My Kitchen: #LTIDreno
My kitchen is north facing, therefore could, potentially be a dark space. Once a previous Doctors Surgery waiting room, where the walls were coloured peach, the ceiling exposed wood and the curtains a rather distasteful floral pattern, is now a whiteout. Part of a second extension to the Surgery (10 years ago) this old waiting room was built with ceiling windows.
Summer Time
With the summer in full swing here in Scotland, the light throughout the day and evening is glowingly radiant. It’s such an energizing time of year. The days are long where so much can be done and relaxing times are long and lazy. We are very much enjoying spending time in our new kitchen.
My Kitchen
I was lucky enough to inherit a space that had a dome roof and two ceiling windows. My room was transformed into a light and airy living space after a lick of Dulux Light + Space Brilliant White paint. It’s the kind of room that has that ‘wow’ factor. The wow being that the space is bright, vibrant and inviting. This interior is spacious in the way that doesn’t feel crowded when there are many people within it nor does it feel lonesome when there isn’t.
VELUX windows are the real winner in this room. Without them this space would be very different. A tall ceiling would be pointless due to it facing north and there would be around 50% less light coming in.
I love to look up into the dark night and see stars. The windows can be opened wide to let fresh air in and nature can be seen from the green leaves above. It really is captivating to see the outside from a different angle.
5 Tips to Maximise Natural Light in your Home?
No 1. Use a lighter shade on your ceiling than your walls. When decorating with colour in a room, one golden rule never to be broken. That is following the “dark to light” rule. Similar to nature, dark (soil) then moves up to light (sky). Any room colour needs to balance out the natural aspect of colour.
No 2. Let the light in. Replace curtains for blinds that may be blocking natural light either side of the window. Get the curtians away from the outer edges of the window. Have a look at VELUX blinds for blind ideas.
No 3. Light walls will refect light. I’ve used a special paint by Dulux called Light + Space which contains particles to help reflect the light however lighter shade will do this naturally.
No 4. Choose a hard floor with a polished finish, wood, paint or stone, as this will bounce light around the room. Notice my space still has brown commercial carpet. There’s another task ahead!
No 5. If you have the money, put in ceiling windows or a sky light. This will create a light and airy space and can add value to a property. In the long run the investment could well be of benefit.
Images | Laura Thomas on Monday 1st August 2016
This is a sponsered post.
Oh Lordy… Your Kitchen is simply divine! Light and spacious! You had me a bit puzzled to start with re ‘north facing so potentially dark’ … As you know here in NZ north facing equals light and sunny… Took a bit more reading to realise you’re in Scotland. Love that kitchen, clearly very clever use of the space ( might be quite nice to see before and after shots?). All the best. Katherleen Zivkovich-Rankin
Hi Katherleen, thank you SO much for your lovely words! I bought this old Doctors Surgery and when we moved in back in October last year there was no bathroom nor kitchen (there was a couple of loos though)! So I have progressed it slightly. The kitchen isn’t done yet but will be soon and I was going to do a before and after post then. I still have to pull up the truly aweful commercial carpet that practically the whole village will have walked over! I remember Maria mentioning you – sorry we never met – I used to live in Kerikeri! Thanks again for commenting! Love Laura xx