Lighting a restaurant can require a different approach to residential properties. Not only is it important to reflect the personality and atmosphere of the venue, it is important to think about the needs of the diners, which will inevitably change throughout the day. The lighting required by a diner at breakfast or lunch for example, will be quite different to the expectations of someone visiting the restaurant in the event.
Our recent work at Maya is a perfect example of this. As an all-day brasserie found in the bustling London district of Knightsbridge, we needed to use different layers of lighting to create a scheme which delivers lighting scenes to take diners seamlessly from breakfast to dinner, and post-dinner drinks.
The illuminated ceiling in the restaurant is a masterpiece, and it needed to be balanced by the lighting in the rest of the space so as not to overwhelm diners. Understated soft wall lighting, table lamps and uplighting behind the banquette seating all achieve this desired effect. The use of extra warm white LED compliments the sumptuous tones of gold and champagne, which mirrors the warm welcome offered by Maya.
Unplugged table lamps in gold colours match the Flos K Tribe wall lights, which have been carefully selected to enhance the décor while providing the optimum lighting conditions for the brasserie.
Maya is a shining example of when a lighting designer fully immerses themselves in the needs of those who will use the space, to deliver outstanding results.