House with a second light: examples, pros and cons

Among all projects of private houses, there are special ones – with a second light. Our site of tips will tell you about their features, and also find out what advantages and disadvantages such an unusual layout has, which has both its supporters and opponents..

Buildings with a second light are by no means new. This is how the royal palaces were built with their huge, very bright ballrooms. The second light is provided by the windows of the upper tier in the living room, which has no ceiling. Actually, the room turns out to be two floors high and even more – this is the main feature of these projects.

Important! Traditionally, there is no ceiling in the living room, the main room of the house, which can be combined with the kitchen and dining room. The rest of the rooms are ordinary, with the usual ceiling height.

Train stations, hotels, restaurants are often built according to this layout, providing additional lighting and comfort to the main hall. But the owners of private houses sometimes choose to receive a second light in order to get an unusual and maximally bright living room..

The advantages of houses with a second light are many:

• The hall turns out to be very spacious, it is convenient to receive guests and arrange holidays.
• The ceilings literally soar upward, creating the feeling of a very light, airy space.
• The facade of the house also looks very impressive due to the large glazing area.
• A huge non-standard room can be zoned in different ways, creating separate seating areas, a dining room, a place for children’s games, reading, and so on..
• If a beautiful landscape opens up outside the windows, this is an additional bonus.
• You can make the most of natural light while saving on electricity.
• You can equip a mezzanine floor, from which the entire spacious living room will be visible. And the stairs to it can become a real art object..
• There is no ceiling – you can put a tall Christmas tree, hang a massive chandelier, like in a royal palace, use all the possibilities of vertical decoration.
• The house looks rich, emphasizes the status of the owners, stands out from the neighbors.

The disadvantages of houses with a second light are also enough:

• The useful area is lost. Instead of another room above the living room, the owners get free space, which, in fact, is not used in any way..
• It is more difficult to heat such a spacious room with a high ceiling, the warm air rises upwards, and below, where the owners are located, it can be cool. Additional heat sources may be required, radiators with more sections.
• Panoramic windows, the pros and cons of which the portal wrote in detail, are not cheap pleasure.
• A special approach to the design of window openings is required. Beautiful curtains of this height will cost a lot. In addition, you need to think about how to control curtains, blinds, roller shutters … Automation is needed to raise and lower them.
• Acoustics appears in a huge hall, soundproofing measures may be required.
• It is difficult to care for windows and curtains of this height..
• Replacing bulbs on high ceilings can also be a problem..
• If the living room is combined with the kitchen, the smell of food will spread throughout the house..
• The open plan is not for everyone. Some may feel insecure with such large windows, there is no sense of privacy and personal space..

Which project to choose for the construction of a private house is up to the owners, of course. The second light can become a highlight and the main feature of the cottage, but such projects cannot be called budgetary and practical.