Whether you’re investing in a conservatory for your own home or installing one for a customer, lighting is a key factor. It’s easy to enjoy this naturally lit space when bathed by the sun, but with the right lighting it’ll become a room to relax in night and day, the whole year round.
Direction is important
One important aspect of conservatory lighting is direction of light. In most rooms of a house, light reflects off walls and ceilings to create widespread diffused illumination. This is not the case in a conservatory, where misdirected light will simply escape, and might cause glare.
The hallmark of successful conservatory lighting is that it seamlessly connects the house to the garden, with a multi-layered lighting scheme that is both visually stimulating and welcoming. Ideally, this should extend to the garden itself rather than ending abruptly with a dark void.
Our top 10
To help you plan your lighting scheme, we’ve put together a list of our 10 most popular lights, chosen for conservatories:
-
Sunbeam Wire Light System
Ideal for uneven ceilings, the Searchlight Thunder Wire Light System allows you to easily introduce overhead lighting in a conservatory. Each of the unobtrusive lights can be positioned anywhere along the wire, so this is a flexible way of highlighting display items or room features, and looks great when layered with a softer, overall light.
-
Edit Eye 3 Light Spotlitght Bar
The Eye 3 Light Spotlight Bar is another way of providing directional light in a conservatory, and being wall mountable it is installable onto the wall that was previously on the exterior the house prior to the conservatory being built, if necessary.
-
Limina Plaster Floor Uplighter
Uplighters provide dramatic accent lighting to emphasise texture and form, and can be used to provide a feeling of extra space by lighting walls and corners. The Limina Plaster Floor Uplighter is an excellent choice for a contemporary conservatory, and can be painted to match any environment.
-
Elva Twin Spotlight
The modern-looking Elva Twin Spotlight is a versatile fitting with exceptional adjustability in each light head. This is an IP44 rated fitting that can also be used outside and is made of quality aluminium.
-
Friend LED Floor Lamp with USB Charging Port
A nice feature of the Friend Floor Lamp is its built-in dimmability. The ability to control light is useful in a conservatory, as it enables you to balance artificial and natural lighting according to outside conditions. The Montana offers a reading lamp as well as an uplighter plus a handy USB charging port and shelf – perfect for charging your phone.
-
Edit Berkley Table Lamp
Table lamps provide a great final touch in a conservatory, emitting a warm, soft glow of light to help make it a comfortable space, our top pick is this large statement lamp, the Berkley Table Lamp.
A pendant is virtually a must-have if the conservatory is to be used as a dining area, so the structure of the conservatory may need to be chosen or adapted accordingly.
-
Lucide Soft Pendant
No pendant could be more befitting to a conservatory than one derived from nature. The Lucide Goosy Soft Pendant fits directly into an existing lamp-holder and makes a stunning centrepiece for dining areas.
-
Forum Agol
Another shade-only lighting solution is the beautiful Agol Easy-fit Shade by Forum. Manufactured in a soothing smoked finish, this shade can be accompanied by a large globe bulb to produce a beautifully diffuse, widespread light.
-
Dynamo Pendant Light
For a retro look that will adorn many conservatories there’s the Dynamo Pendant. This fitting is available in a choice of coloured and metal finishes. A halogen bulb delivers bright overall lighting from this pendant, though a decorative-filament bulb has more visual appeal and typically emits a warmer glow of light. Remember that all filament bulbs are dimmable with the appropriate switch.
-
Edit Rondure Pendant
Another mood-inducing light is the Edit Rondure Pendant, which has a gold inner shade project a warm toned light. This fitting is perfect for low suspension over a dining table, where it will excel at defining space and creating intimacy.
Self-sufficient garden lighting
You might think a conservatory is a prime candidate for solar powered lights. Unfortunately, window glass greatly reduces a solar panel’s ability to gather power, so any indoor lighting would have to be driven by an outdoor solar panel. Removable solar panels are very occasionally used in small indoor light fittings, but for the time being this idea remains impractical and largely untapped. We’ll let you know when this changes.
For more advice, inspiration and news take a look at our Lighting Advice section.
Andrew Evangelidis Head of Buying
Andrew is an experienced buying professional who takes an entrepreneurial approach to identify new lighting solutions and ensure Lyco have first-to-market ranges for our customers. Having previously worked for well known brands such as Wickes, Carphone Warehouse and Toys R Us, Andrew has now turned his hand to sourcing commercial lighting and ensure our customers receive top brand quality products at marketing leading prices. He manages a team of commercial and decorative buyers who travel the world finding new products that our customers don’t even know they need yet.