Dulux Light and Space..

[ampere]

Bit disappointed-

We have a big living room connecting, via double doors, to a dining room, the pair running front to back of a 4 br house. Problem is the previous owners did the floor in deep reddish-brown wood laminate, plus a green slate fire surround, both of which eat light for breakfast! Also, the artex ceiling absorbed light. Therefore we are trying to lighten the middle area of the 2 rooms which actually requires lighting in anything but a really bright summer's day! I have painted the dining area very pale grey- it's the lighter room of the pair as it has French windows out to the garden via a conservatory. The ceilings have just been skimmed, so today I got stuck into preparing to repaint the living room. Currently it's battered white! So I chose the Dulux Light and Space 'Pacific Breeze'- all of the available shades are very light so I avoided 'Absolute White' in favour of a slight tint.

Well, although I've only 'cut in' so far, you cannot see where I've been! Other MNetters have said it's really good and you can see the difference- well, I hope so! I guess the 'effect' will be via more reflected light rather than any colour, but I now wish I'd gone for the deepest tint available although even that, by nature of the light'n'brightening effect of the paint, presumably, is still pretty light!

I can see us resorting to ££ Plan B which is a Sky Tube (£500!!) which is a shiny 10" pipe that feeds light from the roof, down through the upper storey (through the built in wardrobe) and into the ceiling of the living room.

But first I will go with the pale carpetting of the living room- no idea what that will cost! And maybe even getting a bespoke oak surround built to cover the green slate. We can't really remove it as we- d'oh- got a wood burning stove built into it!

Or perhaps I should just buy head torches for the whole family!

Sorry you were not pleased with the paint - I quite fancy trying it in ours.

Have you thought about buying some fancy lighting/ lamps to try and brighten up the space?

I have only used the Absolute White - don't like any of the other colours. I accidently used a bit to touch up a ceiling which was painted in normal paint & you really could see the difference.

I don't think you can expect it to totally transform a room. I have used those light tubes elsewhere & they are very good....

Meant to add - are the connecting doors glazed? - that makes a big difference. The other thing to look at is your blinds/curtains. If you have some already in place, take them down & see what difference it makes. If it is a lot then I would consider changing them to something that blocks the light less...

Thanks, all!

Have just finished the first coat of Space and Light and I have to be fair and say that it does actually have a discernible tint. I am going to give it a chance! Also, the skimmed ceiling is still the original pale terracotta as it's being painted on Monday.

Sadly, the curtains are quite heavy and a mossy green. They're very nice and new but cost around £900 I believe so I'm living with them!!

We tend to keep the internal double doors opened wide the whole time, though they would look nice glazed.

DH is currently at Argos getting one of the 4 uplighters we have installed replaced as it buzzes!

As you can see I am being a bit more positive and upbeat today, but I will give you an update when it's all painted and back together, which should be Monday evening, bar a light carpet and the wood surround for the hearth. I really want this paint to 'work'!

Glad it's looking better now. The terracotta ceiling will surely make everything look darker (I remembered when we had ours skimmed). It'll look a lot better when it's painted. Good luck!

We just painted a whole house post-skim and you really can't underestimate how much difference a white ceiling makes. I was quite amazed at the way our rooms transformed with white ceilings. Fingers crossed you'll be even more upbeat once that's done .

I've seen the Velux light tube thing for £300 approx....thinking about getting it on my landing which has no natural light. Need to gut loft first though!

Oh didn't see that your ceiling hadn't been painted yet -agree that once that's been done it will make a huge difference.

I really would take those curtains down just to see what the effect is. If you want to keep them make sure they are pulled right back during the day so they don't obscure the window. Are there any nets or blinds as well?

Thanks.

I am looking forward to the effect once the ceiling is done!

We have the 'additional problem' that immediately outside the front window is a hedge and a couple of mature trees that we don't own- it's on council land but needs to be there to hide our window from the road as we are the last house on a cul de sac, but the c-d-s bends back in such a way that we're back up against the thru road, iyswim! The hedge and trees form the 'nature strip' that separates us from the road and is perfectly OK except it does block light from the front of the house a bit!

I will report back after tomorrow when I have white ceilings, but tell you what, I didn't realise how much I dislikes artex til we don't have it anymore, at least in the 2 main rooms of the house!

How are the ceilings ?

Okay!

It is done!

I have to say I am -ahem- happy with the result! I cannot swear I now have 25% more light in my central living area but it's all definitely brighter.

The ceiling is painted in 'pure brilliant white silk' which is actually a bit shiny and therefore reflective. The plasterer did a fabulous job so the end result is very pleasing (though the overpainting of the drips on the walls in the dining area where the painter got a bit slap dash with his application wasn't quite so fab, but you get that!).

Incidentally, I have read that Light & Space is more difficult to apply but I didn't find that.