Light first: lamps that change a room
The right light has always mattered to me. A room can have the right furniture and the right colours and still feel cold – and it is almost always the light. That is why I plan the lighting early in every project, alongside the floor plan, and not as the last thing to buy. Here is what I have learned about lamps that change a room.
Several light sources at different heights
One strong ceiling light makes a room flat. The light comes from one direction, the shadows are hard and the corners dark. Instead, build the light in layers: something in the ceiling, something on the walls at eye level and something low, on tables and the floor. Five or six small light sources in a living room is not too many.
In my own home table lamps with pleated shades stand in front of old paintings, and the light falls on the canvas so the image comes alive. It is the same principle as in a museum, only warmer.
Think about where people sit. The light should fall on what you are doing – reading, eating, talking – and not in your eyes. A lamp at every seat is a good rule.
Warm light and dimmers
When LED arrived, the light was either too cold or too yellow, and I stayed away for a long time. Today there are bulbs in every shade, and smart lamps let you change the light with the time of day. That has changed the way I work.
My advice is simple: warm white at home, around 2700 kelvin, and dimmers on everything you can. A room needs different light at seven in the morning and at eleven at night. With a dimmer the same lamp can do both.
Do not forget candles. No other light has the same movement and warmth, and a chandelier with real candles, like the one in the living room under the brick vaults in my home, turns every dinner into a celebration.
Old and new light in the same room
I like to mix modern technology with lamps that have a history. In Restaurang Pava LED meets carbon filament, with RGB light around the windows and dimmable LED on the walls. Next to them hang three Moreno chandeliers from 1970 and alabaster wall lamps from the 1920s. The modern light does the work, the old light gives the soul.
The same idea works at home. A vintage chandelier from an auction house, a brass sconce or a lamp base with patina can sit next to hidden LED in a bookcase. What matters is that the light has the same colour, so the room holds together.
How to plan the lighting room by room
In the hall you need welcoming light right at the door: a chandelier or pendant and ideally a lamp on a table or chest. In the living room you build layers – a chandelier for celebrations, floor lamps by the reading chairs, table lamps in the windows and perhaps a picture light. Window lamps also make the home look welcoming from the street.
In the kitchen, task lighting matters most. Lights under the wall cabinets light the worktop without shadows, while pendants over the island or dining table set the mood. Hang the pendants so the light falls on the table rather than in your eyes, about 65–75 centimetres above the top. In the dining room a dimmable chandelier is almost always right.
In the bedroom the light should be low and soft: reading lamps by the bed, ideally with a switch on each side, and no strong ceiling light. In the bathroom you need even light at the mirror, from the sides rather than from above, so the face is free of shadows.
Make a simple plan on paper before the electrician arrives: where the sockets go, where switches are needed, which lamps should dim and which should come on together. It is cheap to change on paper and expensive to change in the wall.
One last piece of advice: choose lamps with fabric, paper or opal glass shades where you want soft light, and open shades or clear glass where you want the light to sparkle. The colour of the shade matters too – a pale lining spreads the light, a dark one gathers it downwards. And buy one lamp you love rather than three you merely like.
Light built into the joinery
The best lighting is sometimes not visible at all. In custom-built bookcases and wardrobes I build LED strips under every shelf, so the objects light up and the bookcase becomes a light source in the room. On Strandvägen a lit bookcase frames a doorway, and the walk-in closet has lit shelves and cupboards.
Plan this before the joiner starts. Running cables afterwards is expensive and shows. And always try the light in place before you decide – a lamp that looks good in the shop can be completely wrong at home. See how wall lights and wallpaper work together in the hall on Grevgatan.
