Giles Kime: 'Darkness in an interior is equally as beguiling as large amounts of natural light'

Dark toned room with blue walls and brown furniture

(Image credit: Hector Finch)

At every WOW!house, there have been three types of room that have particularly piqued my interest — the ones that are small, those that are dark and, better still, those that are both. Natural light, height and space might be the ideal, but designers often tackle rooms that have few, if any, of these attributes — and working with them requires a particular type of cunning.

This year, notable examples were James Thurstan Waterworth’s snug for Hector Finch Lighting (main image), Nicola Harding’s powder room for Drummonds and Alex Dauley’s Nucleus Media Room. Collectively, they eloquently demonstrated that darkness in an interior is equally as beguiling as large amounts of natural light and also that achieving it is much more than simply wiring every electrical light with a dimmer switch.

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The Georgians were masters of the art of shadowy light, employing both candles and natural light with the help with mirrors and reflective surfaces, such as silver, damask textiles, gilt and lacquer, to bring a room discreetly to life. For inspiration, look no further than the exquisite interior of Dennis Severs's house at No 18, Folgate Street, London, that offers a magical insight into life before electric light.

As visitors to the Hector Finch rooms will have noted, modern lighting can be manipulated to have a similarly ethereal glow, principally with the help of lampshades that have a degree of translucency, notably silk, a material that was the secret to lights dreamt up by early-20th-century artist and designer Mariano Fortuny. Shades that are made from dark, opaque materials, such as heavy linen, simply throw the light downwards.

Hector Finch’s May Lamp, which featured in the space, was inspired by the architect and designer W. A. S. Benson and fitted with a shade in sari fabric. Another classic option is vellum, made from animal skin — Jamb, sells one in goatskin. Both exude a diaphanous light that offers respite for sore eyes.

This feature originally appeared in the August 13, 2025, issue of Country Life. Click here for more information on how to subscribe

Giles Kime is Country Life's Executive and Interiors Editor, an expert in interior design with decades of experience since starting his career at The World of Interiors magazine. Giles joined Country Life in 2016, introducing new weekly interiors features, bridging the gap between our coverage of architecture and gardening. He previously launched a design section in The Telegraph and spent over a decade at Homes & Gardens magazine (launched by Country Life's founder Edward Hudson in 1919). A regular host of events at London Craft Week, Focus, Decorex and the V&A, he has interviewed leading design figures, including Kit Kemp, Tricia Guild, Mary Fox Linton, Chester Jones, Barbara Barry and Lord Snowdon. He has written a number of books on interior design, property and wine, the most recent of which is on the legendary interior designer Nina Campbell who last year celebrated her fiftieth year in business. This Autumn sees the publication of his book on the work of the interior designer, Emma Sims-Hilditch. He has also written widely on wine and at 26, was the youngest ever editor of Decanter Magazine. Having spent ten years restoring an Arts & Crafts house on the banks of the Itchen, he and his wife, Kate, are breathing life into a 16th-century cottage near Alresford that has remained untouched for almost half a century.