Five Winter Light Rules for Iowa City's Goosetown and Longfellow

To keep an older Goosetown or Longfellow home bright in December, pick coverings that lift fully off the glass by day. Use your lightest fabric in porch-shaded front rooms. Save the heavier layer for after dark. Iowa City gets only about 9 hours of daylight on the shortest day. Every hour of low sun counts.

The five rules below come from how these houses are built. They have small rooms and only a few windows. Many have deep porches and trim that deserves to be seen. None of the rules asks you to change the house. They just help your windows do more with less light.

Why are December days so hard on Goosetown and Longfellow homes?

December is the dimmest stretch of the year. On December 21, the sun comes up around 7:30 a.m. It sets around 4:39 p.m. That's about 9 hours and 9 minutes of daylight, per the U.S. Naval Observatory. Plenty of December days are gray, too. The normal December high in Iowa City is only about 34 degrees. So the windows stay shut, and the house lives on whatever light comes through the glass.

Older homes feel that more than most. Goosetown sits on the city's northeast side. Bohemian and German immigrants began settling there in the 1850s. Many built modest one-story cottages. A Prybil family cottage at 937 Davenport Street dates to 1874. It's now a local landmark. Rooms in cottages like these are small. The windows are fewer and narrower than in a house built today.

Longfellow came a little later. Key additions were platted in 1908, 1909 and 1914. Most homes went up between about 1910 and 1940. The bungalow was the most popular style. The Moffitt houses on Rundell Street went up mostly from 1922 to 1924. Many Longfellow homes have deep front porches. A porch is lovely in July. In December, its roof shades the front windows right when you want that light most.

So both neighborhoods share one winter question. How do you dress the windows to suit the house? And how do you get privacy at night while still letting the short days in? Here's where we'd start.

Rule 1: Why should a raised shade leave the whole pane bare?

Because the top of the window does the most work. Light from the upper glass reaches deepest into a room. A covering that hangs a few inches over it trims away your brightest band of daylight. It does that even when the shade is open. In a small cottage room with one or two windows, that band matters. It can decide if the room feels open or dim.

Look for coverings that stack up tight and high:

• Mount the shade on the trim or just above the opening. The raised fabric then sits above the glass, not over it.
• Choose slim headrails and fabrics that fold or roll up small.
• For drapes, run the rod a few inches past each side of the window. The panels can then stack off the glass completely.

Then build a small habit. On a gray December morning, raise the shades all the way. Not halfway. It sounds minor. But in a room with one window, it's the biggest change you can make. And it's free.

Rule 2: Why go lightest in the porch-shaded front room?

The front room under a porch roof starts every winter day behind. It gets less light than any other room in the house. Hang a heavy covering there and you double the problem. That room deserves your lightest, most open choice.

Privacy is the usual worry. Many front rooms sit close to the sidewalk. Two simple answers:

• Top-down, bottom-up shades. Lower the top to bring daylight in over everyone's heads. Keep the bottom up for privacy at street level.
• A sheer or light-filtering layer. By day, people outside see shapes but not details. The room stays bright.

Save the darker fabric for a back bedroom. Back there, light matters less and sleep matters more. It's fine for rooms in one house to have different coverings. Just keep the colors friendly with each other. From the street, one color across the front windows keeps the house looking calm.

Rule 3: Which fabrics glow by day instead of blocking light?

Light-filtering fabrics. They soften and spread daylight. Even with the shade down, the whole fabric glows and the room still feels lit. A room-darkening fabric acts differently. Lowered, it turns into a dark panel on the wall. That's great in a bedroom at night. In a front room in December, it's a poor trade.

A few things help a fabric glow:

• Light colors. White, ivory and pale linen carry light well. Soft gray works too. Deep navy or charcoal looks like a dark patch on a cloudy day.
• Open weaves. Woven wood shades let light through small gaps in the weave. They also add warm texture that suits older houses.
• Unlined Roman shades. A light-filtering Roman folds neatly. It still lets daylight through when it's partway down.

The best test is simple. Hold a sample against the glass at midday on a cloudy day. Does the room still feel bright? You've found a good daytime fabric. Does the room go flat? Keep that one for the night layer.

Rule 4: When should the heavier layer come out?

After dark. Iowa City's normal December low is about 18 degrees. That's when a heavier layer earns its keep. Lined drapery panels or a cellular shade make a room feel snug once the lamps are on. They also give full privacy when the house is lit up inside.

