M

other Nature is a master deco-
rator. In summer, she dresses
the world in lush greens and
vibrant floral hues. And in every season,
natural light is one of her most powerful
designer touches.
Natural light should play an important
role in your home decorating efforts, too.
Not only does light from outside affect
how certain colors look in your decor, it
can influence a home's mood, style and
even the health of the people who live

there.
Decorating with natural light doesn't
require a designer's expertise or budget. You
can use natural light to create an inviting
atmosphere by keeping a few important
points in mind.
The Right Direction
Light enters our homes from every win-
dow and every direction. The directional
source of natural light can influence the
effect it has on a home's interior.
Sunlight entering from the north is usu-

ally colder. A northern exposure will only
get direct sun during summer months. By
contrast, a southern exposure guarantees
a warm, sun-filled interior. Rooms that
receive light from the east will have bright
mornings, muted mid-days and cooler eve-
nings. West-facing rooms will experience
the most sun in the afternoon and evening.
You can also bring light into your home
from above, through a skylight. No matter
where you put one in your home, a sky-
light will allow you to admit the full scope
of the day's light into your decor — morn-
ing, afternoon and evening. Both venting
and fixed skylights will offer the benefit
of allowing you to control the amount
of light that enters through it if you add
simple accessories like manual or remote-
controlled blinds. Tubular skylights, like
Velux's Sun Tunnel brand, can create a dif-
ferent effect by bringing diffused sunlight
into spaces where you might not be able to
put a traditional skylight, such as a first-
floor master suite or a closet.
On the Velux website, www.veluxusa.com,
you can download a free app for personal
devices including iPhones, iPads, iPods and
Androids that allow you to see how differ-
ent skylights will look in your own home.
Simply take pictures of your rooms and
place skylights in the images until you've

found the ones that work best for you.

Color Coding
The colors you use in your home decor
will react differently under different natu-
ral lighting conditions. For example, reds
will look vibrant and cheerful in a room
that gets sun from a north-facing window.
But those same colors might overpower
the decor in a west-facing room. Settings
with a southern exposure that brings in
ample light can withstand a darker color
palette that would make a north-facing
room feel dark and dreary.
You can balance the changing sunlight
of an eastern exposure with a mix of
colors. And neutral colors will create a
soothing effect in a west-facing room that
captures the sun's fading light in the late
afternoon and early evening.
When choosing colors that will relate
well to a room's natural light, remember
that the color will look different in your
home from what it does on the paint chip
or in the home decor store. By keeping
these rules of thumb in mind, you'll be
able to select color families that are most
likely to work well with a room's natural
light. I

Courtesy ARAcontent

COMING SOON

STUNNING TOBOCCMAN ON
OVER AN ACRE

INCREDIBLE ARCHITECTURE TRULY BLENDS
NATURE & HOME INTO ONE ENTITY. EXOTIC
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Elaine Wolf

OUTSTANDING BLOOMFLD HOME
Birmingham schools. gorgeous hardwood firs,
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master ste w/ 'room sized' walk-in closet. 3 car
garage.
$599,900

50

August 11 ® 2011

Cranbrook,

;FACTORS

Nationa rowt ward

Closed Units • Net Closed Units

248.626.8700 248.229.0036 Cr

National Award Winning Recruiter

A LUXURY RESIDENCE WITH DETAIL
BEYOND COMPARE
Situated in a 2.4 acre park like setting. Indoor lap
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four full kitchens & so much more.
$3,350,000

RealLiving

BE 1 1ER THAN NEW EXQUISIT E
Toboccman home on an acre in the city of
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$1,850,000

STUNNING UPDAI ED
CONTEMPORARY
Hardwood firs, walls of windows, granite island
kitchen. finished lower level. Incredible yard
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$489,900

STUNNING 3 BEDROOM
CONDO-STYLE RANCH

All the bells and whistles. overlooking refreshing
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$1,199,000

OPEN RENOVATED RANCH ON
1.5 ACRE WOODED SETTING
Spacious kitchen w/breakfast bar opens to fabulous
family rm w/walls of windows. Renovated baths
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Composite decking, plus bluestone patio.
$2,989 / mo

Mitch Wolf

Broker

FABULOUS ALL SPORTS LAKEFRONT
5 bedrooms with first floor master suite,
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ceilings and walls of windows, walkout lower
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$744,900

GORGEOUS MODERN CONDO IN
DOWNTOWN ROYAL OAK
Open floor plan, vaulted ceilings, fireplace.,
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Hdwd in kitchen & dining rm. some new carpet.
Attached garage with direct access.
$1,950 / mo