Dulux Trade brings homebuilders' dreams to life
The ability to create the illusion of more space within a home without actually building bigger rooms has been a problem for architects and homebuilders alike for generations; until now.
Dulux Trade, the industry leading manufacturer of quality paint systems, has revolutionised the appearance of new home room sizes using ‘Light & Space’ and not surprisingly big name developers have been keen to experiment with this exciting new innovation.
The eScape townhouses by Barratt Kent are one of the first major new home projects to use the latest unique creation from Dulux Trade, namely its ‘Light & Space’ paint.
Light & Space uses the latest in paint technology, Lumitec, to reflect substantially more light back into a room by reducing the amount of light the painted surfaces absorb.
Sited at Barratt's Eden Village development in Sittingbourne, Kent, one of the fundamental aims of the eScape design was to maximise light and space for potential buyers. Barratt was on the lookout for innovative interior design ideas that would help meet this brief.
Anne Moriarty, Sales and Marketing Director for Barratt Kent, said: “An open-plan arrangement and extensive glazing, including a two-storey glass atrium, or ‘light court’, make the eScape houses exceptionally light and airy. Using Dulux Trade Light & Space enhances even further the sense of light within the homes.”
With maximising space a high priority for the development, new Dulux Trade Light & Space offered the perfect solution, a light reflective colour range allowing rooms to appear even brighter and more spacious.
Commenting on the use of Light & Space within eScape, Stephanie Brown, Brand Manager at Dulux Trade, said: “The challenge of visibly creating space within a home is considerable. A paint product that increases the amount of light reflected back into the room, and therefore increasing the perception of interior space, proved an exciting proposition for Barratt.”
Priorities within eScape included the ‘shop window’ for the entire development - the show home. Originally, the scheme for the show home was wallpaper only but the aesthetic impact of Light & Space caused designers to shift their initial plans to include a mix of Light & Space alongside wallpaper.
The showhome utilises the ‘Absolute White’ shade of Light & Space, chosen for its ability to provide a bright, blank canvas.
Stephanie continued: “The Absolute White shade in the showhome provides a fresh backdrop to offset the dramatic use of bright orange and black in the interior design. This clean backdrop encourages potential buyers to think about how they would like to make use of the space in the home once they have moved in.
“The use of Light & Space within the eScape project has been an important development. Traditionally, new housebuild projects predominantly use Supermatt, but the benefits of using Light & Space to make rooms, corridors and studio flats appear bigger, without dramatically adding to the bottom line, clearly won the designers over.”
Alongside the showroom, Light & Space has also been used within five other plots on the eScape site. Within these plots the designers extended their use of the Light & Space range with versatile colours including ‘Lilac Echo’ and ‘Cotton Breeze’.
As the issue of sustainability continues to rise up both the political agenda and the construction sector in particular attempts to get to grips with the Code for Sustainable Homes, it’s helpful to know that Light & Space also saves energy.
Light & Space reduces the need for artificial lighting, therefore a room can benefit from the same average level of illumination whilst using up to 20% less energy, a fact that homebuilders and homeowners alike will be more than happy to hear.