Post 2 in our “How to...” series

This dream home has no problem bringing
in the light, but evenings bring a different
challenge, as the night skies turn glass
walls black!

Let there be light!

The compact (read tiny) studio flat that I was updating for a client on my quick hop to France last week was lucky enough to have wonderful floor to ceiling windows, that helped so much to make this restricted space feel liveable.  But not all rooms have this rare advantage. So what happens if you're feeling you're lacking light in your space?
 
Well there are lots of design solutions that can help, some more costly than others. Let's start with the more basic (and less expensive) ones...

I always begin by taking down the existing window treatments: the drapes, blinds, shutters and any fabric hangings. This is how I discover and appreciate the shape and surround of the openings in their full glory.

Than I get cleaning! It's amazing how dirty and grimy windows get (and quickly!) and it's also amazing that up to 60% of light can be diffused by unclean glass. So make your panes sparkle! Take a look at our spring cleaning tips earlier in the blog to find the tricks of the trade to make glass gleam.

Working without, or with minimum window treatments can effect the look of the room in many ways. I love that architectural feel that nude openings create. The frames become majestic and the window itself almost a living picture. Of course, not every view is worth making a focal point of, so for those of us with a less than perfect outlook, some form of “dressing” is needed, but try not to “drown” the windows again with solutions that hide the opening. Window treatments should enhance, compliment and balance the whole aesthetic of the opening itself, and the room it's part of. Which leads us to the question: “When should I choose the soft furnishings/blinds etc for the windows?”

When design at distance designers work on a project, the proposition of your soft furnishings always falls into the 3^rd stage of the design process. Your design brief has been confirmed (that's the specific list of functional problems to address, design wish-list, and likes and dislikes related to your space and your lifestyle/home needs) your layout decided upon, THEN and only then do we start to look at fabrics, materials, colours, accessories, and lighting solutions.

So, the answer is, only start to choose your soft furnishings when you are sure in your own mind, what you are working towards (knowing why helps too) and you have your finished vision clearly defined. This does not mean that if you truly fall “head over heels, I have to have it!!” in love with a specific print, that you cannot use it as the base of your inspiration, therefore choosing it before you start work on the overall design.

Once your choice of fabric/material (wood, stiffened canvas, etched perspex....) has been made, then the WAY you dress the window has to be chosen, and at times these roles need reversed! If you have decided to conserve the “openness” of the window, and have taken the decision to use say, panels that slide away from the opening during the day to become “wall art”, this obviously influences your choice of “material” used.

Remember we are looking at optimizing light here, so make sure that curtain rails are long enough to allow the fabric to be pulled away, and beyond the glassed area, and that they are fixed high enough on the wall not to infringe on the frame. All this will let the light enter to it's maximum.

Window frames, and woodwork are often painted in white. Not only do lighter and contrasting shades help define detail, but white and light window frames also help reflect...light! So do as homeowners before us have been doing for generations, tidy up your window frames: wash down and re-paint where needed to help bring in those rays!

More costly solutions involve bringing in artificial light to a room. There are many ways this can be done, from back lit wall panels, illuminated art work (our sister company, design 4U, which is available through both our online store, The d @ d Design Store, and via our design services, can propose many custom solutions, to add both light and art to your space) as well as integrated spots, and their more modern alternatives.

Many of these solutions are created to add “secondary lighting”, a glow that raises the overall luminosity within the room, but properly used, they can also bring a level of design, accentuating architectural detail, or helping create it where it's lacking.

Using “traditional lighting” practices.

We often group lights into the term, “accessories”, because good, well designed lighting in a style that's appropriate to a room does help to accessorize, and “finish” the room. But to optimize the light, as well as the look, certain “rules” need honoured. Overhead lighting is often used as a main light source solution. Unfortunately, this solution should really be classed as “specific” lighting: think of an overhead light as a huge spotlight! great in a dining situation where the accent is firmly on the table beneath it, leaving outer areas in pools of shade (check your wattage though, no need to turn elegant dining into an interrogation...so leave the 100 watts in the hardware store). Much better to work with many “levels of lighting”, that illuminate corners, highlight seating areas, and spotlight your working space. Our designers are taught to think in “light and shade”, and their designs become all the more interesting (and functional) for it.

Want to make sure you get it right? Then bring in the A team, or rather the d @ d Design Team! With design services starting at $345 for the full design for single room, it's an economy you can't afford not to make.

Visit us at www.designatdistance.com to see our range of services, or contact us at info@designatdistance.com if you have specific questions. We're looking forward to hearing from you.