Ideas for beautiful houses

architect Dan DumitriuFD.STIL general manager — notes from projects

How daylight affects colours

1. North light is usually cold, and direct sun enters only in midsummer. Compensate with warm colours — red, yellow, orange. Careful: blue and green make the space feel even colder.
2. South light is warm and bright — dark colours work here too, and blue and green keep a summery mood all year.
3. East light gives bright mornings and afternoons without direct sun. For these spaces a mix is best: both warm and cool colours.
4. West light means sunshine in the afternoon and evening. Choose neutral colours — warm ones would take over the space towards evening.

Correcting proportions

1. Room too long? Split it into two or three groupings (conversation, music, media), defined with rugs too; a dark colour on the short walls shortens it visually.
2. Too narrow? Place furniture on the diagonal; linear elements — paintings, shelves, tapestries — go on the short wall to stretch it. A long wall in a cool colour recedes, and the room feels wider.
3. Ceiling too low? Use verticals: a tall bookcase, long curtains down to the floor, floor lamps and sconces. A ceiling painted light, in a cool shade, seems to recede.
4. Room too tall? Let horizontals dominate: shelves, paintings, ceiling mouldings. A dark, warm colour on the ceiling visually lowers the height.
5. Room too big? Divide it into zones of intimacy: groups of armchairs, two chairs with a small table. Warm colours pull the picture together and make it welcoming.

The room's rhythm

Rhythm is the element you don't see at first glance but you feel: it is what makes a space „right”.

1. Bring rhythm through repetition — circles, curves or verticals that recur, like the beat in a piece of music.
2. Decorate so the space leads: curved lines carry the eye from one object to the next, without interruptions.
3. Add contrast — repetition without it turns monotonous; too much of it, disturbing.

The impression of more space

1. Paint in light colours — not only white: pale green, cream, beige.
2. Large furniture against the wall, so the middle of the room stays whole.
3. Sofas and chairs with open arms and visible legs — light passes underneath and airs the space.
4. Small-scale furniture where possible — the eye gains room.
5. Vertical storage: a floor-to-ceiling cupboard or bookcase takes up less room.
6. Mirrors that reflect light — most effective next to a window, to catch the view outside.
7. Furniture set at an angle, where possible, adds visual interest even to a small space.

Tricks with light

1. Good design accounts for both daylight and artificial light.
2. Let natural light in: no light-absorbing curtains or objects in front of the windows.
3. Mirrors amplify light — the best spot is opposite the window.
4. The closer a colour is to white, the more the surface reflects.
5. A light shade — pale green, blue, lilac — enlarges the space; red, orange, brown and black absorb light and shrink it.
6. A glossy floor reflects light; carpets absorb and hold it.
7. Choose more than a bulb hanging in the middle of the room — directed light shows off your favourite painting.
8. Spread several light sources across the whole room.
9. Floor sockets — so cables don't cross the room.
10. Light the architectural details.
11. Every light source individually controlled.
12. For the impression of more space, light the corners and as much of the walls as you can.
13. For the impression of height, lower the light fitting or use vertical lights.
14. Want intimacy? Table lamps — and keep the light off the ceiling.