INTERIORS
Trip the
light
fantastic
I
Peter Turner, managing director of Teesside-based
interior design studio Cocoon and Bauer, has designed
Michelin-star restaurants, five-star hotels and some of
the most exclusive addresses in the country. Now he
shares his secrets with Tees Life readers…
n the last issue of Tees Life, we focused
on the kitchen but also touched on
how daylight and sunlight can affect
the home. So, following on from
natural light, I thought it would be best to
concentrate on artificial lighting, feature
lighting and direct lighting.
My absolute bugbear when driving
through towns and villages on an evening
is living rooms illuminated with a ceiling
light – and often with no shade! The harsh
light makes everything look and feel
uncomfortable and it can’t be an
enjoyable space to relax in.
In my opinion, the ceiling
light needs to perform two
functions – first of all, to
be used when needing to
see or find something, so
the brightness is welcome.
And, secondly, for the
fitting to be decorative and
add some aesthetic value to the
interior.
The lighting within your living room
needs to create a soft, relaxing and warm
atmosphere, one which supplements the
look of your interior design, but also
changes your mood when you enter it.
Use a mixture of fittings at different
heights, and shades with different linings
(such as copper and gold) to create different
effects when the light is cast out. I tend to
try to incorporate lamps on side tables, floor
lamps, perimeter ceiling lighting and feature
lighting to any cabinetry.
In one of our recent projects we were
tasked with bringing a new build living
room to life. With new builds – as with any
property – there is provision for a ceiling
fitting centrally located in the room and
several power sockets around the perimeter.
This gives us plenty of scope for the table
and floor lamps along with the ceiling
fitting, but we wanted to add even
more depth.
We widened the chimney breast
to house a linear modern fire with
the flames giving a simple, warm
glow. To one side of the chimney,
we built in a bespoke bookcase with
recessed LED lighting to the rear of each
shelf, which cast a stunning light onto the
floor and softened the modern linear lines.
Bespoke bookcase with
recessed LED lighting
Finally, we added
two wall lights to
either end of the
client’s existing sofas,
which flank a central
piece of artwork. This
frames the artwork
Wall lights flank a
and again casts a light
central piece of artwork
from behind, which
wouldn’t otherwise be provided
Check out the video our client sent us on
our Instagram page.
Within the next month look out for this and another of our finished projects
on our Instagram @cocoonandbauer - a beautiful living room which features
a fantastic coffered ceiling detail with perimeter lighting!
tees-life.co.uk
35