Interior architect and lighting designer

In interior design, lighting often slips to the end of the process: the finishes, furniture and colors are set, and the luminaire just has to fit in. This order, however, is costly, and it shows in the end result.

Why does it need to come first?

Concealed lighting requires a ceiling recess, a shadow gap or a dropped ceiling. A recessed luminaire needs installation depth, which affects the spacing of the framing. A controlled system needs cabling and a location for the power supply. These are all decisions that have to be made before the drywall and the finishes.

There's another, less often mentioned reason. Light determines how the chosen material looks. Matte microcement, satin-finish wood and polished stone behave completely differently under grazing light and diffuse light. If lighting comes at the end, the choice of materials can no longer be corrected.

How does the collaboration work?

The studio brings the concept: the mood of the space, the materials, the furniture designs. The lighting plan is made to match, specifying how many light points are needed, where, at what beam angle, with what color temperature and what controls.

In practice, two meetings are enough. At the first, based on the concept and the floor plan, the zoning and the plan for the layers of light take shape; at the second, the specific luminaires. After that, the drawing just has to be handed to the contractor.

What does the client gain?

There's no need to coordinate two specialists separately, and no finger-pointing if something doesn't add up on site. That's why we work in a strategic partnership with the Mentore Interiore studio: from the interior design plan to complete material sourcing, the process stays in one hand.