Work at the City Chambers centred on the refurbishment of the primary public areas, the main stair and the historic Council Chamber. The Chamber is actively used for Council meetings and other functions by the client, the City of Edinburgh Council. The refurbishment involved comprehensive upgrading of services and interior finishes. In the Council Chamber the architects, Smith Scott Mullan Associates, aimed to restore the room to its original appearance (c. 1904) with the help of archive photographs and paint-scrape sampling. Lighting plays an important role in all areas.

Lighting in the Council Chamber is provided by period brass chandeliers and matching wall lights. These fixtures are original, and have listed status as part of the interior fabric. Restoration of the fittings was undertaken by a specialist company and involved down-taking of the fixtures, removal from site to the workshop, full disassembly and stripping back, polishing, re-lacquering, reassembly and rewiring. New hand-blown diamond cut acorn glass shades were manufactured. These replica shades were based on a single surviving shade found in the building, and archive photographs. The intention was to restore the fittings as far as possible to their original appearance; this push for historical accuracy also influenced lamp selection.

The lamps used in the period fixtures in the Chamber were originally incandescent. The decision was made to use Osram Energy Saver halogen GLS replacement lamps in the restored fittings. These offer improved life and greater efficacy over standard incandescent lamps, while retaining the warmth, good colour rendering and dimmability so important in the Chamber. In addition, the nature of the glass shade needs the point source of the filament to add sparkle and reveal the prismatic quality of the diamond cut glass.

A key feature of the restored Chamber has been the introduction of a lighting control system. The pre-set scenes cater for a wide variety of uses, from naturally lit daytime meetings to evening receptions, formal dinners and weddings. The control system ensures lamp life will be maximised through dimming. Feature lighting such as LED edge-lighting to the dome and backlighting to the stained glass cupola are included within scenes for functions only, to provide energy savings through effective management.