Hey, Gemma. How's it going? Are you able to post some more pictures of the space, so we can see it from other angles and how it ties to other rooms (especially the kitchen)? Also, forgive me for asking, but where is the current dining table? Your eye is similar to mine in the choices you made and my living/ dining area is similar so I can certainly relate. It's difficult to know where to start because you're lucky enough to have a blank slate. I think all your ideas are good. I know you're changing your sofa which is good as the chaise element blocks the eye's flow to the light/ window. Something with long legs, with 2 seats - possible a loveseat - would also help to minimise the footprint. I agree with the paint colours. I'd probably paint the whole wall, in case you wanted to change things around at some point. It can also be very difficult to pull off, and especially with varying lights. How would you like the split to be between the dining and living areas? In one of your ideabook photos you have the 'zones' approach at 50/50 but I'm not sure if that's something you were going to carry through or whether the dining space would play a less prominent role. All that said, I think all your ideas are spot on and the space promises to look great.

Roof light over Dining table - as you need good task lighting over your cabinets and worktops - which can be tricky to span over a roof light - people at table can look up to the starry sky or sit bathed in sunshine ! ( if it's a nice day !) and eat by candlelight !!!

Ok firstly, we can work out the size of the room. (6.3m x 3m. Then multiply the answer by 25. So 18.9x25=472.5w) this will give you the amount of watts required as a rough guide for the room. Obviously layers of light are best so, the down lights over the worktops are a great place to start. Pendants, which can be switched separately to the down lights, over a table are good too. Under cabinet lighting and even lighting the plinths of the kitchen units at ground level or above the wall units add another dimension to the 'normal' look. Floors and ceilings are great for diffusing and reflecting light. Kitchens are always places where we struggle with shadows so again the spotlights over the worktops are best to help avoid this, but at the same time don't forget the rest of the room. You can always take light away, but to add it at a later stage is much much harder. Dimmable LED's will allow you to play more again with the lighting in the kitchen area if you choose to go for the option with more down lights. Consider the separate switching idea. There will be times when you want to make that last cuppa in the evening and the last thing you want is to walk in switch on the light and everything comes on at once! Romantic dinners, hectic family dinner times or a party are all different times when different levels of light are needed. Sorry that's a lot of info in a small space of time! But your right there is lots to be considered and you want to get it right. There are some more helpful hints on our website The Lighting Company and if your still struggling we are always available on the phone to help. PS we have a sale on until the end of the month!

Hi there, Sounds like an exciting time with your project! Having been through something very similar in the last 6 months I have to say, I couldn't agree with your final statement anymore if I tried! We had given very little thought to our lighting and I have to say, what we have ended up with enhances the room more than I couple possibly have imagined! I was a real sceptic about lighting at the outset! We have ended up with a very cleverly 'zoned' lighting system so that we can highlight the kitchen, dining and living areas of our open plan room separately. I am not sure if this is helpful but this is what we ended up with and how 6 months down the line of daily use and entertaining we actually use it in the room; 2 pendant lights on dimmers over a 2.5m dining table, with no downs lights in this area. 3 pendants over our island, also on a dimmer but with down lights in this area. 1 ceiling / pendant light in our seating area with additional down lights in this area. Additionally we have warm led strip lights on open shelving above our sink run in the kitchen. All of our down lights are on a dimmer in the main 'kitchen' and living parts of the room. In reality we next to never have the main down lights on, even with the dimmer as it feels like an airport runway, although I wouldn't want to be without them for the rare occasions where I am prepping a lot of food in the evenings prior to guests arriving etc. Whilst sitting in the living area watching TV we never have the down lights on and most commonly have the dining pendants on for some dim backlighting. When at the dining table we have the pendants there dimmed and use the LED strips on the shelving which creates a lovely glow in the rest of the room as background light. When cooking the LED strip and pendants on full above the island are plenty sufficient. All of the above was created by our very clever designer! Have you thought about getting someone to do you a professional lighting plan? It's a fraction of the cost of your electrics not to mention light fittings! Low hundreds in terms of costs. The other huge advantage from our perspective was we ended up with a very professional PDF document in 'electrician speak' which we were able to print and hand (or email) to the electricians who came to quote for the job. This meant there was no uncertainly, no communication errors and no room for the price to move once we got underway. It also meant we were comparing completely like for like with the different quotes! On top of that our designer got great trade discounts with fabulous lighting companies and passed her discounts onto us! I've attached our floor and lighting plan so you get a feel for the space and some reference to all my comments above. Hope it helps with a few ideas! Best wishes, Claire