Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Lighten Up!

 
Photo Courtesy of Country Living
No drapes and simple blinds let the the light shine in!


When we moved into our little Jewel Box® not only were we overwhelmed with the tiny size, but also the tiny rooms.  The small house, only about 1,200 square feet was divided up into little tiny rooms.  The first thing we did was knock down the wall between the living room and kitchen to create one large space.  Then we added light.
Photo Courtesy of Country Living
 
Living in a small space doesn't have to mean feeling cramped!  Sometimes small homes, especially older homes (which have tons of character and I simply love them-ours was built in 1947), have small rooms and even smaller windows.
 Photo Courtesy of Country Living
 
It amazes me how just adding light can open up a small space!  Whether it be through the addition of larger windows or adding glass-paneled doors, or just painting your rooms in a lighter color, the addition of sunlight and a feeling of bringing the outdoors in makes any small space feel larger!

Photo Courtesy of Country Living
 
I know you've heard me talk about the addition of French doors to our bedroom.  The project itself was tedious and messy but it was worth having the added light in our bedroom.  It feels like we gained square footage in addition to a brighter boudoir!

Photo Courtesy of Country Living 

Just enlarging small windows can also have the same effect.  Our living room originally had two separate, small windows.  Another messy project, but again totally worth it!  What was once two small holes is now one large, lovely picture window.

 Photo Courtesy of Country Living

Dressed or naked windows and doors are lovely.  But I encourage you to throw open your drapes, tear down the mini blinds and let the sun shine in today!!

~Amber

2 comments:

  1. I love the look of bare windows, and we are lucky that our little house has plenty of windows and good lighting...however, we live on a busy street. Window coverings are a must. I'm also wishing I could knock down the wall between the living room and kitchen...it would probably give us room for a dining room table. It would also probably cause the house to fall down...yikes.

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  2. After finally painting over the uggo wood paneling in our 1938 home's back room (our tv room) I left up the light and airy off-white tab top curtains over the big picture window wall, and with the new wall colors, it is an amazing difference. So breezy.
    Ultimate goal is shutters on the back windows, easy to let the light in.

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