The Domus BF-2019 is a raw ceramic wall uplight made in Italy,350mm wide and 70mm deep, taking 2 G9 lamps anddesigned to be painted to match the wall.

It is meant to disappear. Raw ceramic is supplied unpaintedand can be finished with any water-based paint so it takes the exact colour ofthe wall it sits on and reads as a lit recess rather than as a fitting.

That is the whole idea, and it is why raw ceramic keeps being specified in hallways and stairwellswhere anything visible would be clutter. Paint it before it goes up, and paint it at thesame time as the wall so the sheen matches.

Two G9 lamps are required and are not included. Our record also flags thisfitting as colour-changing. It is not it is a ceramic shell with two replaceable lampholders and no LED in it at all. The colour of the light is whatever lamps you put in.

What an uplight of this shape does to a room

• All the light goes up the wall and across the ceiling. You see a soft wash and abright ceiling, and no source at all the fitting is below eye line and shielded.
• It makes a low ceiling feel higher, which is the reason to use it in a hallway ora stairwell rather than a downlight.
• Zero glare. Nothing to look into, so it works in a corridor people walk towards.
• It is not a reading light and it will not light a room on its own. Pair it withsomething task-oriented.
• It shows every flaw in the wall above it. Grazing light is unforgiving ona poorly finished plaster wall it will find every ripple.

Choosing the lamps

2 G9, 60W maximum for the fitting.

• 60W is the maximum for each lamp, not for the fitting.Across all 17 G9 fittings in the BF ceramic range the datasheet says 60W whether the fittingtakes one lamp or two, so the figure cannot be a total. The BF-2185 settles it:one G9, and its sheet says 40W the number tracks the lamp. TheBF-2020 states it outright in its own title: 2x60W.
• So the pair here is rated to 120W in total far more headroom thanyou need. We would still not run 120W of halogen in a closed ceramic body.Use LED G9s: 4W each gives roughly what a 40W halogen did, runs cool, and puts the pair at8W.
• Use LED G9s. A 4W LED G9 gives roughly what a 40W halogen did, runscool inside a ceramic shell, and removes the wattage question entirely.
• Choose a high-CRI G9 if the wall is a colour. A cheap G9 will flatten a paintedwall; CRI 90 will not.
• Both lamps must be the same colour temperature. Two different G9s in one fittingproduce a visibly split wash.

Living with ceramic

• Made in Italy, and it is a genuinely solid ceramic body rather than a coatedplastic.
• Ceramic chips. Handle it before painting, not after, and keep it out of corridorswhere furniture gets carried past at shoulder height.
• Repainting later means repainting the fitting, which is a feature if you want itinvisible and a nuisance if you change colours often.
• Warranty is one year, not the three most of this catalogue carries.

Where it works

• Hallways, stairwells and landings where a fitting should not be seen.
• Living rooms and bedrooms as ambient light alongside something else.
• Walls that are being painted anyway paint the fitting at the same time.
• Not bathrooms or outdoors raw ceramic and an indoor rating.
• Not as a room’s only light.
• Not on a poorly finished wall grazing light finds every ripple.

Specifying it

Raw ceramic wall uplight, made in Italy. 350mm wide, 70mm deep and70mm high. Requires 2 G9 lamps not included.60W maximum per lamp 120W across the two ( resolved by measuringthe whole BF range, not assumed). Suppliedunpainted and finishable with any water-based paint. 240V AC,indoor. 50,000hrs fitting life. Warranty 1 year. Our record flags it as colour-changing it is not; it has no LED, only lampholders.

Supplied and supported by Lights For You.

Questions

Do I have to paint it?

Not strictly, but it is designed for it. Raw ceramic is supplied unpainted and takes any water-based paint, so it can be finished in the exact colour of the wall and read as a lit recess rather than a fitting. Paint it before it goes up, and ideally at the same time as the wall so the sheen matches.

How big a lamp can I put in it?

Per lamp 60W each, so 120W across the two. We had this the wrong way round on this page until we measured the whole range, and it is worth saying how it was settled: across all 17 G9 fittings in the BF ceramic range the datasheet says 60W whether the fitting takes one lamp or two, so it cannot be a fitting total; the one-lamp BF-2185 says 40W, which shows the number tracks the lamp; and the BF-2020 states “2x60W” in its own title. None of which means you should run 120W of halogen inside a closed ceramic shell. Two 4W LED G9s are 8W, give roughly what 40W halogens did, and run cool. Ask us before fitting anything above about 20W a lamp.

Does it change colour?

No. Our product record carries a colour-changing flag and it is simply wrong this is a ceramic shell with two replaceable lamp holders and no LED in it at all. The colour of the light is whatever G9 lamps you put in, so choose those deliberately and make both the same.

Will it light a room?

No. It throws all its light up the wall and across the ceiling, which gives a soft ambient wash with no visible source and makes a low ceiling feel higher. That is what it is for. Pair it with something task-oriented if the room needs to be worked in.

Can it go in a bathroom?

No. Raw ceramic is porous until painted and the fitting is rated for indoor dry use. For a bathroom wall light, ask us for something with an IP rating suited to the zone.

Will it show up flaws in my wall?

Yes grazing light is unforgiving and it will find every ripple in the plaster above it. On a well-finished wall that is exactly the effect you want. On a patchy one, fix the wall first or choose a fitting that throws light away from the surface.

Why is the warranty only one year?

That is the term Domus gives the imported ceramic range rather than an error on this listing. Most of this catalogue is three years, so it is worth knowing when comparing on price. In practical terms a ceramic shell with replaceable lamps has very little in it to fail what it will not survive is being chipped.