Architecture for Us - Stories - Waking in the Morning: Bedrooms in Freestanding Homes (Part 1)
Picture yourself… waking on a late April morning, perhaps a Saturday. What does your day hold? Are you headed to work? Perhaps morning breakfast with your daughter? Maybe you are going out for a run with a friend. Or it might be that you just want to rest in bed for a while and see where the day takes you. Is there somewhere beside you?
Slowly sitting up in your bed you notice that sunlight on the eastern horizon is gently washing through the new spring leaves on nearby trees. The shadows created by the leaves create patterns of light that lazily move across your bedroom wall. Through an open window you hear leaves gently rustling, animated by the morning breeze. Birds are gaily chirping; you see a vibrant red cardinal. Perhaps you can smell the coffee or fresh bread that a neighbor is preparing. You might hear the sound of water. You scarcely notice that the air in the room seems fresh and slightly cool. Moments pass as the sunlight grows in intensity and the patterns of shadows and light become even more pronounced as they almost imperceptibly move down the bedroom wall.
Pause now for a moment and take stock of the actual bedroom in which you’ve been sleeping. What is the nature of the light as you wake? How would you describe the air? Can you hear anything? Smell anything? How do you feel? Does the room support the basic human enterprise of waking and beginning a new day? Does it support and brighten your life?
I certainly hope so. Life is too short not to embrace its positive potential. Sadly, however, for some I already know the answer. Many of us have never questioned the quality and character of the environment around us. It simply is what it is. Besides, “fancy” places are for the wealthy. We can’t afford real architecture as it is far too expensive.
I understand that for many of us a gallon of paint is expensive. I get that. But stick with me. Rather than starting with a “no,” start with a “yes” and gradually determine what is within your budget. Sometimes good design begins by getting rid of things that don’t support us.
And so the question: how can we create an environment that will make the experience of waking in the morning more life-affirming?
Let’s start with the quality of light in your bedroom.
With the possible exception of day workers, eastern light is important for a bedroom. Waking to and with the sun is hard-wired into our human experience and speaks to something deep within us. In comparison, waking with alarm clocks is a recent development, having not become widely available to regular folks until the late 1800’s. Factory whistles have a similar timeline, emerging during the industrial revolution. Time zones didn’t even exist until the development of the railway system. Tower bells have been in use longer, but even they are a brief blip in the human timeline. Instead our ancestors relied on the sun.
Sure, during certain seasons contemporary life may require many of us to wake before sunrise. Still, eastern light is always a positive attribute of a bedroom. Moreover, a bedroom’s eastern exposure also means that in the evening it will be one of the darker spaces in a home, preparing us to cycle down after our day.
If you were building a home from scratch it should be obvious: make sure the bedroom(s) have eastern and/or southeastern exposure. But what if that’s not possible in your current residence? Incandescent lights are also a comparatively recent development and while they are in no way the same as sunlight, a bulb with a proper color correction (temperature) can at least approximate the rising sun. Programmable bulbs have helped with this as they can be set to slowly come on at sunrise and to approximate the color of morning light. The color of the bulb can also change through the day to align with the changing colors of natural light.
If programmable bulbs are out of reach I suggest a bulb with a warm temperature that is controlled by a dimmer. I’m often surprised to see homes where the bedroom has a bright bluish bulb (so called “daylight” bulbs) blazing away in the morning. (Worse yet, florescent bulbs.) This is a bit like jumping from darkness to midday sunlight. Harsh.
Needless to say, privacy is an issue in many bedrooms. You don’t want people looking in on you as you sleep. There are a number of ways to achieve privacy. Most people simply rely on window coverings. I like shades that will raise from the top and the bottom, allowing me to control them as appropriate. For example, by leaving the top section of the shade open I can welcome the morning sunlight. At the same time I can maintain my privacy by only cracking the bottom part of the shade to allow fresh air and exterior conditions to enter the room. A shear is also a great solution for privacy and in of itself can be quite nice. Go for the most shear fabric you can find.
I also like to use landscaping as a visual barrier. By carefully placing plants relative to the potential view into your window you can greatly reduce the need for window coverings in all but the most exposed conditions. It’s also worth noting that when you are inside a space that is comparatively dark as compared with the light outside, it can be quite difficult to see inside a space.
