INTERIOR INSPIRATION
BY KATE KINGSTON
Kate Kingston, Managing Director
of Kingston Shaw, an award winning
interior design company with offices
on the Wirral, London and Dubai,
shares with us the latest trends for
creating the perfect home.
LET THERE BE LIGHT.. .
It was a particularly dark winters day when
the phone in the office rang and one of our
favourite and discerning clients contacted
us. “Kate, I have bought a new property
and am declaring war on the lighting
in the property and in particular in the
impressive hallway. I want something
dramatic, something special, something
I haven’t seen. I know you will be up for
the challenge and I trust you too have it
shipped and installed next week!”
Not one to shirk from a challenge and always
ready to minister to our Clients’ wishes we
set about overcoming the obvious challenges
of lead times and availability. Bespoke was
out, our client a man of distinction, had
travelled widely and had seen most things.
This was going to be a tough assignment, but
donning our design super heroine cloaks
(cashmere, natch) we gathered our suppliers
close and began our search for the light!
On our travels through the world of lighting
design far and wide, we came across the
most beautiful brightness beacons, which
we would like to share with you. Lighting
design is an art and light itself is as important
to a space as the air we breath, it can set the
mood, it can enliven a space, it can help
you sleep, eat, shop, study, indeed lighting
has been used commercially to affect our
moods, our habits and our interactions
with each other’s for centuries. Have you
ever been in a restaurant, for example, and
46 wirrallife.com
FLOS CAN CAN
although the food was fine and you are with
people you love, the evening was just flat
or you felt uncomfortable but you couldn’t
quite put your finger on it what was wrong
– guaranteed it was the lighting that was
wrong for the space, too bright will make
you feel fidgety and exposed, too dark it will
make you feel soporific.
Lumen ratings aside which is a science and an
art, the look and feel of a fixture is equally as
important as its function. Consider whether
you want up lighting, down lighting, flared
lighting, even spread, pooled the list goes
on, our advice is remember what the space
is being used for, make a note of the natural
light and enhance. The choice of bulb is also
worth considering do you want cool light,
warm or even coloured. There are apps that
can control the intensity of the light in a
room, the time in which they come on, the
sequence of the source of luminosity and
the amount of energy that is used. Ensure
that you use a professional to install any
electrical item and ask a lighting expert for
their recommendations for illuminating
your space if you need to.
In the meantime, here are a few of our
favourite pendants which are available
through our lovely friends at Chattels in
Chester. As for our client, we found him the
perfect light and installed it exactly a week
later, leaving him enlightened and as ever a
little impressed!
MODOLUCE FLORINDA
DESNUDA
FATBOY ROCKCOCO