Harvest the Sun
March is the kind of month when a lot of us are tapping our toes, waiting for Winter to recede and Spring to arrive. My tapping toes got me thinking about light, daylight in particular. So I’m revisiting a favorite subject of mine, which is harvesting daylight.
Basically, the term means designing a space in such a way that it makes the most of the available sunlight. Not only is the space brighter but you rely less on electricity. Of course, at night the sun is usually unavailable. At least in my universe. So a proper lighting design is essential. But, is your room so dark that you need the lights on during the day? How can you alter a design so that you make the most of the sunlight in the room?
Here’s an example of what I’m talking about. In the first picture, the room is dark and dreary. The lights had to be turned on all day because sunlight from from the sliding doors, the small window and door on the other end (not shown) never reached the center of the room.
Did I mention this house lived at the beach? You’d never know it. Everything is dark and light absorbing. The biggest offender was the carpet; its dark green color soaked up the sun. So did everything else – the matte walls, the dark furniture. You’d think you were in the woods in the middle of October.
This room needed to harvest some daylight by creating some reflective surfaces so that the daylight would reverberate into and throughout the room. This was accomplished by painting the walls a pastel blue in a satin finish, and covering the floor in a light colored carpet. A pastel hue was the perfect choice; white would have created too much glare. The slight sheen of satin paint is more reflective than matte. And the light absorbing carpet was replaced with a light-bouncing sisal mat. Now the space is bright and cheerful and need not rely on artificial light during the day.
If you’ve got a problem with a dark, drab room don’t run out for more lamps. Instead, think about what you might do to make the most of the natural light you’ve already got.
