Designers will use many things for inspiration. They may think of a movie, a historic time period, a specific style or color, or they may choose something vaguer – something that sets a mood rather than openly defining their inspiration.

This week let’s consider a “what if.” What if weather provided design inspiration? With Fulton’s metropolitan Phoenix location, the obvious first choice is sunshine.

This room announces a sunny day with floor-to-ceiling windows flooded with light. The dark wood window trim makes a strong contrast to the bright view outside and the light colors inside. Choosing deep orange echoes the sunny mood without being obvious while the bright citrus green chair and coffee table provide the clear colors that appear with sunshine.

Although the sky outside is a cool light blue, the expectation of a strong bright blue sky appears with the contemporary light fixture in an inviting blue/teal. A few live plants bring us that much closer to being outside in the sun.

A sunny mood is relatively easy to demonstrate with these windows and all the sunshine as support, but what if you wanted to create a sunny mood without the outdoor advantages? Take a look at this photo to the right.

This kitchen feels sunny and bright in spite of using only artificial light. What did the designer do here to make that happen?

Using white cabinets sets the light mood, and pops of bright colors – particularly yellow – carry the message forward. The countertops are also light and the cutting board is a honey tone that feels mellowed in the sunshine.

Finally, the lighting splashes light down on the cabinet doors and under the cabinets. Add the reflections from the stainless steel range, hood, and kitchen accessories and sunshine seems to have been captured in this space. And while we take sunshine for granted in Arizona, other parts of the world can benefit from creating a sunny space indoors to compensate for grey skies outside.