You are building from scratch. The slab is weeks away, the trades are lined up, and lighting is sitting somewhere near the bottom of a very long list.
Then someone mentions a lighting designer, and the first question is always the same. What is this going to cost me.
It is a fair question, and the answer is more interesting than a single number. On a new build you are designing from the ground up, which changes both the cost and the result. So here is what professional lighting design actually costs on a new home in Australia, and what you are paying for.
Key Takeaways
On a new build, the cost is mostly in the size: more rooms means more lights, cable, labour and switch plates.
Concept and Documentation are fixed fees, with Construction and Commissioning charged hourly.
For a typical high-end project, lighting design runs $10,000 to $40,000 and supply $80,000 to $250,000.
Designing from the ground up gives the best outcome and the fewest surprises during the build.
Independence and passed-on discounts mean procurement costs you the equivalent of buying at RRP.
Plan your lighting before construction starts, because every slab poured before then is an opportunity lost.
Why a new build costs differently
Pricing is very project specific, and new builds sit differently to renovations and heritage homes.
A new build is generally larger, with interior and exterior spaces, so the cost is in the size. A renovation has fewer spaces to light, but access, wiring and installation can be challenging, so the cost is in the time spent specifying fittings that can be installed with minimal problems.
Heritage homes have wiring constraints and often cabling and accessibility restrictions, so the focus shifts to installation and using existing wiring locations.
On a new build the cost is in the scale. On a reno or heritage home it is in the constraints.
How the fees are structured
Every project is quoted with fixed fees for the first two phases, then hourly rates for the rest.
Concept Phase runs $3,000 to $7,500, and Documentation Phase runs $4,500 to $15,000, both as fixed fees. The Construction and Commissioning phases are charged at hourly rates, because the time involved depends on how the build unfolds on site.
Fixed fees where we can predict the work, hourly where the site decides.
Does location change the cost
Our fees are calculated the same way regardless of where the home is.
The main change for location is near salt water. Projects close to beaches and the harbour require marine grade fittings, so they do not corrode prematurely and need frequent replacement. That affects the fittings, not the design fee.
Location does not change the fee. Salt air changes the fittings.
What to budget for
As a broad steer for the average project we work on, lighting design is $10,000 to $40,000, and lighting supply is $80,000 to $250,000.
This is the top end of the lighting market in NSW, and by no means a standard home or project, so use it to work out roughly where your build sits.
Design from $10,000 to $40,000, supply from $80,000 to $250,000, at the top end of the market.
What drives the price on a new build
Unequivocally, size. A big house has to cost more. More square metres mean more lights, more cabling and more switch plates, and automation is additional on top of that.
The main cost drivers are:
more rooms to design for
more lights required
more cable required
more labour required
more switch plates required
Bigger home, bigger fee. The size of the house sets the size of the job.
The value of designing from the ground up
Designing from scratch, before walls and ceilings are set, ensures the best design outcome and far less chance of issues during the build. All the design and detail is documented and communicated to the team early.
Retrofitting is the opposite. Apartment upgrades are the most expensive per square metre, because there are so many constraints inside the ceiling cavity that are unknown at the design and procurement stage.
From the ground up is the cheapest way to get the best result.
How independence pays for itself
A new build has a lot of fittings to specify, and this is where our independence earns its keep.
Being independent means we can specify and purchase the best fittings for the design and budget. Passing on industry discounts means procurement costs you the equivalent of buying at RRP, with the added bonus of us running the ordering, receiving, checking and labelling of the lights, plus insuring and storing them.
You pay the equivalent of RRP, and we handle everything around it.
What the fee gets you, phase by phase
Across a fresh construction, the full fee and five phases each save a client something specific.
Concept
Every space is considered for how it is used, and the lighting is designed to balance functionality and aesthetics, so nothing is missed. The preliminary budget gives you an accurate view of where the design is heading and where you could make savings.
Documentation
The design is documented, specified and detailed, so it is installed as intended with minimal issues and costs through purchase and installation.
Construction
Being on site before the first slab pour educates the build team on the design, the fittings and the installation requirements for concrete, gyprock and more. Every site visit is a chance to catch issues while they are small, instead of at the end where they become major and expensive.
Procurement
Because lighting is our specialty and we specified the fittings, running procurement means the correct lights are ordered in the stages required. Concrete cases are on site before the slab pour, plaster set profiles are ready when the gyprockers arrive, and the electrical specifications suit the controls and switches being used.
Commissioning
Left to the programmer, you get a bright scene and a dim scene, with everything at 100% or 50%. It looks flat and lifeless, with random areas as the feature, because every light dims differently. The scenes need to be set on site, with the designer and programmer together, at day, dusk and evening.
Every phase quietly removes a cost you would otherwise pay later.
The costly mistake on new builds
Costly mistakes are usually two-fold. Not planning early means the team only allows for a basic grid downlight design. Adding lights or changing it later means more cable, cut ceiling timbers blocking installation, and patched redundant downlight holes.
The biggest cost comes when the home goes up for sale, because a poorly considered or rushed design devalues a property. Excellent lighting design really is the icing on the cake and the cherry on top.
A project in Hunters Hill called us after all the rough-in and cabling was done, once they realised they did not want a sea of downlights. We went to site and redesigned around the existing cabling as best we could. The result was much improved, but not as good as it would have been if we had designed from the start.
A rushed design does not just cost more to fix. It can lower the value of the home.
The one thing to take away
Plan your lighting before construction starts.
Every slab poured and wall built before the lighting plan is complete is an opportunity lost and a design compromised. Early is cheaper, and early is better.
Design before you build. That is the whole secret.
If you are planning a new home and want the lighting sorted before the slab goes down, it is worth a conversation about the right approach for your build and budget.
You can start here on your next project.
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Concept Phase is a fixed fee of $3,000 to $7,500, and Documentation Phase is a fixed fee of $4,500 to $15,000, with Construction and Commissioning charged hourly. For a typical high-end project, lighting design totals around $10,000 to $40,000 and lighting supply $80,000 to $250,000. The biggest factor is the size of the home, because more rooms means more lights, cable, labour and switch plates.
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Per square metre, yes. A new build lets us design from the ground up before walls and ceilings are set, which avoids the unknowns and rework that make renovations and apartment upgrades the most expensive per square metre. Designing early means the whole team works to a documented plan, so there are fewer surprises and fewer costly fixes during the build.
