Making Your Home Feel Light and Bright
The lighting scheme of this Davis Islands home is charming inside and out.  

How to Make Your Home Feel Lighter and Brighter

One thing that most homeowners are looking for is the feeling of a light and bright space.  When designing a custom home, homeowners can ensure their home is airy and light by following a few simple ideas:

Know how the sun falls on your plot of land.  Understanding how your home will be situated on your property will dramatically impact where windows and doorways should be placed to take advantage of the natural lighting.

Your floor plan will play a role in the light patterns of your home.  An open concept will provide more light and visual space than a home full of many walls.  Small ideas like creating a series of support arches in lieu of a closed hallway will make a room feel larger and allow light to move through both areas.

Successful interior lighting plans are done in layers - ambient lighting, accent lighting, and task lighting.  Ambient lighting is the general lighting that illuminates a room.  Accent lighting can be the "wow" factor that highlights the room's best features.  Task lighting is the workhorse of the room as it allows you to complete tasks with minimal interference from shadows, glare or eye-strain.

Use windows and interior and exterior window coverings to control the light.  Features like awnings, plantation shutters, and sheer curtains can help diffuse light that may be too bright while also being relative unobtrusive.
Find the shine - a home's surfaces can bounce or absorb light in an area. It's important to play with those surfaces to understand how intense the light will be in your home. Some surfaces may be too reflective, nearly blinding, while others can darken a home. 

Did you know that paint can be dull, matte, or have a glossy sheen? Depending on your choice of paint finish determines how much light is reflected off your walls. 

Wallpaper, tile, curtains, built-in furniture, and artwork can have similar properties. A natural, live edge shelf with a light gloss would reflect less light than a glass or mirrored shelf.  

Glass shelves, transoms, doors with sidelights or glass panels, and pass-throughs can brighten up a space by letting light flow through. Even glass that has been etched or tinted can add light while providing privacy.

Your outside landscaping will determine how much light and privacy you can expect. Working with a landscape architect will help you understand what your foliage will look like now and in the future. Creating a landscaping plan before planting will help ensure you don't have costly landscaping fixes or maintenance in the future.

Architectural features, such as open or enclosed stairwells, privacy walls, patios and porches, play a role, too.  

Creating a balance between these aspects can bring your home just the right amount of light and airiness to achieve the look, feel, and function you want in your space.  

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