T w e n t y S i d e d
The overhead light is the first victim this week. They had been going to replace it since the very beginning of the project, but as the space has gotten notably nicer, the need has intensified.
Boring, round, and almost as prevalent as the ever-present ‘boob light’ (which the Sims only has one of, in colors that never match any build.) The saucer light pictured is fine, but no longer lives up to the rest of the room. The floor and walls have vintage, and a bit of drama, so the choice of light fixture is an important decision.
This light is a fine idea, but it makes the black look slightly encroaching. Besides, in a real-lighting situation, it would be damn near moody. I’m of the ‘we don’t use the big light’ generationA fairly self explanatory opinion had predominantly by children born under LEDs and forged by commercial space harsh lighting. Typically younger people (in the US, at least) are pivoting towards the use of lamps and other smaller, warmer light sources, so this would usually be fine, except for two things.
- A kitchen is a work space, and is an exception to the ‘big light’ rule in almost all cases.
- The parents of our family are only on the cusp of the ‘no big light’ generation, they’re older millennials, almost cuspers. They’re reaching for something bright.
Bright, hint of vintage, statement, not all black.
The downside of decorating a bold space is that one wrong move can take you straight into tacky or kitschy.
Black, a little bit of color, a little bit of art deco. Bold. Perfect. Onto the sink and stove.
The stove is a crowning glory, a splurge the family is proud of and all appliances bought after are picked to match. Kelly and Logan had been talking the whole project about the farmhouse sink they wanted. Porcelain with waterfall’d corners, vintage charm, everything they could dream of.
Then, of course, came the price tag. With the cost of…everything else, a thousand dollar sink gets removed from the plans. We’re left with a faded, yellow sink that would scream 70’s in most kitchens, but matches perfectly in this one.
Next, the laundry room.
They’ve grown quite attached to the window between the two spaces. It opens up the laundry room and makes it feel friendlier.
This blank bit of wall in the back of the room…it’s perfect. They could do a closet, modular shelves, ironing board. Of course, no one in the house actually needs an ironing board, but it could go there if they suddenly did! No one in the house has ever used a stand mixer either, but it suited the kitchen so well they got it, to be regretted later.
Folding, storage, ironing, light, drawers, detergent, this wall’s got it all. Never have a group of people ooh’d and aah’d at a laundry room like our family is right now. They are enchanted by the tile, the subtle wallpaper, the light fixture. Waking up in the morning and seeing the new spaces all over is a feeling both rare and beautiful. In a week the effect will have worn off, but for now they eat their breakfast whilst just soaking in the serotonin, basking in the new rooms.
Footnotes:
[1] A fairly self explanatory opinion had predominantly by children born under LEDs and forged by commercial space harsh lighting. Typically younger people (in the US, at least) are pivoting towards the use of lamps and other smaller, warmer light sources
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I found your comment about “big lights” to be especially interesting. :) I’m a child of the 80’s (born in 1980, so I’m at the very tail end of the Gen X’ers), and I grew up with parents that used big fluorescent lights for everything. Coupled with my extremely poor vision, this has meant that I’ve grown very fond of brightly lit rooms and the soft, warm, but dim lights favoured by more modern styles I always find too dim and I strain to read stuff in finer detail. However, my compromise is that I typically do not go for direct glare when it comes to lighting; I’m a big fan of recessed lighting where the LEDs don’t shine the light directly into your eyes, but instead bounce it off the walls or ceiling so it’s not so harsh.
Ignoring the generational definitions because they don’t translate well into culturally different countries*, no matter how much the internet talking heads want to use them, interestingly I’m in a somewhat opposite boat that still floated me to the same spot. My poor vision, which was for years misdiagnosed as a simple myopia, actually makes my eyesight much poorer in direct bright light, which resulted in my room being always dim if I had any say. Which led to everyone blaming my worsening eyesight on spending time in a dimly lit room and so it went. So nowadays I want decent but indirect lighting.
*For example in the 1980s Poland was a communist country strongly in the Soviet Union’s sphere of influence for example, the 1980s youth grew up very different in the US and Poland!
The other advantage of small lights is you don’t have to clean the house as thoroughly.
Do you not get daylight?
That’s what curtains are for.
On the subject of lighting, I have opinions. I am a Gen Xer, incandescent and florescent lighting was the norm. I never opened the blinds and did my best to keep things dim, probably because I was a moody little twit. The move to LED lights, however, frustrates me. It is fake light, like it looks like light and illuminates well enough to not trip on anything, but actually doesn’t help me see at all. My poor old eyes need help these days, and LEDs just don’t seem to do it.
By the way, I am loving this series, but am usually to lazy to comment, so I better get it in while I am motivated.