Timeless Elegance: Blending Modern Lighting with Victorian Charm

In April of this year, Emma Turner contacted us during the Second Fix phase of her extensive renovation project in Clifton, Bristol. She faced several challenges in her Victorian townhouse and wanted to retain its original, stunning ceiling mouldings.

“The initial draw to Lam Lighting was the aesthetic of the product. We were looking for something that would really fit with the style of our property. We wanted to be respectful and complementary to the history of the house. But since it was a modern renovation, we aimed for a blend of modern and contemporary elements, with a nod to the historical features. Finding something like that in the marketplace was really difficult because most options are either very modern or very traditional. We wanted something stylish, unassumingly beautiful, and complementary to the space, allowing the property’s features to speak for themselves. That’s what attracted me to Lam Lighting—their products have simple, gorgeous designs that perfectly complement the surroundings”.

One of the project’s highlights, and the most critical to get right, was the kitchen area. This space comprises three distinct zones: a central pendant area for the main kitchen, a dining area, and an open-plan sitting room. Although these three spaces share a consistent theme, they each maintain their own unique character. We selected different variations of our classic Gainsborough glass shade pendant. For the main focal point over the kitchen island, we chose a triple Multi Pendant Gainsborough. Its large ceiling rose integrates beautifully with the existing moulding, and Emma matched the raw porcelain colour to her ceiling paint. The multi-pendant was specified with a 2-metre cord drop, allowing the lights to cascade at varying heights, making the most of the vertical space.

In the dining area, a single Gainsborough pendant with a long cord drop was used, positioned centrally over the table. This allows ample space for tasks beneath it while hanging low enough to be silhouetted against the circular bay windows, making the glass shade sparkle in the natural light from any angle within the room.

To complete this cohesive look, another single Gainsborough pendant was installed in the open-plan sitting room. Here, the long cord drop complements the high ceiling, and again, the ceiling rose blends perfectly with the century-old original moulding. Because Emma involved us early in the project, we were able to check the ceiling rose sizes before installing the lights, ensuring a perfect fit.

We then turned our attention to the staircase, which spans four floors with various landings. Enhancing and celebrating the vertical space was a priority. We used a combination of multi-pendants cascading through the floors, with the longest being a 5 Multi Delphinium Pendant, dropping over 4 metres.

I really love the way the Delphinium Pendant on the second floor, hangs down into the stairwell. It always makes me smile!

The Delphinium multi-pendant reflects the lines of the existing wall mouldings, and the vertical lines of the long cord drops harmonise beautifully with the vertical balustrade spindles.

Lam Lighting picked out details that I wouldn’t have even considered myself, and the lights we’ve finalised on work better than I had hoped.

The Keats Pendant was installed across several floors and landings in various sizes to suit each space. The crisp outlines of the Keats pendant perfectly match the clean lines of the rooms.

In the bedrooms, the softer, more feminine shape of the Ophelia pendants provide a more intimate light. The high ceilings of this period building allowed us to use 1-metre cord drops, still leaving ample space beneath each pendant.