Let there be light

How to get light into your gloomy Edwardian or Victorian house?

The conventional approach is to knock through from front to back to create open plan living but this often leaves you with spaces you can't effectively use and doesn't tackle the stair well and hallway which are generally the darkest areas.

Our approach is to open up the ceilings and punch a skylight through the roof to send daylight cascading down through the house.  A few high level horizontal internal windows can then send this borrowed light to adjacent rooms.

The effect is stunning, almost ethereal, as clouds scud by and light bounces down to illuminate your day

Here's one we did recently.  Its an odd view point due to the shape of the space.  That's the balustrade (spindles to be fitted) shooting diagonally across

Balustrades

This timber balustrade is given strength by the stainless steel fin which runs underneath and connects it to the wall.  As seen at the RAMM museum on Exeter.  Recently reopened following refurbishment and home to a wide range of historic and natural world artifacts including one of the larges collections of echinoderms.  That's starfish by the way

Cause you were all yellow

 

We like this colour coded display with a yellow theme.  I've recently re-organised my book shelf at home by colour which give a pleasing rainbow effect.  Its a controversial move but I'm not alone as the myriad of websites dedicated to colour coded display testify. 

Stripes

Materials Tip_Peg Board

We love this lightweight and cheap perforated board with its holes set at 19mm centres. Formed from compacted wood fibres and resin and with a baked linseed oil coating this board looks great au naturel but takes a coat of paint really well.



We used it to form a sliding door hiding a compact home office in this residential refurbishment where the perforations reduce the visual and actual weight of the door.



You can see this project exhibited at the nla 'Don't move, improve' exhibition at The Building Centre, 26 Store Street, London until the 28th March.

Reflect on this

Product of the Month-Top Pendant

We love this triangular pendant from Inform Furniture which we've specified for one of our office refurbishments. In black its got a touch of the Stealth Bomber look about it and comes in two sizes.



We're using them in groups and by adjusting the corner cable you can adjust the tilt to create a sense of movement and rhythm.