Creating calm from chaos and a working study from a gloomy room – we find out how with top tips from Norfolk’s interiors and homes goods businesses.
All or nothing?
I want to redesign downstairs and I do like the idea of a clear, uncluttered home, but I also love candlesticks, bowls, jars, decorative lights, vases, mirrors, pictures and plants. I can’t have both, can I?
I think you can have both, a few statement pieces positioned in an uncluttered way can work tremendously to your advantage. Mirrors behind a vase of flowers can have a fantastic impact, as well as adding depth and space. Fairy lights can be integrated with occasions (for instance, in vases or wrapped in a plant).
I would keep the colours more consistent and themes flowing, not injecting a rainbow in a room but instead similar tones with perhaps one other staple contrasting colour. Black, whites and copper is very current right now and would work with most shades depending on the light in your room. Fewer statement items work better than lots of small pieces so prioritise your favourite staples and exaggerate them to make the wow factor. You will have everyone talking.
Nicole Pugh, Berrys & Grey, Royal Arcade, Norwich; 01603 627505; www.berrysandgrey.co.uk
Shine a light
We’re going to turn a bedroom into a study where we will be working, using a computer. It currently has one central single light. What lighting changes should we make?
The CIBSE code for interior lighting suggests that an office should be illuminated to a maintained lux level of between 300 and 500 lux, so don’t skimp on lighting in your new study.
Lighting should ideally be dimmable so that it can be adjusted to suit the task and need, time of day and tiredness of eye will influence this. I would be inclined to split it into two or three circuits; one for lighting directly over the desk for shadow free working, one for the rest of the ambient lighting in the room and perhaps a third for lighting within the wall units and bookcases to push the space out.
With wireless products such as Rako control, it is much easier now to make more of existing wiring. I have an Artemide Talo suspension fitting over my desk and this has always worked well for me with its direct/indirect light emission.
Andrew Fisher, The Norwich Architectural Lighting Company Limited, Hurricane Way, Norwich: 01603 418821; www.lighteastanglia.co.uk
CIBSE is The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) is the prime source of expertise in the Building Services industry.
The lux is a unit used for measuring the amount of light falling on a surface and is equal to one lumen per square metre.
