1 Strip lighting draws attention to detailing without ever having to shine a direct light on it. It can punctuate a property's features and can be used to great effect in every room in the house. In this bedroom at Urban Hotel QO in Amsterdam, designed by Tank Architecture & Interior Design, Conran&Partners in association with IHG's interior design department, the headboard is backlit to create a restful mood that swaddles you in warm slumber-inducing glow. qo-amsterdam.com; tank.ie; conranandpartners.com; mulderblauw.nl; paulderuiter.nl
2 Originally opened in 1910. Regular guests at the Hotel Lutetia, in vibrant Saint-Germain-des-Prés area of Paris, included Picasso, Josephine Baker and James Joyce, who is said to have written some of Ulysses while staying here and to have played Irish ballads on the piano in the bar. As part of its recent refurbishment, esteemed French architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte's attentive eye juxtaposed contemporary cool with original features. In this suite, for example, a strip-lit corner screen creates vertical and horizontal bands of light that subtly echo the arched shape of the window. The result is a very restful space that features furniture by Porro Contract. hotellutetia.com; wilmotte.com; porro.com
3 What looks like a simple strip tube follows the line of the one of the upright beams at Nobu Hotel Shoreditch, the Nobu Hospitality Group's first London hotel, which was founded by world-acclaimed chef Nobuyaki Matsuhisa, award-winning actor Robert De Niro, and Hollywood film producer Meir Teper. Designed by Ron Arad Associates and Ben Adams its interior by Studio PCH and Studio Mica, the latter won an Ahead award from Sleeper Magazine for its lobby and hospitality areas. Incorporating Japanese textures such as clay pottery, wood shoji screens, traditional patchwork and charcoal stone helps to ground the look of this bathroom while still giving it a modern feel. nobuhotelshoreditch.com; studiomica.co.uk; sleepermagazine.com
4 Lighting company Cameron Design House has collaborated with interior design firm 2LG Studio to create a new range of sculptural lighting, a cool reimagining of the traditional fluorescent tubes used in kitchens. In this instance a Victorian property has sexy Capsule strip lights installed, giving it an ultra-modern edge. Made up of three unique designs: Alas, a single vertical strip costs from about €2,920; Keski, a double-ended horizontal option; and Saldo, an off-centre double-ended horizontal design cost from about €3,365, ex delivery. The range comes in four finishes; polished brass, soft pink, tropical green or electric blue finishes. The Rise Kitchen, in which the lights are pictured, was designed by 2LG Studio for John Lewis of Hungerford with photography by Megan Taylor. camerondesignhouse.com;2lgstudio.com
5 If you have good ceiling heights at home you can eschew traditional central pendant lighting for a coffered effect, with strips of lighting illuminating the drop faux ceiling, as can be seen here at Quay 41, the reimagined bar at Dublin's Morrison Hotel, designed by Elizabeth Kirby and David Loughnane of Invent Interiors. It allows you to wash a room in light without direct illumination. It looks softer and feels more welcoming and will work in any space with decent ceiling heights. inventinteriors.com; morrisonhotel.ie
6 A simple strip light as a floor lamp or wall light is an affordable way to buy into this trend. Italian fun house Seletti's Linea, about €75 for the tube and €17 for its floor stand, is one option, available from Amara. Etailer made.com sells a similar style, also called Linea, in brass or copper finishes, for about €156, while Habitat's Illume is a white LED strip that costs about €168, all ex delivery from the UK. amara.com; made.com; habitat.co.uk
7 Primrose yellow strip lights are a very subtle way of bringing a sense of spring into this lounge, a room that is bedecked in this season fashion shades of terracotta and burnt orange. It is part of a scheme designed by London-based Staffan Tollgard Design Group for an arts and crafts mansion in Kingston, on the capital's outskirts. tollgard.co.uk
8 Israeli lighting designer Naama Hofman designed the very cool lighting for Masscob, a women's boutique in Palma, Mallorca. It includes the Chandelier Tube 2 pictured, about €3,000, ex delivery, that you can buy on online store Nedgis where you can also buy her strip wall lights, €795 each, which look particularly good when set in a row in a room as she did in the Mansura Restaurant in Tel Aviv. naamahofman.com; nedgis.com
9 Strip lighting has really practical uses too as can be seen in this Leicht utility room designed by McNally Living. The strips are set above each set of pantry shelving so you can see at a glance what you're looking for. In a new build, the lighting can also be designed to come on automatically when you open the door, meaning if you're laden down, you don't have to start fumbling to find the relevant light switch. mcnallyliving.com; leicht.com
