Home


Welcome
The Blog
In the News
Subscribe to E-zine

Site Search
Find It


How to Design
How to design
Color
Room proportions
Arranging furniture


Choose a Look
Photo Gallery
Styles and Themes
Hot New Trends
Period Properties


Room by Room
Kitchen
Bathroom
Bedroom
Living/Dining


Fixtures and How-to
Curtains/Blinds
Lighting
Flooring
How to Wallpaper
Tiling


More Design Info
On a Budget
Fast Fixes
Clear Clutter
Selling your Home
Eco Friendly Living
Feng Shui

Chill 'n' Chat
Chill 'n' Chat
Your Homes
Stuck for Ideas?
Ask & Answer
On Facebook


Resources
Books
E-Books
Software
Courses
Resources


Shopping
My Shop
Art Shop
My Photos - Shop


My Site & Me
About Me
How I Work at Home
Contact Me


Business Stuff
Advertise
Link Exchange
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
Disclosure Policy
[?] Subscribe To This Site

XML RSS
Add to Google
Add to My Yahoo!
Add to My MSN
Subscribe with Bloglines

Have just purchased a flat that is dark...

by jilly
(Port Douglas - Queensland)

I have just purchased a flat that is dark...

It has an outside area off the lounge and a balcony off the bedroom. It is an end villa and dark inside.......

.......how do I make it lighter.

They have put in a weird sort of bubble window into the wall to make it a little lighter.

Upstairs it is all wooden floors, downstairs tiled.....

....lots of palm trees in the complex......

........ does not seem to catch the sun although the pool area is sunny... the position where is has been built is wrong for the light to enter.

What can I do?

Comments for
Have just purchased a flat that is dark...

Average Rating starstarstarstarstar

Click here to add your own comments

Feb 02, 2010
Rating
starstarstarstarstar
Don't despair - ideas for bringing light in...
by: Charlotte

Hello Jilly

Your flat sounds like it is in a great location, so its such a shame that it doesn't get much light, and ends up feeling dark and gloomy...

This can be a big challenge in any home, but don't despair, as there are things you can do with interior design to help create a lighter and brighter feel.

Adding extra light through little bubble windows can be very effective, so consider whether it is worthwhile for you to invest in more of these?

Even without this, there are plenty of options...

Windows - are your windows small? If enlarging them is not an option, make sure your window treatments (curtains, blinds, shutters etc) are light in color, simple in style and (most importantly) can be pulled well back from the actual window itself. Curtain rails (or blind tracks etc) can be raised and/or widened to let more light in.

More about window treatments, here...

Make sure any woodwork around the window, including windowsills inside and out, are painted in a pale color, for preference bright white. White will reflect the light back into your home.

Also consider painting outdoor areas nearby (such as off the louge) and balconies, in white or a pale color. If painting is not suitable, how about white gravel? paving? or lots of pale, silvery and white plants and flowers? These will all work to reflect light back into your home.

The lighting in your room is, of course, very important. You might find you need to use lighting even during the daytime. You should have a bright central light (maybe a chandelier, or uplighter), plus additional well-positioned task lighting and ambient lighting, making sure that you keep any dark corners well illuminated.

More information about lighting here...

You can also do a lot with your color scheme. White or pale and cool (blue toned) colors will all work well to refelct light. Take care it doesn't become too 'cool' feeling though, by adding a (very few) accents of warmer or brighter reds, pinks, yellows, greens etc which can really brighten and lighten the whole feel.

Yellow tones, in particular, can really lighten and brighten your home, and give it a very cheery feel. Green (with yellow tones) is another good choice.

cont. on next comment...

Feb 02, 2010
Rating
starstarstarstarstar
...Continues from last comment...
by: Charlotte

Continues from the last comment...

Keep furniture and accessories simple and streamlined in style (and preferably pale in tone and color too). Glossy, smooth surfaces and textures help reflect light around better - think glass, mirrored surfaces, chrome and anything glossy.

Of course using large mirrors around your home (especially opposite windows, behind lights and in dark corners) can reflect a lot of light around too.

Any artwork you choose for your home should be pale too, and try to go for glass frames, rather than textured canvases.

Take a look at lots more ideas for dark rooms, here...

Hope these ideas can help your new flat feel a lot lighter, brigher and more like home.

Good luck with your makeover

Best wishes

Charlotte

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How?
Simply click here to return to Ask One - Answer One


footer for interior design page