I have been waiting so long to see how the light inside the house would change once the windows were mounted in the irimoya. Yesterday, my long wait was over. Sasaki-san and the sash man finished installation.
Aside from some hours during preparation work, the irimoya has been boarded up since December. With each successive step in the build, the interior of the house has gotten darker and darker – tyvek sheeting, insulation, and cladding have all subtracted light. The deep eaves play a part, too. It’s cozy inside but dim and darker than I expected.
But with the boards off, the house transformed to something more like my expectation. The high-placed light is glorious and soft. The sun was out in the mid-afternoon and it made the kitchen and dining room glow.
The extra light brightens the first floor just like I hoped. And because the windows face east and west, the light will shift though the day and through the seasons, creating a subtle timekeeping that I know I will enjoy.
This morning, eager to see the sunlight clock in action, I drove up to the site in my pajamas at 6:15 to see what the loft looks like with the early light from the east. It’s good! Future yoga classes will be well-illuminated.
While I was there, I noticed pools of light in the center of the house that will be gone with the addition of the interior walls, stairs and other structures. I won’t see them in the finished house, but the light will shine on the walls instead of through them and that will also be beautiful.
