Nov 12

Written by: sophie
Friday, November 12, 2010 5:03 PM 

The beauty of light - an essential element of all decorating - from natural to wired; lighting is the secret weapon in successful decorating or NOT.

Natural lighting can lift your emotions; atmospheric lighting can enhance your mood; task lighting eases the task at hand - think this through very carefully before you renovate... it is a component that cannot be underestimated; and when decorating for resale, people want to walk into a home that welcomes, that often comes with light...

Live in a place before you renovate... living there in the lead-up will mean you have time and space to look at lighting; natural and wired: window and door positioning for sun/light advantages: record in a diary the light coming into the space at different times of the day; whether to have skylights or not; this "light" record also helps in determining the colour scheme: ie which walls you'd like to absorb the colour (if too light and bright); which walls you'd like to reflect.... choosing a shade of white for a dark room might seem like an obvious decision, but in fact can leave the room looking gloomy...

I have inherited a 1924 Californian bungalow - the living space is a lean-to - the ceiling slopes; the light is bad; and I feel claustrophobic when sitting in the room... in fact, I never want to sit in there - thank goodness I have a gorgeous outlook- a beautiful established garden - I am embarking on a seemingly-small renovation - just extending the room three metres into the garden; creating a new cathedral ceiling with skylights and new windows....... let the light journey begin... but most importantly, I have had to live here to decide what function I want that room to play in my lifestyle - is it a TV room; a reading room in the evening; is it for entertaining; is it for being cosy with a book - lifestyle will determine the lighting decisions in this renovation... we have just begun!!! Wired lighting will come at the end; natural lighting is now being decided.........

Copyright ©2010 Sophie