Maximize Your Light

by Emily J Weitz

I live in a virtual cave. I have one window in my little room, but it opens up into a canyon surrounded by four walls, each six stories high. The sunlight attempts to spill towards me, but gets choked at about the fourth floor. So when I wake up in the morning, it looks like it could be any time of day. This is actually quite jarring and has caused me to sleep far more than intended. On a rainy day, there is nothing better than having an excuse to lounge in my bed until the morning ticks into afternoon. But when I muster up the strength to stumble onto my stoop and I find that it’s a sunny day that’s passed me by, I feel cheated. As a result, I have had to maximize the light in my room with limited resources.

Not only does a lack of natural light tend to be depressing, but it also makes your room seem much smaller. I now share an apartment with three other girls, making what used to be a two bedroom a four bedroom. So, you can imagine that space was not exactly abundant to begin with. Add to this the complete lack of natural light and let’s just say it’s a good thing I’m not claustrophobic. But the first thing I did to offset the problem of my room looking even smaller than it is was to utilize vertical space. I have high ceilings, so I made sure paintings and bookshelves were up high and I even elevated my bed. My bed is up on cones, which allow me to have extra storage space below the bed. This minimizes visible clutter. I hung a beautiful shell chandelier (from Rumrunner in East Hampton) from my ceiling to accent the height in the room. This works two-fold, both by adding depth to the room and adding light.

This leads to the next step of maximizing the light and space in your room. I use different forms of light at different heights to keep a comfortable glow in the room. If I just used the one ceiling light that came with the room, I would feel like I was in a cell. Instead, I brought in a floor lamp, a desk lamp, a chandelier and various candles that toss light around the room. When you are sitting in a wide open room with windows and natural light, the illumination isn’t coming from one concentrated place. This gives a sense of balance to the room, because it is filled with light that permeates all sides of the room. When all of your light is emanating from one bulb, it’s far too focused and can give you a headache. So make sure you use various sources to maximize your light.

If you do have any natural light coming in the windows, you have to utilize it to the fullest. Get rid of heavy drapes or blinds. Sheer curtains will do just fine to give you some privacy, but they won’t take away what little light you have.

Perhaps the most brilliant way to maximize your light is by harnessing the power of mirrors. One town in Italy, called Viganella, is actually proposing a project right now that will do just that. Viganella lies in the heart of a valley that does not see the sunshine at all between November 11 and February 2. During these months, the town square is completely desolate and no one is seen bustling on the streets. So, mayor Pierfranco Midali is working with an architect friend to propose a mirror 16 feet high and 26 feet wide. This mirror will be set up on the mountainside and will bounce the sunlight into the village piazza. It will cost about $123,000 and the village is rallying behind it in an attempt to combat the depression that follows a life in shadow.

Even though I can step out my front door to combat the darkness, I need to capitalize on mirrors as well. For each flickering candle in my room, there are four others reflected in the mirrors that are set up to play off each other. I only bought one floor lamp, but because of the strategic mirrors, I have the light of four. My next step is to follow suit from Pierfanco Midali. I’ll go up to the roof and install a giant mirror that will cast the sunlight down the canyon that leads to my lone window, but I may have to get permission from my landlord for that one.