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The summer light is fading, and quickly may I add. The growing shadows in my home only highlight how important lighting is. When we moved into this house in Denmark it had no lights. Well, only those for the kitchen and bathroom. All other ceilings and walls were blank, no ceiling roses, just a few strange squares in the wall (I’ll tell you about that later). Apparently this is common in Denmark. You add lighting in the rooms to suit your needs. I like that idea. It’s personal, makes sense thinking back to the London town house I lived in with 24 spot lights in one room (beam me up scotty!). Though it has become quite a task to get this house feeling hyggelig and keeping a contemporary style.

The Scandinavian obsession over lighting is soulful and practical. It harmonises with the seasonal changes. In Denmark during the winter there would be as little as 7 hours of daylight per day.
Which emphasises how important it is to get the lighting right in your home. And moving into a house with no lights really makes the point.

Two years ago I worked with nest.co.uk in finding the perfect lamp for my dining area. The String Cone lamp designed by Michael Anastassiades for Flos. This stylishly minimal lamp almost feels like a sculpture. The string is made from Black Kevlar reinforced coaxial cable and shade a Die-cast aluminium and polycarbonate body, in matt black. It is controlled by a wall switch and also touch. Most lamps these days controlled by a tap on the lamp shade are pretty good but this is better. It is controlled by the string, by softly pinching the string near the shade it can turn the lamp on/ off and dim. It’s amazing. Michael is a true lighting designer, I really admire his work and how he pushes style and technology without compromising on function.

SO. That was two years ago. I’ve been living with that lamp and yep, it’s a keeper. Earlier I mentioned the kitchen did have lights, well…. only a few under counter spots. We do have a worktop that had no light, in the winter time I used to chop my veg under candle light, it got THAT dark. SO I knew that I needed to add more lighting to the kitchen but I’ve been so torn on what to fit.

To find lighting that can be adapted to your home or chosen space can be hard, and investing in good quality lighting while living in a rental can make your choices a little more difficult. Who wants to invest in an expensive lamp and it not fit or work well in the next home? I mean, this has been my main question, I have struggled to find lighting, to commit to a piece and worry that it won’t work in the next place I live.

I like to keep design in the home consistent and with the String lighting already in the room, I researched if I could add another string to the same fitting. You can.

Looking at the String lighting planner you can design the string to create really cool contemporary shapes. Usually it works better with high ceilings, you can have a lot of fun with them but I have standard height and I like to keep things a little more simple. The aim is to hang the light above the worktop while running a geometric line across the ceiling back to the original fitting. And as I mentioned, because you can create a variety of hanging patterns with this string it’s actually a perfect lamp to have if you need to move home or move it to another room. The adaptability is a massive bonus.

I’m so pleased with the final result. Both lights work together from the wall switch and most brilliantly they work independently when dimmed by touching the kevlar string.

When it comes to a modern classic I’ve got to say, I have my favourite, The String Cone lamp by Michael Annastasiades.

Read my feature on Nest.co.uk journal – In conversation with Hannah Trickett

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