Architecture and interior design thread

would you be interested in having someone make you something bespoke? as wall lights like the long arm and Marseille that protrude from the wall that much, are few and far between

Yeah could be interested for sure! What we talking?

Speaking of breaking budgets. We have a carpenter in to convert an garage to an office. We’re making a lot of decisions as we go, and now when we’ve had a break over summer we’ve realised that a lot of the stuff that are described as “oh that’ll be quick” actually takes 2-3-4 days and adds quite a few hundred to the final cost. Get a few of those done (we have) and the budget is long gone.

I do metal work and lighting design of this ilk is something I want to jack my 9-5 in for.

I could do something but in reality I can't do it any time soon as I'm in the process of moving to a bigger workshop and have a multitude of other things to deal with.

although something simple could be done relatively quickly. its when you get in to refined designs, obviously it takes more time.

just thinking though if you had a design in mind, there would potentially be people out there who could realise it for you.

Being a bit thick here but what's the purpose of the light over the table and why are you not using a pendant?

I have Carravagio, Flos and Louis Poulsen pendants in my house and they're for supplementing daylight only, the two pendants over my dining table are never on at night. Things like large Tolomeo's, Arco's etc are generally for receptions etc, you wouldn't one switched on over your table at night. The trick with the Marseille lamp is the indirect element so you'd want to position it where you have a ceiling above to make the most of it.

If it's more for aesthetics then go for whatever you like the look of but everything mentioned so far are what I would describe as decorative lighting and won't necessarily light the space attractively.

everything mentioned so far are what I would describe as decorative lighting and won't necessarily light the space attractively.

Decorative lighting isn't attractive?

It depends on your perspective. Architects and interior designers tend to warm to the packaging of the lamp. Lighting designers (me) tend to consider the lit effect more important.

There's a reason why most the press shots for decorative lighting are taken in the daytime - because they look shit at night.

Alright, I kind of thought that decorative lighting was attractive by definition and included the lit effect. Maybe it's a question of nomenclature.
Separate issue, and while I have you on the line... what if you have a spouse that wants to maximise the amount of light in the evening despite the level and type of activity not requiring it?
Not talking 'bout sex, baby.

subtly charming Lampe de Marseille

Now I've seen these, I'm going to absolutely have to get some for my bedroom when the time comes to refresh it! They're lovely!

It seems crazy to spend lots of money on lighting then not use it at night but it really depends what atmosphere you're trying to create. I have large pendants over my dining table and I use candles to gently uplight them. This way i get to see the pendants and the reflected light emitted from them is very soft. Turning them on at night is like time at the bar.

On your other issue, generally speaking the simplest way to please people who want different levels of light is to use lighting control. On/off might not be giving you a happy medium so dimmers might be your friend if you're trying to reduce the ambient light levels in the evening. Just make sure you get lamps/dimmers that are compatible otherwise you'll be in buzzing/flicker hell. If your spouse still wants the lights turned up full then I'd recommend diffuse shades (paper, glass etc) to soften the harshness of light.

Ceiling lights are normally needed for kitchens, bathrooms and circulation at night but otherwise I always advise people to go for low level lighting in the evening. Remember it's all about contrast management so if it's dark outside you don't need a lot of light inside to feel comfortable.

I think I'm with you on most of what you say. We live in a 100 year old house which was very poorly built, yet still stands for some reason. In our livingroom we have a variety of lighting: a Noguchi pendant on an LED dimmer (works well, I made sure they were compatible) Noguchi table lamp, original tiny Tiffany-style pendant by front door and a large floor standing Tolomeo. One large front window and one large side window. The room was originally two small ones and a hallway but all walls in the area (including a supporting one, whups) were removed some time before we bought the house.
If my wife had her way we'd have all lighting at max all the time, and I'm not really hoping for a fix here, just providing a little levity for all the folks who have their shit together.

My solution here was lights that can be focused. Mainly floor standing lamps with shades that focus the light downwards so only illuminate the area around her

I'm thinking of one of these matched with a head-mounted shade.
https://reactual.com/home-and-garden/brightest-led-light-bulb.html

Cheers for your replies! Sounds like you know what you are talking about... The light I am looking to get isn't going to be the primary light source but more of a decorative light, I'd prob put a dim bulb it and use it in evenings. There will be spot lights in the kitchen to supply real light. I won't be able to angle it to reflect off the ceiling because its going under a glass roof.
Does that make sense?

This is beautiful: https://twitter.com/SJSchauer/status/1160336040189710336?s=20

Would anyone happen to recognize this "etagere"? Spotted in Galeries Lafayette in Paris, quickly snapped a picture only to come to realize my phone camera isn't good enough to make out the name.

(Or CSI Miami level enhance skills?)

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Muuto Compile is similar.

might be on option to email/social-media them with a copy of the photo?

No joy. :(

AM.PM.?

@chrisbmx116 Sorry missed your reply. They look nice for something decorative but i would still recommend a dimmer/dimmable lamps (bulbs) as even low output lamps can look too bright in the evening when un-shielded. Although they dim like shit using high end systems Tala lamps are perfectly fine with mains dimmers and i really like there porcelain lamp range. The porcelain 2 in the large shade and porcelain 1 in the smaller shade would be my choice. At least if you get decent lamps to start with you can install a dimmer after if they're too bright.

Also bare in mind the uplight is going to be visible reflected in the glass roof, might not be a problem but worth thinking about.

Not on their site, it seems.

Cheers for the reply! Yeah spoke to architects and plan is for spotlights on dimmers all about the kitchen. Haven’t found anything nicer than the Marseille lamp so may just have to suck up the cost... can be my Christmas present to myself.

Does anyone have any sofa recommendations? Nothing too fancy, but also no IKEA preferably? Does anyone have experience with made.com stuff, I don’t really trust them with such a big purchase. Like their designs though.

We went custom (local in Canada) , two years later we went with Ikea, never regretted it.