Case study
Gated Modern House, St George's Hill
One unbroken roofline, light tucked into the glazing reveals and two drive trees wrapped — a modern house needs fewer lines, not more.
- Property
- Modern detached
- Area
- Weybridge, Surrey
- Wall type
- Stone cladding — no penetrations
- Palette
- Warm white, dimmed 40%
Schemes like this run £2,600–£3,900 for the season
The brief
A gated contemporary house on St George's Hill, Weybridge. Stone cladding, a flat roof with a deep overhang, and glazing across the whole ground floor. The owners had seen traditional schemes on neighbouring houses and did not want one — their words were "nothing fussy, nothing Victorian."
What we installed
- One continuous warm white line tucked into the roof overhang
- Light set into the glazing reveals, so the frames read as vertical marks
- Two driveway trees close-wound
- Everything dimmed to 40% output
How do you light a modern house without it looking like a shopfront?
Fewer lines, and hide the source. On a period house the light can sit on the edge because there is a gutter and a bargeboard to justify it. On a flat-roofed build there is nothing to decorate, so the run goes up inside the overhang where you see the glow and not the string. Dimming matters just as much: modern glazing reflects everything, and at full output the scheme appears twice, once on the wall and once in the glass.
Why it works
The house is already a set of strong horizontals. The lighting repeats them rather than arguing with them, and the two wrapped trees supply the only organic shape in the composition. It is the most restrained scheme in this library, and on this architecture it is also the most expensive-looking.
Related reading
Same treatment, your house
Tell us about the property
A few photos is all it takes. We'll come back with a scheme and a fixed seasonal price.
