I am so excited to tell you that this post is part of a collaboration with House Beautiful magazine and their very cool (and free) app called HB Connect.
For the December/January issue of House Beautiful, Style Director Sabine Rothman invited a few design bloggers to write about a topic pulled from one of their pages. You can read a short excerpt from everyone's post in the magazine and then use your HB Connect app to link to the rest of the post on their respective blogs.
I can't wait to get my copy and see who else is included!
I can't wait to get my copy and see who else is included!
* * * * *
Not all light is created equal.
What is it about filtered light that changes absolutely everything?
It gives a room atmosphere.
It alters the way you feel.
It speaks volumes, quietly.
T. F. Simon knew this. He was so taken by the filtered light from his curtains that he made it the subject of his painting.
(T. F. Simon, "Interior of My House in Paris", 1909.)
Stanhope Alexander Forbes knew it too. See how he uses the constricted light from the window to create a sense of being alone in the universe? In this room, the here and now is the only thing that matters.
(Stanhope Alexander Forbes, "The Health of the Bride", 1889)
I feel very partial to this little boudoir. It's so completely serene, isn't it? The indirect sunlight coming in from the window is made more dramatic by the depth of that window ledge. I never realized before that shadows literally take the edge off. You go on reading the rest of the post--I'm going to lie on that fur throw and do some spirited mental wandering.
(Photo by Ivan Terestchenko. Here.)
In this room, the light coming in from the right makes everything practically vibrate with warmth. A sheer muslin or organza curtain in a pale yellow or a dusky pink (depending on what direction your window faces) could help you achieve this same effect at home.
(Maison Malplaquet. Photo by Derry Moore.)
Here, a red-striped awning lends a rosy wash to the room as the sun makes its slow downward descent. Walls are stencilled with leafy silhouettes.
(T. F. Simon, "View from a Café in Fécamp", 1904.)
Filtered light can even make even inanimate objects appear invested with emotion. All I can think about when I look at this photo is the rampant libido of those pears--get a room, wouldja?
(Photo by Olga Roth.)
A brightly lit room sees every detail and every flaw. If you're not undergoing surgery, I don't see why this is necessary. Here, the antique thick-paned glass takes an ordinary room and turns it into a poem.
(Photo by Ivan Terestchenko. Here.)
How do you prefer your light?
Straight up?
Or with one degree of separation?
(Painter unknown.)