Interior Design and Decorating
Does Furniture Color Affect Room Lighting?
The short answer is, yes, furniture color will affect room lighting. The color of your furniture will affect the lightness or darkness in a room, and it will also influence the best lighting choices for that room.
The other major factor that has an effect on room lighting is the size of the room. Bigger rooms can usually support a lot of darkness, where as little rooms often need a lot of light in order to feel larger and less claustrophobic.
Dark Furniture, Big Room
Big rooms can start to seem too large and impersonal when decorated with too many light colors. By decorating a room with darker colored furniture, especially in darker browns, reds or blues, you make the setting seem more intimate.
To keep the room feeling cozy and intimate, light the room with many little lamps and light sources, rather than just using a few more powerful light sources. In the evening, these little lamps placed all over the room will create pockets of warm light for the perfect setting where you could curl up and read a book.
Dark Furniture, Little Room
Furniture in dark, saturated colors can make a little room seem very small indeed. Try lightening the room by creatively placing lighting and decorative candles opposite mirrors. Decorate with bright lamps with white lampshades, rather than lamps with darker lamp shades. Finally, during the day, let in as much daylight as possible by using sheer or light filtering curtains in a lighter color rather than darker curtains. Read the rest of this entry »
Creating a Great Dining Room
Before the table can be set, the cuisine savored, and the conversation relished, a host must create a dining room conducive for such appetites.
The quintessential dining space provides a comfortable yet accessible environment according to Cindy Young, owner of Decorating Den Interiors in San Francisco. With a few key additions, any formal dining room can become a great dining room.
Lighting
Dining rooms should be comfortable spaces, and lighting is an important element to consider. “Lighting is really key for creating an intimate dining setting,” Young said. “You want to incorporate soft, warm light.”
If you are lucky enough to have a fireplace, Young said it should be lit for the party. If you don’t have a fireplace, put floor lamps around the dining space. Some buffet lights and candles for the tabletop may also give the area some mood lighting.
“You want to establish light around the room for levels and layers of light,” Young said.
Two chandeliers, particularly those that can provide incandescent illumination, are superior choices for overhead lighting, said Ivette Arango, owner of Ivette Arango Design Inc. in Miami.
Arango strongly suggests overhead lighting with a dimming option. That option can create the perfect lighting at any time of day.
Deep Colors
You want to give your guests the sensation of dining in a rich environment. Arango said striped fabrics and luxurious brocades create a sense of opulence. She recommends maintaining a color scheme and aesthetic consistent with the rest of your home, but leaning toward warm, dark colors in the dining room.
Young agrees. She advises people to avoid cooler shades. “Stay away from blues, because psychologically people associate them with mold,” she said. “Stay away from deep, cool colors and stick to your reds and your yellows.” Read the rest of this entry »
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