Lighting design plays a subtle but critical role in the winning home design from our My Ideal House competition.

Clever, considered planning ensures the winning My Ideal House design will always be seen in a favourable light.

What’s the secret to a home that looks its best 24 hours a day? It’s great lighting. “Lighting is one of the most crucial elements of any home,” says architect Madeleine Blanchfield, whose winning My Ideal House design will soon commence construction at Crest by Mirvac in Sydney’s south-west. “A good lighting plan offers flexibility and the potential to alter the mood of the home.”

As with so many aspects of building a house, it pays to develop a comprehensive lighting and electrical plan early in the design process. To achieve her goal of “mostly invisible light sources, with a few pendants”, Madeleine collaborated with the design team at Brightgreen, an innovative Australian LED technology company, to workshop a plan.

“Lighting design really is the secret tool of the best architects and designers,” says David O’ Dr is coll,CEO of Bright green. “The lighting design for My Ideal House features a combination of layers and utilises soft, indirect and directional

‘BY COMBINING LIGHTING SOURCES, WE’ VE BUILT IN MANY WAYS TO CREATE DIFFERENT MOOD SIN THE ROOMS .’ MADELEINE BLANCHFIELD

accent lighting to create a sense of space, depth and comfort.”

Of special note in the plan is the use of recessed and surface-mounted Brightgreen downlights. These newgeneration downlights don’t emit heat (unlike standard downlights, which can pose a fire risk if insulation is placed too close), so the home’s overall thermal efficiency is also boosted by allowing the roof cavity to be fully insulated. “The D700+ downlights used in this design are unique in that, unlike other recessed downlights, they offer total lighting flexibility, thanks to their airtight, 360° pivoting mechanism,” says David.

The living areas in Madeleine’s My Ideal House design will also utilise uplights, concealed LED strips, wall lights and pendants. “By combining lighting sources, we’ve built in many ways to create different moods in the rooms,” she says. In the kitchen, multiple dimmable light sources will be present. “All the surfaces will have the capacity to be lit in some way. Light thrown onto a surface such as the walls or ceiling defines that area and highlights the edges of the space, making it feel bigger.” Striking D900 Curve SH surfacemounted LED downlights have been specified for over the kitchen island.

One spot you won’t find any downlights is the dining area. “Where possible, for the sake of visual comfort, I prefer to reflect light around, not have it come from a direct source,” says Madeleine. Throughout the house, lights will be dispersed rather than evenly spaced. “We wanted to avoid a grid of downlights and instead highlight areas with pairs of lights. This allows for variation and provides pools of light over reading or working areas.”

Just as getting the lights right during the design stage pays huge dividends, so does planning for other electrical services, such as motorisation for blinds or awnings. “If you’re considering motorisation for your window furnishings, do so as early as possible to ensure you find a product that fits into the rest of the plan,” says Jenny Brown, national marketing manager for Luxaflex Window Fashions.

Luxaflex’s PowerView motorisation is an intelligent operating system that allows homeowners to control their blinds throughout the day with the press of a button, tap of a mobile device or via personalised settings. The products support both wired-in and battery power, so if you do decide to automate some time after you’ve moved in, you can choose battery operation.

The rapidly expanding and evolving arena of smart-home technology is also important to factor into the building process .“The number of connected devices we use in our homes continues to increase ,” says John Chambers, executive director of Home and Premium Services for T el st ra. “Anyone building a new home should think about how they can maximise their broadband set-up to get the most out of their smartphones, tablets, lights, sensors and any future smart technology.”

Wi-fi is an essential part of any smarthome set-up to ensure devices can be connected, no matter where they are in the house. “Think about where the internet connection will be so it’s not just convenient for a study or living room, but the whole house,” says John. “An electrician can advise you on the best spot for your wi-fi access point.” myidealhouse.com.au