apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I used to live in a shady apartment with my family, & it was so annoying to not enjoy any natural light. The new place we live in has beautiful light, but the rooms are the only shadey areas. I'm wondering if that's bad. Any advice on how to lighten those up?

One word: mirrors. It is amazing how they can bounce the light around a dark room.

I am in a basement apartment with tiny tiny windows in some rooms and no windows in the main family/dining room. It's a bummer. I would love to hear if anyone has tips on how to lighten things up down here in the dungeon. :)

We are currently living in a very shade-y house. There are about three feet between us and the houses on either side, and we have a very deep veranda in front. We've compensated by embracing the darkness, and creating a very intimate, cozy cave. Lots of glass, dark walls and plushy upholstery.

There's no direct sunlight, so why try to make our home something its not?

My apartment has terrific huge windows, but they are all north facing :-( In the bedroom is a big east facing picture window that barely makes up for the lack of direct light in the rest of the place. I try to hang out in there until the sun is more overhead. It is frustrating because I would love to have more indoor plants in my living room but alas it is too dim for anything but mother-in-law tongue. Getting more lamps helps, but it isn't the same.

OH yeah. Downtown manhattan... all tall buildings and shade! We compensate with bright lights, many different lamps, and Mirrors in the bedroom (only room with huge, shady windows)

why shade-y and not simply shady?

@slobound, try ferns and peace lilies. I have a couple in my north facing office with tinted windows and they're doing pretty well. There's also a ficus in here that pre-dates me. It's about 6 feet high! So don't give up! There are plants that can survive low light, you just have to look hard.

Like Cashew, I lowered my wattage (before CFLs, whippersnappers) and lowered the height of most lamps. This lent a dawn/dusk glow to the apartment that felt warmer. If I needed brighter light, I'd switch on the ceiling bulbs.

A CFL plant light - pointed down and towards your wall- with easy care plants beneath really does add life to a shade-y room. They don't add anything to your electric bill, and they provide a good place to force paper whites, amaryllis, and tulips.

Plants keep me going during February when it feels like there will never be another Spring.

Lamps are your friends.

Another basement apartment here. My kitchen is dark all day. At the moment I'm experimenting with various shades of white paint to find one that's warm (but not yellow) both under artificial light and during those brief hours when a vague, muted natural light seeps through the windows.

My main/only room -- I'm in a studio -- has a full wall of windows, thank God. Unfortunately, they primarily face northeast. Not the ideal exposure for for a late to bed, late to rise character like me. On the upside, they face a mass of rose bushes. Sometimes I see hummingbirds. Right now I'm seeing spiders and rain and the neighbor's cat, Cicero, waiting for her to come home.

Hey, it's Friday.

Oh, to clarify... the kitchen is a separate room, so technically my living-bedroom isn't my only room. Just the only inhabitable one.

The right lightbulb makes a huge difference. There's a particular type of "full spectrum" light bulb that mimics sunlight. The first time I used it in a dark apartment, I couldn't believe the transformation.

I think they're even recommended for people with seasonally activated depression.

After living for 3 years in a basement the things I learned are:

* many small points of light are good.
* candles work miracles. light lots (safely), put them around the place. makes it feel less dungeon and more cave/nest.
* mirrors! ideally reflecting some source of light or a bright area.
* wash windows often - basement windows get really dirty really fast and the difference can be remarkable
* off white translucent shades help quite a bit - avoid colors to create a more natural light look
* lots of white or off white (for paint - behr's toasted marshmellow is a great color!). shiny white ikea works well for this.
* go outside lots. if you're a late riser step outside for your coffee.

and be patient for the day you move out... my north-east facing windows? AWESOME after the basement. THE LIGHT!

oh, another one - if you have work lamps point them at the wall for a nice diffused source of light.

I went with solar-tubes. Not an option if you live on anything but the top (or only) floor, but they worked for me.

I agree, Raunix. We have one in our kitchen and it makes a huge difference--you never need to turn on the kitchen lights during the day. Because we live in a condo, we have one long wall that we share with a neighbor, so no windows on that side of the house and none in the kitchen. The solar tube really helps.

Really confused by the use of "shade-y"... it should be spelled "shady".

Anywho -- I say embrace the darkness. Make it warm and cozy and get creative with lighting.

What's up with the hijacking of some posts lately? I've noticed this in previous posts, also...off the wall comments that have nothing to do with the topics. Isn't there a way for the moderators to delete them?

Check out wangqin002. He/she registered November 5, and has flooded several posts with ads or comments about shoes??? Isn't there a way to filter that?? Sorry, I know I'm hijacking this topic myself by mentioning this, but it is Very Annoying! Ok...to get back to lighting, my place is dark and the idea of spectrum lighting is one I'll try.