Tag: light

Shadows: I moved back to my childhood home almost ten years ago. The house had been vacant for some time, and required extensive renovation (mostly DIY) over four months before it could be occupied. We re-wired, re-plumbed, resurfaced, removed and replaced walls, installed windows in dark corners, added a bit of square footage. I sometimes refer to this brief period as the Great Tribulation of 2003. But the results were pleasing, and we’ve been very happy here.

During the work we were constantly struck by the airy volume and light the house took on from the new windows and the pristine white walls. I think we astonished the neighbors when we decided not to install drapes or blinds in our common rooms.

In exchange for a trivial bit of lost privacy the space is luminous, with light and shadows that change constantly during each day and across the seasons. I’m especially fond of the shadow-play from the eastern window on mornings in early spring. The bare crepe myrtle branches make a fine display on the living room wall. When they leaf out they provide all the curtain we need to screen out summer sun. 

Bonus shot: I keep a crystal prism hanging in the eastern kitchen window – a practice my mother started years ago, possibly in response to my sisters’ Pollyanna fantasies. Every now and then it refracts a Roy G. Biv beam down the hallway where window light never goes. 

Please click any photo in the set for enlarged views. 

Shadows: I moved back to my childhood home almost ten years ago. The house had been vacant for some time, and required extensive renovation (mostly DIY) over four months before it could be occupied. We re-wired, re-plumbed, resurfaced, removed and replaced walls, installed windows in dark corners, added a bit of square footage. I sometimes refer to this brief period as the Great Tribulation of 2003. But the results were pleasing, and we’ve been very happy here.

During the work we were constantly struck by the airy volume and light the house took on from the new windows and the pristine white walls. I think we astonished the neighbors when we decided not to install drapes or blinds in our common rooms.

In exchange for a trivial bit of lost privacy the space is luminous, with light and shadows that change constantly during each day and across the seasons. I’m especially fond of the shadow-play from the eastern window on mornings in early spring. The bare crepe myrtle branches make a fine display on the living room wall. When they leaf out they provide all the curtain we need to screen out summer sun. 

Bonus shot: I keep a crystal prism hanging in the eastern kitchen window – a practice my mother started years ago, possibly in response to my sisters’ Pollyanna fantasies. Every now and then it refracts a Roy G. Biv beam down the hallway where window light never goes. 

Please click any photo in the set for enlarged views.