Which Lighting?

We’ve developed a range of lighting that includes the best in floor, table, task and ceiling lighting to suit all design tastes, whether your home is classic, contemporary, retro or modern.

The best lighting scheme for any space is one that mixes ambient and accent lighting so that you have the flexibility to suit what you’re doing and how you’re feeling at any time of the day or night.

Lighting is an instant and affordable way to update any room in your home.

Ambient lighting substitutes for daylight, and is usually best created with the use of pendant lighting that hangs from the centre of a room’s ceiling.

Shade lighting

A shade can be fitted directly on to an existing naked light bulb fitting (check details on packaging to ensure your current bulb is compatible).

Depending on the colour and fabric of the shade – shades can come in any sort of material, from plastic, ceramic and metal to fabric and woven wood – the light emitted will have a slightly diffused, moodier feel, but will still be sufficient to illuminate a room and is useful in bedrooms and over dining tables where you can concentrate a pool of light.

Alternatively, try hanging a row of lights with the same shade over a kitchen workbench. How low they hang from the ceiling depends on the existing light cable (which can be adjusted by a qualified electrician).

Pendant lighting

This is typically a one bulb style of light that comes with an 80cm cable which can be adjusted to suit your needs. Available in classic and contemporary styles, pendant lights work best in small spaces with high ceilings, so are ideal for hallways, kitchens and bedrooms.

Fitted lighting

These lights are designed with fixed, non-adjustable stems and a base fitting that sits flush to the ceiling. They are good for rooms with a low ceiling as you can create the same drama as a standard ceiling pendant without the need for ceiling height. Often designed with a mix of chrome and glass, these look great in all areas of the home. Must be fitted by a qualified electrician.

Chandeliers

These provide a dramatic focal point to living and dining rooms, bedrooms or hallways. Particularly suited to rooms with high ceilings and larger proportions, they lend glamour and drama to any space. All our hanging lighting, unless otherwise specified, comes with an 80cm flex cord which an electrician can adapt to suit your needs. All these lights will require qualified electrical installation.

Go to ceiling lights

It’s important to have the right lighting in key areas of the house, so think about task lighting for specific jobs (reading, putting on make-up, preparing food, sewing, working at the computer, writing or drawing) that will give you clear, direct light on the job at hand.

Desk lamps with swing arms provide flexible, focused light for areas such as the home office, by the sofa or bed, or on a dressing table. You can move the lamp head to shine directly over the area where you need light the most, as it’s important that you never strain your eyes to complete a task.

We always recommend the use of a golf ball shaped bulb for task lamps as it fits nicely into the lamp’s head and is pleasant to look at.

Go to table lights

The perfect finishing touch to lending any room added texture, warmth and depth comes from accent lighting. Floor and table lights are as important as the row of cushions on the sofa in bringing a room to life.

Floor lamps, which provide an element of uplighting, help to bounce a soft light across a wall, creating mood-enhancing shadows and flattering levels of atmospheric lighting. Floor lamps are particularly ideal for darker corners of the room to help lighten the overall feel of a space.

Table lamps with unusual glass or metal bases lend an element of sculpture and aesthetic interest to a room. Be sure to check that the shade circumference and base size of a lamp is right for the table where you want to place it – too large a base or shade can obscure conversation if placed on a table between two sofas or chairs in a living room, or may be too wide on a console table in the hall – and be sure the flex cable is long enough to reach the electrical socket.

Complement the shade of a lamp with a key colour in the sofa or curtain upholstery to lend a sense of cohesiveness to the room.

If you like creating a dark, moody room for entertaining, use floor and table lamps to create pools of light around the room. Positioning them near to works of art on the wall or collections of favourite objects or photo frames on side tables will draw the eye towards them.

Try a table lamp on a hallway console table, in lieu of ceiling lighting, to create a moody warmth for guests arriving when you’re entertaining.

Go to floor lights

Tungsten bulbs These traditional light bulbs are being phased out under both Government and EU Regulations in favour of energy efficient bulbs, but remain the only bulbs, in most cases, to work effectively with dimmer switches. In a traditional bulb the filament heats up as soon as the bulb is switched on and lights up immediately.

Energy saving bulbs Also known as compact fluorescent bulbs (CFL), energy-saving bulbs give a warm, white light which takes a while to shine at its brightest because the bulb only starts to light up when the gas it contains starts to ‘glow’. In accordance with our Plan A commitments, all our lighting is designed to use energy efficient bulbs which are widely available, and because they last longer and use less electricity, they are better value too.

LED bulbs Although the use of LED bulbs in household lights is still in development, many of our festive decorations use LEDs. LED stands for Light Emitting Diode, a new technology with excellent energy saving and cool-touch capabilities which results in bulbs with an extremely long life.

Halogen bulbs Like tungsten bulbs, these are less energy efficient and have a shorter life. They get very hot to touch so be careful when handling. Halogen lighting is being slowly phased out, like tungsten bulbs, but if any of our lights require G9 and G4 bulbs, we will provide these free of charge with purchase.

Fittings

There are four main cap types, which will be indicated on the packaging.

Bayonet cap BC or B22: these are fitted into position by pushing into the socket and twisting to secure in place.

Small bayonet cap SBC or B15: as above.

Edison screw ES or E27: these screw straight into the light socket.

Small Edison screw SES or E14: as above.

Bulb wattage comparison guide

Table shows the equivalent energy saving bulbs compared with standard bulbs

Incandescent bulb	Energy saving bulb
100W	20W-23W
60W	11W-15W
40W	7W-9W

Lighting installation

It is essential that you always follow the product’s fitting instructions and if neccessary consult a qualified electrician for advice on the compatibility of any lighting you would like to install before you purchase. All lighting must meet IEE wiring regulations and building regulations.

If using energy saving light bulbs, do not connect any of our lighting to a timer or a standard dimmer switch. None of our lighting is suitable for use in a bathroom or area exposed to excessive moisture.