The HUX Report Vol 14: Let there be Light

When commissioning new joinery, people tend to focus on elements such as materials, door styles or picking the best worktops but can sometimes overlook the lighting. We believe lighting is a critical element of any bespoke joinery design. Lighting your joinery does add some serious value to the furniture, both in terms of form and function and we believe the results are worth the investment.

THE BENEFITS OF LIGHTING YOUR JOINERY

Light can add a sophisticated but also unique touch to your joinery, enhancing not only its natural features but also what you are storing within. Open shelves are designed for display, so why not show off your prized possessions in their best possible light?

Joinery lighting can also be very practical, especially for kitchens and bars in task areas and will improve your daily home experience. These lights are here to complement your main lighting and add different gradients of lighting to the home. It will allow you to create variant lighting levels throughout the different moments of the day.

The most common LED detail is to downlight an area from the underside of a shelf but it can also be very effective to up-light open shelving, as displayed here on the Decorex bar we designed in conjunction with John Cullen.
Our design teams worked together to create a scheme that enhanced the details and finishes of the bar. We used up-lighting to add drama to the antique mirror back panels, and concealed the LED channel within a wooden upstand so the source of the light was not reflected in the mirror.

We also up-lit one section of the display shelving from both the front and back, adding real drama to the objects displayed as well as picking out the reeded panel detailing at the back of the cabinet.

Sometimes you need to incorporate a linear LED at an angle without being visible, particularly if people will be sitting and looking up towards the joinery.

For shelves divided into small sections, individual spotlighting can be used to create focused pools of light onto specific objects, the John Cullen Minim light is a great example of a discrete light with a huge impact. Joinery downlights also work well for bars which include glass, as the light will be cast through the glasses, bottles and objects you are lighting within them.

While the main task of bespoke joinery lighting is to pick out specific detailing within the joinery, it also plays a vital mood lighting role within the wider room’s lighting scheme.

Successfully lighting your home is an art form and crucial to creating a welcoming and homely atmosphere. Lighting does not stop at joinery but is relevant for so many other elements including floors, mounted pictures, corridors all the way to the garden and home entrance. Please get in touch with our design experts and we can support any lighting projects and enquiries you may have for your home.

For more information on our collaboration with John Cullen Lighting on the bespoke Decorex bar check out their blog post.