Talk to me about lighting

[BlackAlys]

Renovation is about to go into its second phase - waiting for roof to go on and then once that happens, internal walls will start to fly up.

I want to start looking at lighting - it's a dark cottage renovation so windowless landings will be spotlighted, as will kitchen and bathrooms.

I'm aware of the airport runway factor of spots so want to create softer, lower lighting in bedrooms, lounge, dining room and kitchen as well. How Do I sort this? Wall lights? Separate switches?

I'd also like to be able to turn on lights remotely by iPhone - is this doable? The house is on a dark lane and I'd love to be able to light up certain rooms and porch area before we get home in the dark.

Help!

We have a mixture of overhead/pendants, wall lights, and lamps. We use WiFi enabled plug socket adapters for lamps to create that light switched on from afar feel. Philips hue also works but that’s bulb based. You can get smart sockets but I expect the tech in this area to move quickly so adapters seem to work well.

I love floor and table lamps, I think they can really make a room so we have loads of them.

As for turning lights on or off with an iPhone then yes, this is a thing. But even more useful is turning them on using an Amazon Alexa. We walk into a room, say 'Lights On' and they do. We can also say 'Lights 30%' and they dim down. Because they are colour bulbs we can say 'Lights cool white' or 'light warm lights' or even 'lights green.'

We use Lifx bulbs (Mini Colour version) which can be expensive, but worth it, I think. There are other makes of course, but I like Lifx as it just hooks into your Wifi.

One thing to consider - you never actually turn them on/off at the switch so you don't need dimmers.