Nanoleaf Lines

The smart illumination brand's newest invention is its most appealing yet, says Mark Craven

- Mark Craven

IT WASN'T THAT long ago that the options for upgrading the lighting in your living room or movie den were a) buy more lamps, b) get a dimmer switch or c) re-wire for a complete overhaul. These days, thankfully, you can do so much more, with Wi-Fi networking and app control bringing creativity and customisation. And a smart lighting setup needn't have you calling in an electrician, either.

Nanoleaf is a company that formed in 2012 with the self-avowed ambition to 'shake up' the world of domestic lighting. Its first product was the NanoLight, a high-brightness yet energy-efficient bulb using multiple LEDs.

It has since developed a slate of architectural lighting solutions using flat LED-lit panels in various shapes (such as the Canvas squares, see HCC #308), and added app-based setup and control, plus integration with numerous smart platforms. It also still sells LED bulbs anc strips, all able to group in a Nanoleaf system.

Lines is the company's latest wheeze, and its most attractive yet. It offers all the feature skills of earlier panels but in a slimmer design that widens the scope for funky installations and feels less...well, in your face.

In the £179 starter kit you get nine Lines. Measuring around 28cm long, these mount tiny wall-facing LEDs - creating a diffuse glow - behind a matte white skin (pink and black skins are optional extras). Contact points at both ends allow them to click into hexagonal connectors. These connectors have an adhesive backing, so the Lines can be added to your wall without knocking holes, but they could also mount onto screwheads.