Designing for North Idaho Light: Making the Most of Gray Winters

Anyone who has spent a winter around Lake Coeur d’Alene knows the pattern: glorious long summer evenings, then, around the winter solstice, barely eight and a half hours of daylight, much of it filtered through low gray cloud. A room that feels airy in July can feel dim and chilly by December.

Designing for the Inland Northwest means designing for both seasons. Here’s how to keep rooms bright, warm and welcoming through the dark months, without making them glare in summer.

Start with the windows you have

• Don’t block them. Tall furniture in front of windows, heavy valances and permanently drawn sheers all steal daylight you can’t spare in January.
• Hang drapery wide. Extend the rod well past the frame so open panels stack against the wall, not over the glass (here’s how).
• Choose treatments that lift fully clear. Shades that stack above the window, or shutters that open completely, preserve every bit of the view.
• Clean the glass. It sounds trivial, but a winter’s grime noticeably reduces light.

Bounce the light around

When daylight is scarce, make it travel farther.

• Higher LRV paint. Colors with a Light Reflectance Value of about 60 or above reflect more of the light that does come in. You don’t need stark white; a warm cream or soft greige in that range works beautifully.
• Light ceilings. A ceiling a shade lighter than the walls reflects light down into the room.
• Mirrors opposite or beside windows double the daylight and the view.
• Reflective surfaces. Polished wood, glass, metallic accents, a satin finish on trim: small doses of sheen catch light and sparkle.

Layer artificial light generously

Through the long winter, your lamps do more work than your windows. That means more light sources than a southern home would need, at several heights, on dimmers, with warm 2700K bulbs and a high color rendering index (CRI 90+). Lamps in corners and on side tables push back the gloom far better than one bright ceiling fixture. See layered lighting and choosing bulbs.

A few lamps on timers that come on at 4 p.m. make December evenings feel cozy rather than dark.

Warmth you can see and touch

Cold climates call for materials that look and feel warm:

• Wool rugs, knitted throws, velvet and chenille pillows
• Natural wood tones and leather
• Warm accent colors such as copper, rust, ochre and deep red. Even in a neutral room, a 10 percent dose transforms the mood.
• A fireplace or stove styled as a true focal point, with seating gathered close

Lined and interlined drapery and cellular shades also earn their keep here: they reduce drafts and heat loss at night while adding softness.

Plan for summer too

Around the summer solstice the same rooms get roughly sixteen hours of daylight, with intense late-afternoon sun on west-facing glass. Choose window treatments that can do both jobs: fully open in winter, filtering or blocking glare and heat in summer. Layered solutions (a solar or light-filtering shade behind drapery, for example) give the most flexibility and protect rugs, wood and art from fading.

Building or remodeling? Design for the sun

If you are planning a new home, the biggest decisions are on the blueprint: window placement, sizes and orientation; where the main living spaces sit relative to south light; overhangs that shade summer sun but admit low winter sun. Transoms, interior windows and wider openings can borrow light deeper into the house. These are exactly the details Von looks at in a plan review.

The takeaway

North Idaho homes need to work in two climates. Keep windows clear, bounce light with lighter, warm-toned surfaces and mirrors, layer plenty of warm lamplight, add texture and warm accents, and choose window treatments that open fully in winter and protect in summer.