Continues Part 2
Picture yourself… waking on a late April morning, perhaps a Saturday. What does your day hold? Are you headed to work? Perhaps morning breakfast with your daughter? Maybe you are going out for a run with a friend. Or it might be that you just want to rest in bed for a while and see where the day takes you. Is there somewhere beside you?
Slowly sitting up in your bed you notice that sunlight on the eastern horizon is gently washing through the new spring leaves on nearby trees. The shadows created by the leaves create patterns of light that lazily move across your bedroom wall. Through an open window you hear leaves gently rustling, animated by the morning breeze. Birds are gaily chirping; you see a vibrant red cardinal. Perhaps you can smell the coffee or fresh bread that a neighbor is preparing. You might hear the sound of water. You scarcely notice that the air in the room seems fresh and slightly cool. Moments pass as the sunlight grows in intensity and the patterns of shadows and light become even more pronounced as they almost imperceptibly move down the bedroom wall.
Pause now for a moment and take stock of the actual bedroom in which you’ve been sleeping. What is the nature of the light as you wake? How would you describe the air? Can you hear anything? Smell anything? How do you feel? Does the room support the basic human enterprise of waking and beginning a new day? Does it support and brighten your life?
I certainly hope so. Life is too short not to embrace its positive potential. Sadly, however, for some I already know the answer. Many of us have never questioned the quality and character of the environment around us. It simply is what it is. Besides, “fancy” places are for the wealthy. We can’t afford real architecture as it is far too expensive.
I understand that for many of us a gallon of paint is expensive. I get that. But stick with me. Rather than starting with a “no,” start with a “yes” and gradually determine what is within your budget. Sometimes good design begins by getting rid of things that don’t support us.
And so the question: how can we create an environment that will make the experience of waking in the morning more life-affirming?
Let’s start with the quality of light in your bedroom.
With the possible exception of day workers, eastern light is important for a bedroom. Waking to and with the sun is hard-wired into our human experience and speaks to something deep within us. In comparison, waking with alarm clocks is a recent development, having not become widely available to regular folks until the late 1800’s. Factory whistles have a similar timeline, emerging during the industrial revolution. Time zones didn’t even exist until the development of the railway system. Tower bells have been in use longer, but even they are a brief blip in the human timeline. Instead our ancestors relied on the sun.
Sure, during certain seasons contemporary life may require many of us to wake before sunrise. Still, eastern light is always a positive attribute of a bedroom. Moreover, a bedroom’s eastern exposure also means that in the evening it will be one of the darker spaces in a home, preparing us to cycle down after our day.
If you were building a home from scratch it should be obvious: make sure the bedroom(s) have eastern and/or southeastern exposure. But what if that’s not possible in your current residence? Incandescent lights are also a comparatively recent development and while they are in no way the same as sunlight, a bulb with a proper color correction (temperature) can at least approximate the rising sun. Programmable bulbs have helped with this as they can be set to slowly come on at sunrise and to approximate the color of morning light. The color of the bulb can also change through the day to align with the changing colors of natural light.
If programmable bulbs are out of reach I suggest a bulb with a warm temperature that is controlled by a dimmer. I’m often surprised to see homes where the bedroom has a bright bluish bulb (so called “daylight” bulbs) blazing away in the morning. (Worse yet, florescent bulbs.) This is a bit like jumping from darkness to midday sunlight. Harsh.
Needless to say, privacy is an issue in many bedrooms. You don’t want people looking in on you as you sleep. There are a number of ways to achieve privacy. Most people simply rely on window coverings. I like shades that will raise from the top and the bottom, allowing me to control them as appropriate. For example, by leaving the top section of the shade open I can welcome the morning sunlight. At the same time I can maintain my privacy by only cracking the bottom part of the shade to allow fresh air and exterior conditions to enter the room. A shear is also a great solution for privacy and in of itself can be quite nice. Go for the most shear fabric you can find.
I also like to use landscaping as a visual barrier. By carefully placing plants relative to the potential view into your window you can greatly reduce the need for window coverings in all but the most exposed conditions. It’s also worth noting that when you are inside a space that is comparatively dark as compared with the light outside, it can be quite difficult to see inside a space.
Continues Part 2