How Light Becomes Dark

Restoration gods help me, the next time somebody says, "But you know Craftsman houses are so dark."

Dark wood, does not necessarily a dark house make. Frequently, the houses became darker, as they were altered, updated even.

A recent purchase by clients in the West Adams Avenues is a case in point. Heavy drapery, rust-colored carpeting, awnings, and an enclosed, faux-paneled porch, combined to lower the lux.





A window even was covered (to make another closet), non-carpeted floors were blanketed with a dark vinyl, and the original back door--which likely had a glass panel or two--was replaced by a solid, hollow core.





In other cases, security doors and screens are a light robbing culprit, as is run-away landscaping, drop ceilings, side yard car ports, and spite fences.

Sure darkness is in the eye of the beholder. Sure dark woodwork may cut down on reflectivity, but incident light--that's another matter. A matter considered by architects and builders in the Arts & Crafts era. Don't blame 1910 for 1934, 1958, 1971, or 1994.