How to Make Your Home Feel Brighter and More Connected.
A Contemporary Lakeside Feature:
How to Make Your Home Feel Brighter, More Open, and Better Connected.
Westlake Lake, Westlake Village
Photography: OpenHouse VC
Natural light, better flow, thoughtfully framed views, and durable materials can completely change how a home looks, feels, and functions. When planning a home remodel, some of the most impactful interior design decisions happen long before finishes are selected. Layout, sightlines, circulation, window and door placement, and material choices all play a role in creating spaces that feel brighter, more open, and better connected.
In this contemporary lakeside renovation, those ideas became the foundation of the design. By rethinking the main living areas, opening the kitchen layout, introducing expansive glass doors, and selecting materials suited for everyday living, we were able to transform a once-dark interior into a light-filled home that takes full advantage of its surroundings.
Throughout this project, we’ll explore the design decisions behind the transformation and share practical considerations you can use when planning your own remodel, from improving natural light and kitchen spacing to framing a view and choosing materials that balance beauty with durability.
1. How Can You Make a Dark Home Feel Brighter?
Before selecting white paint or lighter finishes, look at the architecture.
Natural light is affected by much more than window size. Window placement, orientation, glazing, interior layout, and even the surfaces that light reflects against all contribute to how bright a room feels. The U.S. Department of Energy recommends considering window placement together with glare and solar heat gain rather than simply adding as much glass as possible.
In this home, removing interior walls allowed daylight entering from the lake side to travel farther through the main level. Light-colored surfaces helped reflect that daylight, while the new sliding doors dramatically increased the visual and physical connection outdoors.
The takeaway is simple: if a room feels dark, the solution may be a space-planning decision before it is a decorating decision.
2. How Do Interior Designers Frame a View?
A beautiful view should influence the floor plan.
When we design around a view, we consider where someone naturally pauses throughout the day. What can you see when you enter the room? From the kitchen island? From the dining table? From the sofa?
The goal is not simply to create a larger window. It is to establish uninterrupted sightlines and minimize anything that competes with them, from poorly placed walls and cabinetry to door frames, furniture, and circulation paths.
For this remodel, Jeld-Wen sliding doors and LaCantina multi-slide doors were incorporated into the design. Large-opening door systems are specifically designed to create broader expanses of glass and reduce visual interruption between interior and exterior spaces. LaCantina's aluminum-wood multi-slide system, for example, is designed for large openings and pairs a wood interior with a low-maintenance aluminum exterior.
There is also an important technical side to creating that openness. Expanding an exterior opening can affect structure, waterproofing, energy performance, and engineering. In this home, structural revisions were necessary because of the shared wall.
The takeaway: That is why framing a view is best considered early in the design process. It is an architectural move, not simply a window selection.
3. Is an Open-Concept Kitchen Always Better?
Not necessarily.
The goal should not be to remove walls simply because open-concept living is popular. The better question is: what is the wall preventing?
In this home, the walls were restricting natural light, views, entertaining, and the relationship between the kitchen and living areas. Removing them solved several problems at once.
Interestingly, one of the biggest design decisions meant sacrificing some cabinetry to gain a sliding door and improve the kitchen layout. The project notes specifically identify the result as less cabinetry, but greater functionality.
That distinction matters.
More cabinetry does not automatically create a better kitchen. Storage needs to be balanced against circulation, work zones, natural light, views, and gathering space. Sometimes removing a run of cabinets makes room for something more valuable.
This philosophy is particularly relevant today. In Houzz's 2026 kitchen research, 52% of renovating homeowners changed their kitchen layout, yet 68% kept approximately the same overall kitchen size.
The takeaway: Many homeowners are finding better ways to use the space they already have rather than simply making it larger.
4. How Much Space Should You Leave Around a Kitchen Island?
This is one of those details homeowners may not notice when done right in a finished kitchen, but they will absolutely feel if it is wrong.
Published National Kitchen & Bath Association planning guidance recommends:
-At least 42 inches for a work aisle used by one cook
-At least 48 inches for a work aisle used by multiple cooks
-At least 36 inches for a general walkway
-About 36 inches behind a seated diner when someone only needs to edge past, and at least 44 inches when someone needs to comfortably walk behind the seating
-At a standard 36-inch-high counter, approximately 24 inches of width and 15 inches of knee depth per seated diner
These are professional planning guidelines rather than a substitute for applicable building codes, appliance specifications, or project-specific requirements.
The important point is that an island should be sized after circulation is planned, not before. An oversized island squeezed into a room can make a kitchen feel less luxurious because everyday movement becomes awkward.
The takeaway: A well-proportioned island feels generous because there is adequate space around it.
5. How To Choose the Right Surface for Each Space
When selecting materials for kitchens and bathrooms, appearance is only part of the decision. Durability, maintenance, moisture, and everyday use should all influence where and how a material is used.
In this kitchen, Cambria Queen Anne quartz pairs soft veining with white upper cabinetry and horizontal-grain oak lowers. Its nonporous, stain-resistant surface and low-maintenance care make it a practical choice for a hardworking kitchen, where countertops need to perform as beautifully as they look.
The primary bathroom takes a different approach with Ann Sacks natural marble on the floor and shower surround. Marble brings natural variation, depth, and character, but requires more thoughtful care than an engineered surface.
The takeaway: is not to choose the most durable material for every room, but to choose the right material for the way each space will be used. Consider daily wear, moisture, maintenance, and how you want a surface to age. The best material selections balance performance with the character you want to bring into the home.
What Makes a Remodel Feel Timeless?
Timeless design is rarely the result of choosing the safest finishes. It comes from making the right decisions in the right order.
For this Westlake Village Lake remodel, the defining decisions happened before the quartz, cabinetry, hardwood, or marble were selected. The design team reconsidered walls, openings, sightlines, natural light, circulation, and the relationship between the kitchen and the lake.
Only then did the finishes support the architecture. The resulting material palette is restrained but layered: Cambria quartz, horizontal-grain oak and white cabinetry, Provenza hardwood, natural marble, stainless steel, and black accents.
None of those elements has to compete for attention because the most compelling feature of the home was never a finish. It was the setting.
Considering an major remodel?
The right renovation starts with understanding how you want your home to feel and function. From reworking layouts to selecting materials that will perform beautifully over time, thoughtful planning can transform the way you experience your home every day.
Start the conversation with JRP.
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