Residential
From a single room refresh to a full smart lighting scheme, we design layered lighting plans that respond to your daily life. Morning scenes, evening ambience, garden uplighting.
Lighting design · for home and hospitality
Considered, layered lighting design for homes, holiday and hospitality venues. Based in Devon, and available to put together a cost-effective lighting plan wherever you are, whether you're building or renovating.
Bringing together decades of design and hospitality experience, tried-and-tested relationships with trusted suppliers around the world, and a genuine eye for how light should feel, to create spaces that feel extraordinary to live and work in.
What we do
From a single room refresh to a full smart lighting scheme, we design layered lighting plans that respond to your daily life. Morning scenes, evening ambience, garden uplighting.
Lighting that earns its keep. Great lighting often features in guest reviews, and is one of the most overlooked line items in the budget. We help create the atmosphere guests want to stay in.
True smart lighting goes beyond a dimmer switch. We design scenes, schedules and automations, security triggers, away modes, circadian rhythms, specified against professional protocols so whatever's installed just works.
Why South West Lighting Design
Most consultants charge a fortune for overspecified solutions, or installers simply fit what's in the trade catalogue. We take a different approach, combining serious design depth with a designer's eye and sourcing relationships that keep costs competitive.
Consumer-grade, commercial-ready. Decent consumer-level hardware is now reliable enough for commercial use, saving you thousands.
No mark-up.
Personal & accountable. You deal with one person, Ben, who designs and specifies your system personally, and supports it long-term.
Design-led thinking. We think about shadow, texture, colour temperature and layers, not just being able to see at night!
Who's behind it
Ben has been advising on design across the hospitality and interiors world since 2001, getting the details right (and learning from his mistakes!). You'll deal with Ben directly, from the first conversation through to final scene setting.
Smart Use Cases
For older adults who want to stay independent, and for families who want peace of mind without intrusive cameras, smart lighting is one of the most practical and dignified home technologies available.
Morning routines, movie nights, dinner parties, and everything in between. Smart living means your lighting adapts to how you actually use your home, without you having to think about it.
Restaurants, pubs and holiday lets need lighting that's simple enough for staff or guests to use, and robust enough to survive daily wear. Modern consumer grade hardware is now good enough for commercial, saving you thousands.
The process
No surprises. Just a clear, considered process from first conversation to finished result.
A call or video chat about your space, wherever you're based. We listen to what you want it to feel like, not just look like.
A clear lighting plan, fitting positions, colour temperatures, control logic, and a fully itemised shopping list.
You order direct from UK and global suppliers, no mark-up. Your electrician handles the install.
On hand for questions through installation and beyond, so every scene and schedule ends up exactly as planned.
Latest
10 August 2026
A bulb's CRI score decides whether tonight's menu looks appetising or grey under the lights. Standard LEDs sit around CRI80 and mute exactly the reds and browns that make food look good. Philips Expert Colour GU10s hit CRI97, so a rare steak and a flat white finally look the way they taste.
28 July 2026
Most people obsess over lumens and forget colour temperature entirely. A warm 2700K scheme can feel twice as inviting as a cooler, brighter one. Usually the first thing we adjust when a space feels "off" but no one can say why.
3 July 2026
After specifying MiBoxer gear across several projects, the short answer is yes. RGB+CCT control at a fraction of typical UK prices. This stuff isn't on Amazon, but the hardware is incredible. China is to lighting what Japan was to cars in the 90's!
8 June 2026
Guests rarely mention lighting directly in reviews, but it quietly shapes every photo and every evening spent in a holiday let. A handful of well-placed scenes often does more for bookings than another cushion or throw.
23 March 2026
One of my favourite hacks is to add a smart lightbulb to a normal lamp or ceiling rose. When you turn that light on, it can start a chain reaction of other smart lighting. So you're not even touching your phone or anything smart yourself.
13 November 2025
As I think about this more in my own life (and the people around me), how can we use basic smart lighting to help? No cameras, no complexity, just gentle automation that quietly supports independence and keeps family in the loop.
Get in touch
No-obligation quotes.
Drop us a message and we'll get back to you within one working day. Prefer to call? We're happy to chat through your project over the phone, it's usually the quickest way to get a feel for what's possible.
Thanks for getting in touch. We'll be back to you within one working day.