The trick is to keep the day job and the night job separate. Pair a light daytime covering with a heavier one you close only in the evening:

• A light-filtering Roman shade plus lined drapery panels that open fully off the glass.
• A woven wood shade with a simple cellular shade behind it.
• A sheer panel plus a lined panel on a double rod.

Now you don't have to choose between a bright day and a cozy night. In the morning, open the heavy layer all the way. Let the light one handle privacy. In the evening, close both. Want to keep it simpler? One light-filtering cellular shade can do a fair job of both. It just won't glow quite like a sheer.

Rule 5: How do you work with the old trim, not over it?

Let the trim show whenever you can. Painted or stained trim is a big part of what makes these houses feel like home. Coverings that hide it can make a room look smaller.

• Inside mounts sit inside the window opening. The trim stays fully in view. They need enough depth in the frame, so measure the depth first.
• Outside mounts sit on the trim or wall. They cover more of the frame. But they can clear the glass completely when a window is shallow. On plain trim, that's often a fine trade.
• Simple shapes suit these homes best. A flat Roman fold, a clean roller or a woven shade lets the woodwork stay the star.

Measure each window on its own. Older houses often have windows that look the same but differ a little. A custom size keeps the fit clean.

How do the main choices compare for winter light?

Here's how four common choices stack up on a December day in an older Iowa City home.

No single row wins every column. Most homes do well with a light shade for the day and a heavier layer for the night. Choose room by room.

What fits a small Goosetown cottage?

Keep it light and compact. Small cottage rooms have few windows and little wall space. Bulky coverings crowd them fast.

• Front room: a light-filtering roller or Roman shade, mounted to clear the glass when raised.
• Kitchen: a light-filtering roller shade that rolls up small and wipes clean.
• Bedroom: a room-darkening cellular shade. Or a light shade with a lined panel for night.

Narrow windows often look best with one covering each, not one wide piece across a pair. Is a cottage window close to the street? A top-down, bottom-up shade gives you daylight and privacy at once.

Goosetown and Horace Mann together make up one of Iowa City's five conservation districts. The city's preservation commission reviews exterior changes there. Planning work on the outside of the house? Check with the city first.

What fits a Longfellow Craftsman or foursquare?

Longfellow's houses have more room and more variety. You'll find Craftsman and foursquare homes there. Dutch Colonial and Queen Anne houses too, as the district's National Register listing shows. Many share wide trim, built-ins and that deep front porch. Longfellow is also one of the city's eight local historic districts.

• Porch-shaded front room: your lightest fabric. A top-down, bottom-up shade keeps the upper glass clear.
• Dining room: woven wood or Roman shades that suit wood trim and built-ins.
• Upstairs bedrooms: these often get better winter sun than the porch room below. Use cellular or Roman shades in a darker fabric for sleep. Open them fully by day.
• Stair landing or small upper window: a simple roller shade that disappears when raised.

Foursquares often have matching windows on each side. One fabric color for the whole floor keeps it tidy from the street. The style can still change from room to room.

What should you check before choosing?

Walk through the house on a gray afternoon. Ask a few questions at each window:

1. Which rooms do you use most in winter daylight? Start there.
2. Is a porch roof shading this window? If yes, go lighter.
3. How deep is the frame? That decides inside or outside mount.
4. Is the trim worth showing? If yes, lean toward inside mounts and simple shapes.
5. Who can see in at night? Plan a night layer for street-facing rooms.
6. Does the room need darkness for sleep? Use room-darkening fabric there, not in living spaces.
7. Will the colors look good from the street? One color family across the front helps.

Got a newer place too, or a grown kid moving into one? Brand-new attached homes raise different puzzles. We cover them in sizing coverings for new townhome windows. Curious how houses changed as the area grew? Read how North Liberty homes differ by building era. The fold styles above are shown on corporate's Roman shade fold options.

Want the background on Longfellow, Goosetown and the city's other protected neighborhoods? The City of Iowa City has a historic preservation page with the full list of districts.

Want help picking fabrics that glow in your own rooms? Ask our Iowa City team to bring samples by. You'll see them in real December light. Book your free consultation.

Kevin Sill is CFO and co-owner of the family-owned Budget Blinds franchises serving the Iowa City area.