RHYTHM OF THE NIGHT

A NEW, CIRCADIAN-BASED MICRO TREND IN AMERICAN LIGHTING IS SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON HOW TO ENHANCE BRITISH HOMES TOO

- FEATURE Pip Rich

There's a design revolution quietly happening on the other side of the Atlantic, and it has made the Livingetc team sit up and take note. Lighting is innovating, and Ketra by Lutron is anecdotally becoming the interior designer's lighting system of choice. Yes, it's superhigh-end, what it actually does is fairly niche and yes, it's currently not available in the UK. But it's been recommended to us in conversation by so many US-based designers that we felt a report on it was necessary, if only because it solves problems we didn't know we had and because it's switched us on - pun intended - to some alternatives in the UK.

'If light is the unsung hero of interior design, Ketra is its quiet revolution,' says Poonam Khanna, founder of the New York-based studio Unionworks, who is a Ketra mega-fan, currently refitting her office to include a Ketra system. 'I believe light exists as a material, and if you use it sparingly and correctly then it can envelope you, sculpting the mood of the space. In temperament, light can be flashy and loud like a diva or restrained and quietly grazing surfaces to create a soothing calm around you. And Ketra allows it to be all these things, giving volume to the way you light.'