Spot on lighting for RSPB Loch Leven’s new café

Cat Lighting is one of over 120 exhibitors at The Scottish Homebuilding & Renovating Show at the Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston 4 – 5 October 2025, where she will present a masterclass on getting lighting spot on.

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Clare worked with the Marketing & Design team at RSPB Loch Leven to upgrade and bring a wildlife theme to the interior of the refurbished Café.

Any refurbishment project is a brilliant opportunity to introduce some well designed and uplifting lighting. That’s what Clare Wade of Cat Lighting was asked to do by the Marketing & Design team at RSPB Loch Leven’s Café, bringing a professional eye to the lighting requirements and style.

Known for its stunning location and fabulous views, the café was being somewhat let down by an outdated design scheme featuring a lime green floor and an orange-pine chalet-style roof, with lighting limited to random pendants also in lime green.

So the challenge was on:

• How to bring light and life into the environment
• Lift the heavy ceiling
• Provide modern, practical lighting in the servery area
• Create a welcoming and safe approach up the stairs to the café.

First up – Lift the ceiling!

Instead of down-facing pendants, the solution was to run powerful led strip along the numerous beams which immediately projected light upwards, making an intriguing feature of the angles and heights of the ceiling.  

The difference was immediate and opened everything right up from feeling slightly oppressive to spacious and inviting.

The original pendants were replaced with more stylish versions which matched the new wall lights, again pushing light upwards as well as providing ambient light around the room.

Lighting up the Servery

An important part of the project was to provide efficient and practical lighting for the servery area. To manage costs, the original pendants were upcycled with a new coat of paint to provide comfortable, non-glary light above the counter, while bright spotlights were installed above the coffee machine wall as an efficient working area.  

A line of concealed led strip along the side walls provided uplight to the roof, again creating a feeling of space and airiness.

Bring in life - and wildlife!

The piece de resistance without doubt was the installation of quirky and distinctive ‘Bird Lights’ in the seating area, which have become a much-recognised and visible brand statement for the café.

Before the lights were installed some considerable time was spent deciding on how many would be needed and the best positions and ‘flock combinations’.  These were the choices:

Eventually we sourced them with a degree of trepidation not knowing how well they were going to work - or even what to expect when the box was opened.  In the event the Bird Lights have been a hugely popular success (with regular requests to find out where to buy them)!

Welcoming people in

Finally, we needed to ensure that the previous rather gloomy, unexciting approach to the café was enhanced with bright and stylish lighting up the stairwell that would provide safe access in and out, and highlight the welcome message being told in the wall panels. 

Outcome

The project successfully demonstrated how investment in the services of a professional Lighting Designer can make a significant difference to not just the look of a space but also the sense of welcome, interest, functionality and atmosphere.

For advice or a general chat about lighting your commercial or residential space, contact Clare Wade at www.catlighting.co.uk, 07715 608801 clare@catlighting.co.uk