A past client recently reached out looking for an “upgrade.” Entering their next stage of life, with both parents having established successful careers, the family was eager for more space. I had just the listing in mind—a tastefully renovated home complete with a “masterful” bedroom suite featuring cathedral ceilings and tall transom windows filling the room with sunlight.
I gave myself a small mental drumroll as we approached what I was sure would be their favorite room. As we stepped inside the wife immediately began shaking her head. I glanced toward the husband, who explained, “My wife works the night shift at the hospital. These windows would make it impossible for her to sleep in the morning.”
At first I thought, you can’t make this stuff up! I started to discuss blackout curtains, but it was clear that this approach wasn’t working. “The sun is a sneaky intruder, always finding its way through the edges,” she said. “Find me a home where we can have a suite in the basement!”
In a majority of the architectural articles I read, bringing more light into a room “trumps” aiming to create a darker atmosphere, with the exception of what we call today the “primary” bedroom. It appears that in this room darkness reigns, and the battle begins in earnest in the month of May.
It’s not just the night shift workers who are affected at this time of year. Even the most traditional sleepers get a taste. Here in the Northeast, we’re less than two weeks away from the earliest sunrise of the year. The sun starts creeping in before 5:30 a.m., and blackout shades, once a luxury, start to feel like a seasonal necessity.
A few months later, I was involved in helping to plan the layout of a new construction home with multiple ensuite bedrooms plus a gym in the basement. By the time it was finished, two of the homeowners’ six children were in medical school. Now the fight was over who got to sleep in the gym when they came home from their night shifts!
This coming Sunday evening, many in our neighborhood will be lucky enough to participate in all-night Shavuot learning. As we finally crawl into bed early Monday morning, squinting against the sunlight, some will reach for their trusty El Al sleep mask (if they can tolerate it). Others will fumble in the linen closet, hoping to rig towels or sheets over their windows. Many will give up and, like my old buyer, descend to the basement—where nighttime still reigns.
Nechama Polak is the broker of record and owner of V&N Group LLC, located at 1401 Palisade Avenue in Teaneck. Send your thoughts and comments to [email protected] or call 201 826 8809.
