Switched On

Clever, considered planning ensures the winning My Ideal House design will always be seen in a favourable light.

- Sarah PIckette

What’s the secret to a home that looks its best 24 hours a day? It’s great lighting. “Lighting is one of the most crucial elements of any home,” says architect Madeleine Blanchfield, whose winning My Ideal House design will soon commence construction at Crest by Mirvac in Sydney’s south-west. “A good lighting plan offers flexibility and the potential to alter the mood of the home.”

As with so many aspects of building a house, it pays to develop a comprehensive lighting and electrical plan early in the design process. To achieve her goal of “mostly invisible light sources, with a few pendants”, Madeleine collaborated with the design team at Brightgreen, an innovative Australian LED technology company, to workshop a plan.

“Lighting design really is the secret tool of the best architects and designers,” says David O’Driscoll, CEO of Brightgreen. “The lighting design for My Ideal House features a combination of layers and utilises soft, indirect and directional accent lighting to create a sense of space, depth and comfort.”