by Roberta del Vaglio.
Making a dark interior bright and welcoming is much easier than one might think: it takes some stylistic and creative measures capable of revolutionizing the very perception of interior design.
Light is an essential component of architectural design: it is intangible and natural, within reach, but unfortunately not always sufficient to make the environment welcoming. That’s why, to create an interior that conveys well-being and beauty, it can be useful not only to integrate it with artificial lighting sources but also to amplify it with a reasoned choice of materials and furnishings. And let’s not forget good habits.
Enhance and Valorize the Electrical System
Before considering expensive and invasive interventions on the electrical system, it may be useful to review the windows and light bulbs in the room. The first aspect to consider is the possible presence of dirt on the windows, but not only that: regularly dusting lamps and light bulbs is a useful habit to make them brighter. If this is not enough, perhaps it’s time to replace them with more suitable types: in the choice, attention should be paid to Lumens, which indicate brightness, but also to the warm-up time, necessary for the bulb to reach its maximum light.
Parentesi Lamp by Flos, designed by Achille Castiglioni and Pio Manzù, starting price from €365 – flos.com
To integrate the electrical system, the most immediate and simple solution is to invest in a floor or table lamp that sheds beautiful light, possibly also considering rechargeable ones that can be moved easily. Finally, if you want to intervene in a more incisive way on the system, it is advisable to provide a combination of both ceiling and wall models, with differentiated switches: to modulate the light according to the hours and seasons.
Compo sofa, price €1,750; Vedrana sideboard, price €1,190, all by Kave Home – kavehome.com
The Scandinavian method: relying on white and playing with textures
The good news is that brightness is not just a question of light but also of materials and colors chosen for furnishings and accessories. It is no coincidence that in Scandinavian countries, where darkness prevails in winter, rooms are flooded with white, the color that reflects light most of all, chosen for paintings, fixtures and furnishings.
To make the whole more lively on the walls, white can be the perfect background to interpret with paintings and photographs, just as a single wall covered in wallpaper with a large design breaks up the monotony without absorbing the light. White becomes less boring by choosing variegated and three-dimensional textures for carpets and other textile elements.
Gambit carpet by Potocco, design Chiara Andreatti, price starting from €4,857 – potocco.it
More mirrors and fewer doors
Accessories can be given the task of contributing a pop of color and creating focal points. A good idea is to favor reflective materials such as metals and shiny lacquered surfaces. Mirrors, in particular, decorate the walls and multiply the light, expanding the perception of space: combining two or three of them creating an asymmetric composition is an interesting and functional solution, they can be vintage or contemporary, even colored and with irregular shapes.
Maria modular divider by Casamania by Horm, design Luca Nichetto, price starting from €432 for 42 pieces – casamania.it
Finally, it may be useful to eliminate anything that hinders the circulation of brightness, such as bulky furnishings, curtains and even doors: for example to divide the kitchen from the living room, or the bedroom from the wardrobe. In these cases they can be replaced by flexible and decorative dividing elements, which mark the transition from one space to another but let light filter through.
Autumn Bloom and Hanami wallpaper by WallPepper®/Group, price €109 per m² – wallpeppergroup.com
On the cover Vitrail mirrors by Magis, design Inga Sempé, price starting from €444 – magisdesign.com
