The New York Times-20080124-Chasing the Darkness With Sleight of Hand

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Chasing the Darkness With Sleight of Hand

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SOMETIMES, subtle lighting tricks can compensate for a lack of natural sunlight.

Jeffrey Bilhuber, a Manhattan interior designer, had a client whose apartment at the Hotel des Artistes at 1 West 67th Street had a bedroom, below, with very little light.

He was happy with the sconces already in place, because they effectively washed both the barrel-vaulted ceiling and the upper wall.

But because the bedroom needed a second layer of ambient light, Mr. Bilhuber added three Isamu Noguchi paper lanterns ($750 for a 76-inch-high version from Akari-Gemini). Even when they're off, they have a sculptural form when they stand alone, he said.

He moved the bed away from the high window and toward the center of the room, making it easier to get to the window. Behind the headboard he put two 54-inch-high standing lamps, with shades that pivot.

Over the larger window, he installed a Roman shade made of basket weave cotton and linen, backed by a sheer white nylon scrim. It creates the illusion that more light is entering, even though the shade is down, he said.

And for a final illusionist trick, he suspended a mirror from the ceiling. Hanging it near the window, Mr. Bilhuber said, promotes that idea that a woman might use a make-up mirror, and want to be as close to any natural daylight as possible, and be bathed in natural daylight.

[Illustration]PHOTO (PHOTOGRAPH BY PETER MARGONELLI)