How Lighting Shapes Hospitality Design: Q&A with Gwyn Carless at The Light Yard

Master craftsman Gwyn Carless & owner of The Light Yard Jeff Fuller

Lighting can make or break a hospitality space. In restaurants, cafés, and event venues, the right lighting design creates atmosphere, influences dwell time, and directly influences customer experience.

We were first introduced to Gwyn Carless at The Light Yard by Suzi Baker PR Consultancy, who also happens to be our own marketing lead at Cooper8. Suzi only works with the best, so we knew straight away this was a company worth paying attention to. And they did not disappoint.

From their work on Jardin Blanc at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, where Chef Raymond Blanc OBE hosted a pop-up restaurant unlike anything else, to their collaboration with Focus SB (a Hastings-based manufacturer whose factory we’ve visited and whose craftsmanship we know first-hand), Gwyn Carless at The Light Yard’s reputation speaks for itself.

What struck us most, though, was their connection between lighting, emotion, and nature… an approach that complements ideas like biophilic and human-centric design, but feels more instinctive, more about creating an atmosphere people genuinely feel.

Your journey began with those lit façades in Avignon and a love of architecture. Is architecture still what inspires you most — or has something else taken over?

Yes, architecture still plays a crucial role in inspiring me, particularly through the various effects and techniques used to illuminate buildings, bridges, and other structures at night. For me, lighting plays a pivotal role in creating the environment around us, and it always fascinates me that most people don’t notice or appreciate it unless, of course, it’s terrible.

You mention in your video that inspiration often comes from simply being out in the world. How does that instinctive way of seeing shape the way you design for hospitality spaces?

It doesn’t have a direct impact on the way a hospitality space is lit, as this is usually a collaborative effort between the architect, lighting designer, and client. We are more involved in the design of the luminaire itself, drawing inspiration from nature; even man-made structures can be a great source of inspiration. Anything with an interesting form or a shape that naturally flows can influence our designs.

My (Jeff) background in hospitality has allowed us to approach both the design and service we provide in a slightly different way than the norm. Hospitality is all about giving a customer an emotional experience, and it’s a massive privilege for us to play a small part in shaping that emotion.

Material choice seems central to your work. How do you approach selecting finishes that feel right – especially in settings where durability and mood both matter?

Yes, materials are an incredibly important factor, and we tend to lean towards organic, warm, and natural materials, such as raw brass, copper, and gold leaf, for example. The light sources we choose for our fittings are also vitally important, and we specifically select very warm (2100K) Edison-style LED filaments, as these work exceptionally well with our finishes. Our distressed copper leaf pendants, for example, are often described as looking and feeling like “the crackling embers of a log fire”.

Over the past few years, we’ve been incorporating raw mild steel into our designs, which adds an element of industrial chic to a hospitality setting. Controlling the rate of oxidation (a naturally occurring process where moisture and oxygen react with the surface of the steel) is something we focus on, and it’s always fascinating to watch the natural patina (rust) develop, as the patterning, texture, and gorgeous earthy colour tones are different every single time.

Lighting has such a subtle but powerful effect on how people feel in a space. What role do you think it plays in the emotional experience of a restaurant or cafe?

Absolutely! Creating the emotional experience is everything, and the lighting is fundamental to achieving that. We work closely with lighting and interior designers to create an inviting, premium atmosphere, enhancing the overall customer experience. Creating layers of light using ambient, task lighting, and accent lighting can be used to draw the eye into key areas, such as the bar, for example.

A careful balance of using different colour temperatures (2400K -4000K) and a variety of fixture types creates a well-balanced scheme. Getting the correct light levels (lumens) is also a key factor in any hospitality design, and both too harsh or too dim can create a negative experience. An element often overlooked is the colour rendering (CRI) of a lighting design. Luminaires with a low CRI will not only make the food look unappetizing but also have a negative impact on the decor and even skin tones.

What’s one common lighting mistake you see in hospitality spaces, and what would you suggest instead?

Not consulting a lighting designer. It’s that simple and something that is overlooked time and time again. Understanding the importance of a balanced lighting scheme and the profoundly emotional effect it can have on customers when executed correctly can be a game-changer and in the highly competitive hospitality sector can have a direct impact on profitability.

What kind of projects are exciting you most at the moment – anything new you’re exploring or dreaming up?

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show gets us excited every year. Since our involvement in 2019, each year it’s been an enormous privilege to be responsible for the exterior lighting design of the exclusive hospitality area, previously headed up by Chef Raymond Blanc OBE as his pop-up restaurant “Jardin Blanc” and more recently by one of London’s most prestigious events companies “, Alison Price & Co”. Gwyn, by nature, is an obsessive creative, and his workshop is filled with designs, prototypes, and ideas. The creative process is always fascinating to me, and out of the numerous designs he comes up with each year, one or two usually end up in production! We are currently working on a very special collaboration with a world-renowned sculptor, and all will be revealed in the Spring of 2026.

 

Final Thoughts

This Q&A revealed to us just how much care and creativity goes into Gwyn Carless at The Light Yard’s designs. They spoke about light as an emotional experience – rooted in nature, shaped by materiality, and crafted with instinct. It’s a reminder that lighting is so much more than “putting in a lamp”: it’s about how people feel, how food looks, and how memories are made in a space.

We especially loved their point about involving a lighting designer from the very beginning. It echoes our own belief in hospitality design-  that the best results come when specialists are involved at concept stage, not as an afterthought. Get those fundamentals right, and everything else flows.

What shines through most is the care Gwyn Carless at The Light Yard put into their work. From experimenting with natural patinas to capturing the warmth of firelight, their designs are crafted to create atmosphere you can’t quite put your finger on –  but that you’ll always remember. That kind of instinctive, emotional approach means you’d be in safe hands with their design services. It’s no surprise their work is gaining recognition in the wider design world too (including an SBID award for their collaboration with Focus SB). It’s another reminder that lighting, when treated as part of the design process rather than an afterthought, has the power to elevate spaces far beyond the functional.

We’re genuinely inspired by their vision and are looking forward to developing this relationship further and finding more ways to celebrate how light and hospitality design come together to create unforgettable experiences.

Written by Giorgia Lardner, Cooper8