As the final golden colors of the year give way to gloomy skies and barren trees in the winter months, Housing Design Matters suggests amplifying home design with interior and exterior lighting, heating, and pops of color.
Pendant fixtures and wall washers can illuminate artwork inside the home and brighten up living spaces as the days grow shorter and hours of natural light are fleeting. Outdoor spaces can also be winterized with low voltage lighting, heaters, and outdoor fireplaces. Though landscaping options are rather limited in Northern states during the winter season, evergreen trees and shrubs can add natural color to a snowy, white landscape.
One trick we have learned from real estate agents showing houses, turn on all the lights! Not only do our houses look better in light, but the light is also amazingly uplifting.
Don’t forget the power and impact of outdoor lighting. Transform the black abyss of a dark backyard into something delightful and sculptural using low voltage lights to reflect water, light up trees, and highlight the landscape. Create a ceiling with lights strung from trees above that invite outdoor gathering.
With so much emphasis on outdoor living in today’s homes, houses will shrink in size if the outdoor living becomes too cold to use. Taking a lesson from restaurants with outdoor dining, add heaters. You can add portable outdoor heaters, or you can install heaters in the ceiling.
Of course, let’s not forget outdoor fireplaces. They do wonders to heat the space along with adding a charming flickering of light that warms the soul. If you have a wood burning fireplace, you will also get the lovely cracking and popping sounds as the wood burns. While there are many types of fireplaces and fireplace fuels, get the one that produces the most BTUs for the outdoors.
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