We asked upstate New Yorker, Ms. Lisa Przystup @brass_tacks, to share her tips on how to achieve maximum brightness during the winter months.
Light is a valuable commodity in the winter here in the northeast. When the sun sets at 4:00 you find yourself scrounging for every last little slice you can get. Here, some tips on how to achieve maximum brightness during the winter months.
Paint your floors white
Some may balk at the impracticality of white floors and I will admit that when we first painted ours I basically followed guests around on my hands and knees casually wiping up after them. Our home is in upstate new York, which means that deciding to shellac our floors in “Extra White” by Sherwin Williams’s felt twice as ridiculous. Once you let go of endeavoring to maintain perfection and learn to be okay with some scuffs and fading, white floors are totally stomachable. Our home is old—it’s a 1893 farmhouse—and some of the rooms are small and spatially challenged. The white floors open them up and bounce back the light, making them look larger and brighter than they actually are. When our yard is blanketed with snow the effect is even more dazzling.
(Photo source: The Urbanite)
Consider layering
Heavy velvet curtains (or any type of heavy curtains, really) are the most aesthetically pleasing lifesavers one could ask for in a drafty old farmhouse—the only problem is they force you to choose between light and warmth. Layering sheer curtains that let in the light under a heavier drape is the ultimate best-of-both-worlds solution to this problem.
(photo source: Elle DK)
Go light with your bedding
Your bed takes up the majority of your bedroom real estate, which means that the color scheme you choose for your sheets can dominate the mood of a room. Trading in darker hues for lightly-colored neutrals (think shades of white, flax, and blush) will instantly brighten a space. Try starting with a white canvas and introduce pops of color to add depth and nuance (Photo source: kara roselund’s bedroom via the design files).
(Photo source: kara roselund’s bedroom via the design files).
Minimize clutter
There’s something to be said for keeping things simple and sparse. Flexing your minimalist decorating muscle will free up space and make things feel brighter and airier. Plus, having less clutter will automatically feel clean and less claustrophobic, which gives the illusion of space and light. Try applying Coco Chanel’s advice, “Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off” to your horizontal surfaces to keep elements to a minimum
(Photo source: SF Girl by Bay).
Repurpose curtains
Think outside the box—going ceiling-to-floor with a lightly-colored curtain as a room divider will emphasize high ceilings and introduce an element of brightness to a room.
(Photo source: Domino Magazine).
Repurpose curtains
Think outside the box—going ceiling-to-floor with a lightly-colored curtain as a room divider will emphasize high ceilings and introduce an element of brightness to a room. (Photo source: Domino Magazine).
