even then, it’s up to the supplier if they want to give you a discount – that’s out of our hands. Remember – light fittings are highly technical pieces of electrical equipment with complex electronics inside. Would you expect a $50 60inch TV to work??? Then we suggest you don’t expect a $5 light fitting to work.
Q. I have a modest-sized home and need only simple advice – can you help?
A. Absolutely! Our stand-alone Concept Consultation service can be the perfect fit for a smaller home. We start with a face-to-face consultation on Zoom/Teams, or in person at our studio, depending on your location. In that meeting we set the framework for your design and answer all of your questions about light, and how to use it in your home. After the meeting, we provide you with a hand sketched plan showing the types of light to use in your home, and where they should go. We supply an information pack alongside that plan to help you make the right choices when you go shopping for your light fittings. This approach to lighting design enables you to access our expertise and knowledge, without locking you into a full design process. If you are unsure what you need, we can assist you with determining what services will suit you best.
Q. Can I do anything if my home is already full of downlights?
A. Absolutely! Some of the most dramatic transformations we have created have been in homes with downlights everywhere. You are not locked into replacing downlights with downlights. We can make use of those holes in the ceiling and use lights that will transform the living spaces in your home. Floor lamps and table lamps are also incredibly useful for quickly transforming a room.
Q. Can you come to my house to help us just renovate our lights without having to renovate THE ENTIRE HOME?
A. Absolutely! We’ve helped hundreds of homeowners update their light, transforming their home often after they’ve lived in the gloom and dark for many years. Our knowledge of what light fittings can do, how we can integrate new lighting into old locations, as well as the vast array of options for light fittings and accessories to make you light work, means we give you the right advice to dramatically improve the light in your home, without having to replaster or paint.
Q. Is it possible to have LED lights without the ‘dots’?
A. Absolutely! In fact, every quality lighting supplier can now manufacture LED light fittings where you cannot see any "dots". This is especially true for the Linear LED light you often see in cabinetry, or over the bench in kitchens. Low quality lights will show bright dots of light, good quality lights will be a uniform brightness along the length with no dots.
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