Private Residence Rotterdam

It is rather rule than exception that people tell us: "The light in our house is not working out very well, but we don't know what to do about it." At the same time nowadays you even find big chandeliers made out of LED lights hanging in our shopping areas. This says something about the important role that light has gained in our lives; both private and public. The options are endless and the technology keeps on becoming more and more advanced. But consumers don't know what to buy, how to install and in our case: where to put what. Especially in our private residences it is all about finding a balance between decoration and functionality. We want to experience beauty, but we also want to be able to read a book on the couch or in bed in the evening.

Near the end of 2015 we were approached by two clients who just bought two old, historical houses next to each other in the city centre of Rotterdam. It was to become their private residence and a Bed and Breakfast with a private entrance. The advantage of being involved in the process that early is that you can work with your clients, the architect and the constructor. And so you can neatly tuck away cables, you can create small niches for indirect light, you can integrate lamps in floors, walls and ceilings, etc. The options of working with light are beyond what most people think is possible. As far as we are concerned. We even design new armatures!

At the same time: at that point for our clients it is sometimes almost impossible to oversee all the possibilities, how they will experience the atmosphere in the house and where they need which light sources at a certain point. Just imagine looking at a complete empty house, no walls, nothing: not everyone knows immediately where the couch will be in the end. As light designers you will meet the client in the middle, trying to figure out what the crude lines in the design will be. De details will follow in a natural way is our experience.

Right now we are working on the final phase of the light design for this house. This little foretaste shows that beauty and functionality can come together very well and even result into beautiful pictures in your own home...