Sofitel St James Boardroom, UK

DesignPlusLight have designed a beautifully layered lighting scheme for the refurbishment of the Sofitel St James’ ground-floor meeting suite – reconfigured as a single large boardroom and executive private dining space. The brief called for a flexible, multi-functional space that could transition seamlessly between formal meetings and intimate dining, whilst elevating a rich interior palette of timber, aged brass and marble.

The design approach was deliberately minimal in luminaire types but rich in effect. Working with just three fixture families – trimless downlights, concealed linear striplight and integrated joinery lighting – DesignPlusLight created a discreet visual hierarchy that enhances craftsmanship and materiality while maintaining visual calm. Each layer was carefully composed to ensure adaptability without visual clutter.

A key architectural feature is the stepped timber coffer ceiling, which anchors the table and defines the room’s identity. Warm 2200K linear lighting within the coffer intensifies the timber’s tone and reveals its depth and detailing. Trimless mini downlights were concealed within the coffer to provide pin-spot illumination to the table surface, carefully shielding glare and preserving the seamless ceiling plane. Downlight layouts were mapped to support multiple scene settings – from a balanced ambient wash for boardroom use to more precise distributions for varied private dining configurations.

To soften the perimeter view, DesignPlusLight introduced concealed linear lighting behind ribbed glass and aged brass wall panels, producing a halo effect that creates a layered lattice of reflected light. This brings a lit texture and warmth to the vertical surfaces whilst concealing the source within the panelling.

The low windows offered limited daylight into the space. This was balanced by linear striplighting located in the sill, uplighting the soffit and putting the planting into silhouette. Decorative oversized table lights were introduced as a contrasting scale to the windows and to add a quirky charm to the space.

Linear striplight, concealed behind brass trims, uplight the marble-backed shelving to add a sense of depth to the joinery wall. Under-cabinet lights provide an additional accent to featured artwork. The combined front- and back-lighting technique within the joinery creates a gallery-like richness.

The existing KNX control system was reconfigured and adapted to support the new layout, enabling intuitive scene setting and smooth transitions between the different operational modes.

The result is a finely tuned lighting scheme where restraint, precision and warmth work beautifully to deliver a flexible and distinctly high-end hospitality environment.