Meet Helen

HelenBilt is a custom lighting company whose work lives at the intersection of raw, natural materials and luxe modernity. Crafted in Helen Gifford’s Sag Harbor studio on the East End of Long Island.

What sets a HelenBilt lighting project apart isn't just the finished piece. It's the way she thinks. British born, raised in Brunei and Montreal, and educated at Parsons School of Design, Helen brings a genuinely global sensibility to every client engagement allowing the interiors to feel intentional and alive, not assembled.

Helen is best known for designing lighting that lives alongside significant and valued art. She understands scale, tension, and negative space the way a sculptor does, not just a fabricator. If you have a serious collection, or want your lighting to feel as considered as the art you've chosen, that distinction matters. 

A woman standing on a balcony in a modern building with large chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.

  • "A professional team that delivers on their promises."

  • "Every detail was thoughtfully executed. We're thrilled with the outcome."

WHAT MAKES HELEN DIFFERENT?

MADE BY HAND

Always Custom

A woman standing on a step stool, fixing a chandelier on the ceiling. She is wearing a black top, striped apron, and jeans, with her hair short and blonde. The room has large windows with trees outside, and there are decorative objects and a ladder in the background.

Every piece, including her signature Urchin, Concord, and Vidro series, is designed, built, and curated by hand in Sag Harbor. When you commission a HelenBilt piece, you're not selecting from a catalog. You're beginning a conversation with a designer who will use everything she knows about your space, your collection, and your life to make something that couldn't exist anywhere else.

ONE-OF-A-KIND

Residential Design

Interior view of a living room with modern decor, white sofa with gray and navy cushions, a blue armchair with a white pillow, a marble coffee table with a flower arrangement, a large gray and blue patterned area rug, and multiple white hanging pendant lights resembling sea urchins. There are large glass doors leading outside, and a wall with a colorful mountain-themed picture.

For residential clients, that means lighting that doesn't just illuminate. It shifts how a room feels at different times of day, anchors a living space around its best features, and holds its own next to furniture and finishes you've invested in carefully.

CREATIVE UNIQUE

Retail and Restaurants

A bar with a variety of liquor bottles, wine bottles on a wall rack, and bar stools with red cushions in front.

Helen's ability to work across European and American design culture is a practical asset. She understands how light shapes a customer's experience, dwell time, and perception of quality, and she builds that understanding into every fixture and placement decision from the start.

A dining room with a large wooden table surrounded by upholstered chairs, three pendant lights hanging above, and a large window with sheer curtains that let in natural light.
A close-up view of a modern chandelier with five spherical, spiked white light fixtures hanging from a ceiling with wood paneling and suspended by white wires.

IN THE PRESS

HelenBilt's work has been recognized in national and international publications across design, shelter, and lifestyle media, including Interior Design, Metropolitan Home, House and Garden, The New York Times, Architectural Digest France, MAP Magazine Australia, and shelter publications in Germany, Greece, and Holland, with credits in Behind the Hedges, Palm Beach Illustrated, and Cottages & Gardens.

A woman with blonde hair wearing a light gray suit and black shirt, leaning on a black leather chair in a dark brick-walled room with the word 'oracle' partially visible on the wall behind her.

REACH OUT

Whether you have a question, an idea, or just want to say hello, feel free to reach out—we’re here to help.

Email
helen@helenbilt.com

Phone
(917) 449-9677

Address

PO Box 61
Sag Harbor NY 11963

EMAIL HELENBILT
EMAIL HELENBILT
917-449-9677
917-449-9677