Aceum ('ay-see-um') are the experts in garden lighting design, landscape lighting, interior lighting, consultancy and installation, across the south of England. We are experienced specialists in lighting and electrical requirements of prestige properties and listed buildings, and have created the lighting for national award winning gardens. Aceum delivers the highest standards of workmanship and superb value for money. Our service is truly professional and always courteous - something that is borne out by the testimonials from our many delighted clients.
Based in Hindhead, Surrey, Aceum is a design consultancy and installer for both interior and exterior lighting projects.We regularly work with leading architects and interior designers, plus award winning garden designers and landscapers, to create stunning living spaces. Most importantly, we work with you, the client, as friends and advisors, to help make your wishes come true.
We proudly provide specialist professional lighting design services (prestige and historical property lighting, garden and landscape lighting, architectural lighting, museum and gallery lighting, hospitality and retail lighting) without the huge cost of the large lighting design agencies.
Aceum's founder and lead designer is Andrew Dean. With an academic background in art and design, a lifelong passion for gardening and architecture, many years immersed in theatre lighting, and full electrical credentials, Andrew is the ideal person to help you with your lighting requirements and ensure that the result will be extra special. All Aceum staff are experienced professionals, dedicated to one thing: giving you superb, friendly service with exceptional value for money (you really will be pleasantly surprised!).
We believe that gardens should be beautiful, enjoyable and usable, by day and by night. No properly designed space can reach its full potential without properly designed lighting
...something that requires both artistic and technical expertise.
You may have a garden that you already enjoy during the day, or have ideas for a beautiful new garden to come. Either way, you should be able to enjoy your garden in the evenings too, and your garden deserves to be lit with the same artistry and expertise that that was put into the landscaping and the planting.
Outside lighting can cost the earth (in both senses) if it is not designed and specified properly:
• For it to compliment your garden correctly, your designer needs years of horticultural and lighting experience
• For it to be completely safe, legal and long lasting, your installer must be a qualified and Part P registered electrical installer
Aceum's credentials are completely unrivalled in these three combined fields, which is why we are the choice of top award winning landscapers, designers and gardeners. We are much imitated but never matched.
We only use high quality outside lights and materials that are tried and tested by us, and that offer excellent value to our clients.
Protecting the environment is important to us, and our aim is always to keep running costs and carbon footprint to a minimum without compromising design in any way. We can help you achieve all your requirements without falling foul of the many rules and regulations concerning nuisance lighting, wildlife protection, and light pollution. With Aceum, you will be both safe and legal.
Exterior, and specialist interior, projects are taken on across the south of England. To have an informal chat about your requirements, or to arrange a free estimate visit, please call or email us anytime. We very much look forward to hearing from you. I wonder how many interior architects/designers would draw up plans without any mention of lighting and power fixtures. Well, the answer is none. They wouldn't dream of building, plastering, decorating, carpeting and furnishing an interior, only to then think about channelling cables into walls and through ceilings. And yet, the equivalent still happens all too often in landscape and garden design. This is not trying to suggest that those involved in the landscape side are being remiss in any way. Far from it. Many landscape designers are extremely adept at assessing the effects of changing daylight, and incorporating these into their designs. However, it does seem a great pity, when modern lifestyles are spread over so many more hours of the day and night, and when new technologies are constantly providing better methods of illumination, that many designers are failing to see the real benefit of outdoor spaces that are both useable and enjoyable during the hours of natural darkness, as well as during the day. Yes, incorporating lighting adds yet another layer of complexity to the already complex work of the landscape designer, and proper lighting design is a combined art form and science that requires much knowledge and experience. That is why working with a professional lighting designer from the outset is both a time saver and a very shrewd investment for the landscape designer.
Proper landscape lighting professionals will open up new insights in the landscaper’s design, bringing out additional aspects of the landscaping and planting in a way that is only possible with well crafted artificial light. This can give the proposal to the client a powerful new unique selling point. Moreover, a landscape lighting designer will ensure that electrical safety is made a top priority throughout, that all national and local regulations concerning power and lighting are strictly adhered to, that efficiency is maximised and life of system running costs are minimised, and that light pollution and light nuisance are given the utmost attention. The two design disciplines complement each other perfectly and, in our experience, the working relationship is a stimulating and enjoyable one for both parties. However, one can imagine that that relationship might become very strained if the owner of a newly installed designer garden suddenly decides that it would now be nice to have it lit at night. Retrofitting lighting in a garden, so that it is unobtrusive and yet effective, is a difficult and painstaking process (we know, because we do it regularly with heritage gardens) and all that extra bother can be obviated in a new garden if the lighting is taken into consideration from the outset of the design project. Choice of lighting designer is important. Domestic electricians often pass themselves off as designers because they are qualified to install outdoor lights but the results are usually very disappointing and expensive to rectify. Lighting engineers may be great at the functional lighting but might lack the artistic flair to create appropriate effect lighting, or the required horticultural knowledge to really draw out the very best from the landscape at night. Including lighting design at the landscape design stage will save money and time in the long run, will provide a more attractive sales proposition, and will produce a better end result than will be achieved if it is added as an afterthought.
Contact Us
07899 655785
info@aceum.co.uk
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An article by Andrew Dean of Aceum
- published in the journal of the Association of Outdoor Lighting Professionals in the USA
An opportunity missed
Added value
A stitch in time
Choose wisely
Include lighting