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October 7, 2007
Are most parlor floors dark?
We are looking at a south facing brownstone but are a bit dismayed at the amount of natural light that it gets on the parlor floor. During the day, it seems dark enough that you do need to turn on lights to have it at a normal brightness level. I am just wondering if this is normal, or something unique about this particular unit.
It's hard to tell when you go into open houses b/c they have all of the lights thrown on.
Comments
Sad to say that this is very common. Depends on the block, though. If there are a lot of street trees, it's going to be dark for about half the year. We have no street trees in front of our house, and our parlor floor (south facing) gets light enough that you don't need a light on sunny days.
If there are bars on the windows, you could remove them and get more light (we did and it made a surprisingly big difference).
Posted by: carrie m at October 7, 2007 6:01 PM
Don't know what size house you are looking at, if you need to get a bigger one in order to have a rental, but if you are able to have a one-family house the smaller 2-story plus garden or basement houses are brighter. Because they are usually more shallow, allowing sunlight to reach the back from the front and vice versa. Also the skylight over the stairs on the 2nd floor lets in plenty light to illuminate all the way down to the parlor floor.
Posted by: guest at October 8, 2007 1:05 PM
Also, window frames painted white instead of stained dark, make the room brighter. Because the light is reflected not absorbed, off the frame and ledge around the window. I think someone else said this on another similar thread, but use pale and reflective surfaces on furniture and walls. Like silver or mirrored end tables or coffee table.
Posted by: guest at October 8, 2007 1:08 PM
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