JANUARY 2020 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 49
INSIDE JOB
LET THERE BE LIGHT
BY ARLENE GROSS
On dreary winter days, you’ll want to
bring as much light as possible into
your home.
To add light, consider all the elements,
from walls to windows, that
can enhance it, advises Liz Kohart,
an interior designer and owner of
Liz Kohart Interiors of Garden City.
LIGHTER WALLS AND
FLOORS
Use light colors to cover your walls,
Kohart advises.
“Soft shades of white and taupe will
make a space feel brighter,” she says.
Wall paint with a satin finish, which
is a little more shiny than matte, adds
sheen and will help reflect more light,
adds Kohart.
For a very high sheen and higher-end
look, consider a lacquer finish,
but take note that lacquer shows
imperfections.
“You’d have to have perfectly smooth
walls for lacquer,” explains Kohart.
Light-colored floors such as oak and
light-colored carpets, or natural fiber
rugs such as sisal can help brighten
spaces, notes Kohart, adding that a
higher-sheen finish on a wood floor
will also reflect more light.
A LIGHT TOUCH
To brighten a room, upholster in
light-colored fabrics and select
light-colored woods for furnishings,
including end tables, cocktail tables,
cabinetry and built-ins, says Kohart,
adding that a decorative mirror helps
reflect and add light.
For window treatments, Kohart advises
avoiding dark colors or velvet
or other heavy fabrics.
Opt instead for linen or cotton.
“Natural blinds, such as woven
woods, will seem less heavy and more
airy, and can be used as a window
treatment in lieu of fabric drapery,”
she says.
BRING IN NATURAL LIGHT
In designing a new home or renovating
an existing one, there are a few
techniques that can bring in as much
natural light as possible, says interior
designer Christine Conte of Christine
Conte Interiors of Huntington.
Start with larger windows and, if possible,
add a floor-to-ceiling window at
the end of a hallway to flood the whole
house with light.
An open-concept plan does a lot for
light, notes Conte.
“You can really move light from one
side of the house to the other,” she
says.
Clerestory windows – smaller windows
that are positioned higher up
on the wall – can go along the top of a
room and add abundant light.
“And you don’t have to worry about
putting any kind of window treatments
on them,” notes Conte.
For low-light rooms, a light tube – a
metal pipe that gets reflected from
the roof – is a great way to get natural
light into a bathroom or kitchen.
If your house is set back and privacy
is not an issue, add a transom above
the front door or even consider a
front door made entirely of glass,
Conte says.
Fewer mullions on windows create
the illusion of more light and adding
black casement to your windows
frames and accentuates the outside
light.
Adding glass panels to doors of
rooms where privacy is not an issue,
such as offices, allows light to move
through the house and backlighting
a stained-glass window will give the
appearance that there’s an actual
window behind it.
ADD LIGHTING
Utilize artificial light by adding
sconces and some overhead lighting
and enhance natural light with table
and floor lamps, advises Kohart.
Overhead lighting, such as a few high
hats in the corner, significantly increases
the amount of light in a room,
says Kohart, adding, “Always put
overhead and sconce lighting on
a dimmer, so you can control the
amount of light.”
Light oak wood
floor lightens up the
kitchen
Overhead
lighting on dimmers
adds copious
light that can be
controlled
Light-colored
fabrics reflect light
into the space.
Satin paint finish
and light shades
brighten a room."
Liz Kohart Interiors, photo by Andrea Giarraputo
Liz Kohart Interiors, photo by Andrea Giarraputo
/LONGISLANDPRESS.COM
