#40 Let there be light

Once upon a time, about 34 years, we lived in a lovely two story colonial in a beautiful tree line suburban neighborhood. We had looked on and off at other possibilities for about 10 years, but nothing really caught our attention. Quite by accident we bought a condo here--I’d noticed the ad in the paper when another appointment fell through. We fell in love with the lot--huge trees, a creek, and magnificent view--with a unit on three floors instead of the one floor plan we were seeking.

Almost every week, we tell each other something we like about this place. My husband, being an architect, continues to find little nuances he enjoys that we missed the first year. We marvel that we haven’t missed our house where we had so many happy times and raised our family even one minute.

There was just one thing, however, we both disliked: the lack of light in a structure where you share walls with your neighbors. In our former home, we had two to three large windows in every room. Now we have windows on the north or south, one to a room, except the living room, master bedroom and family room have double size windows, and my office has the only west window.

The entry was particularly dark. Even after we painted the brown living room, orange dining room and red family room lighter, fresher colors, and removed hundreds of yards of heavy draperies, it still felt dark to us. So we purchased, rather invested in, a new front door. It has a “half light” with a glass arts and crafts design. The design gives more privacy than you might think, but allow the southwest light to stream in.

We needed all new trim inside and out, new threshold, new matching hardware for our other three exterior doors and professional installation. This is why I call it an “investment.” Definitely not cheap. But I love it. Not only is the entry area lighter, but it casts light into the living room. It directs light up the stairs to the third level, and down the stairs to the first level.

Central Ohio is cloudy or partly cloudy 293 days of the year; we need to take advantage of any sun we can get.