North facing kitchen, dinette and great room

7 years ago

I have had an east facing kitchen and great room for the last 35 years. My new house faces south with the kitchen, dinette and great room having north windows only. Will I lose my mind?? Light is very important to me, but I liked so many other features of this house that is why we ended up choosing it. In this market you don't have much time to decide.

Featured Answer

alex9179

7 years ago

My living areas also face north. It did feel dim, most of the time. We are in the middle of remodeling and I made some changes. No mullions in the windows and replacing a 6 ft slider with an 8 ft. My 6 ft tall single hung windows are now casements, which will be open when it's nice. Unfortunately new windows means LoE coating and that reduces light transmittance to varying degrees. Then again, our quality of light can be harsh and LoE has tempered that.

I'm painting most of the interior an off-white with lower chroma and high LRV. I added a ton of lighting to the kitchen, including under the cabinet. The countertop will be white. The dining room only had an east window, so it got supplemental lighting.

I considered solar tubes but they didn't end up being in the budget. We have to build for hurricanes, which adds to the cost. Solatubes will bring in more light than skylights because of the reflector. I'd use those where you can, add better lighting on dimmers, and paint.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (11)

jmorawiec
7 years ago
My situation is almost same as yours. I also made the mistake of putting dark hardwoods in new house. I'm home with my kids all day. and I feel like I'm in a cave. We recently renovated and went with an all white kitchen. It's helped a little. I can't wait to build a new house...natural light will be top of the list!
Nansjs thanked jmorawiec
dan1888
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Keep the design and see if there's another lot to build on.
Nansjs thanked dan1888
Related Professionals
Elizabeth City Interior Designers & Decorators · Bowling Green Furniture & Accessories · York Furniture & Accessories · Alexandria Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Poplar Bluff Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Natchez Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Oneonta Architects & Building Designers · Pullman Architects & Building Designers · New Braunfels Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Rock Hill Kitchen Remodelers · Green Bay Kitchen Remodelers · Santa Maria Kitchen Remodelers · Las Cruces Kitchen Remodelers · McComb Custom Countertops · Bismarck Custom Countertops
Nansjs
Original Author
7 years ago
jmorawiec Did you ever consider skylights?
Nansjs
Original Author
7 years ago
dan1888

We bought a 4 year old house. This is the kitchen
Nansjs
Original Author
7 years ago

This is the great room. Thinking of skylights or solatube, and painting a lighter color of course.
Nansjs
Original Author
7 years ago
Also we have not taken possession yet. I will not have curtains.
Bri Bosh
7 years ago
I will be honest, we are moving out of an incredible house next week into an older home that’s half the square footage. My main complaint? Dark living spaces. Despite having lots of huge windows, our living areas get mostly northern light or light diffused by a covered porch. I hate having to have lights on all the time. New home has southern exposure in all living areas.
Nansjs thanked Bri Bosh
Nansjs
Original Author
7 years ago
Did you ever consider skylights?
jmorawiec
7 years ago
nansjs I wish we could add skylights...the areas that are the darkest have a second story above them.
Nansjs thanked jmorawiec
redsilver
7 years ago
Use mirrors, or mirror tile. Mirrors and LED DAY LIGHT bulbs, if you can't use the sola tubes. Besides, they do let ALOT of heat into the house too. LED DAY light bulbs emit no heat. Mirrors can help alot! And there are some very pretty ones out there. If you put some under your upper cabinets, and you have added some under cabinet lighting, you will get twice the light...with the reflection. Like, 2 suns on the water if you are in a boat? Also, don't purchase DARK leather furniture. I don't mind some dark stained wood but a black countertop, or black leather furniture ??? eek. Buy some colors. And look for some glass end tables, you may need to find vintage? And crystal lamps, or pretty crystal decor candy bowls, vases, or even chandeliers. Sparkle in the areas helps tooo. A little creativity and I think it will be beautiful, and best of all...no UV rays fading those coral or blue color cushions and rugs. There are so many pretty paint colors out there in the Seaglass tone lines. Great points made in your post that people don't think about too much!!
Nansjs thanked redsilver