Can light flooring improve the natural lighting in a room?
We see lots of homes in our business, and a very common problem (especially in old Cotswold homes) is a lack of natural light in a room or kitchen. This can cause a room to feel closed and dungeon like. It may be that our house is on a dark valley that doesn’t get much daylight in the winter or maybe it’s simply not south facing.
If you are unable to make any architectural changes to your property, ie put in windows or open up a room, then there are ways that can help breath light into a space.
Jane Denton wrote a very interesting Sustainable Kitchens Blog about ways to bring light into a dark kitchen, and here a few ideas we particularly liked:
- Paint colour – Paint colour can be so influential towards the atmosphere of a room. If the walls and furniture are dark, the space will immediately feel smaller. Whereas lighter colours will instantly bring space to a room.
- Cabinets – Alternatively if you know that light base cabinets wont suit you (they can mark easily), painting any wall cabinetry the same light colour as the walls can help blend them away and create a bigger sense of light and space, whilst maintaining a darker more practical colour at base level.
In addition to the great suggestions Sustainable Kitchens made, we would like to add that one of the best ways to bring light into a room is using light toned flooring. We have a range of stones and oak boards that are both light yet hard wearing enough to cope with the kitchen setting.
Natural Stone – Old White Limestone is our favourite hard wearing flagstone which is full of milky tones and soft grey flecks. Its proven to be so hard wearing that one of our clients told Cotswold Life that “I love my stone floor, it just never gets dirty!” This stone brings bags of light into a dark space from the floor up! reflecting ceiling lights back up into the room.
Oak flooring – Our Rustic Oak flooring is hard wearing and a great light board designed to bounce light from all parts of the room. Its warm and natural feel to touch make it perfect for both country or modern kitchens.
What are your thoughts on light flooring in dark rooms?
Let us know in the comments! If you have questions please also ask those in the comments and we’ll get them answered for you.
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