A bright home, filled with natural light, is a happy home. Not only does natural lighting have a wide range of benefits and ambience, but it also has a lot of functionality. If your home is lacking in natural light, there are many easy, quick changes you can make to fix that.
Benefits of increasing natural light in your home
There are so many benefits to bringing natural light into your home, ranging from better focus to better sleep. Whilst there are times when a cosy, dim-lit room is just what the doctor ordered, you can’t argue the science behind what a bit of light can do for you and your home.
The biggest benefits of increasing natural light in your home include:
- Focus – a dim-lit room is an invitation to fall asleep, but natural light tells our body clocks that it’s time to get on with the day and helps us focus on the tasks ahead
- Purifying air – opening up a window and letting both the sun and light in helps naturally purify the stale air that circulates in your home
- Vitamin D – you don’t need to stand outside to experience the benefits of Vitamin D. Open up your curtains and let the light in whilst you go about your daily activities.
- Mood lifter – along with the benefits of Vitamin D absorption, natural light and UV rays are a great way to make you feel positive
- Better sleep – experiencing natural daylight lets us know when it’s time to sleep. As the sun begins to set, your body will know that it’s also time for you to begin to rest
- Better vision – reduce eye strain from dimly-lit rooms and artificial lighting, by doing your work in natural daylight
- Reduce energy consumption and bills – by turning off lights and letting natural daylight in, which will instantly help you save energy and costs in your home.
Assessing the light in your home
The first step in knowing how to bring more light into your home is assessing what light you already let in. Is your home dominated by artificial lighting, or are you in the habit of opening the blinds and letting natural rays in?
You may be in the middle – with big, open windows that have no benefit to your dimly-lit living room. Taking time to figure out exactly where natural light could enter your home and how to maximise it is a great starting point to experiencing all the benefits it can bring.
Set yourself the task of walking around each room of your home and opening up the curtains. Where does the light come in? Where does it need more?
16 ways to increase light in your home
Designing your home to bring in light:
If you’re in a position to redesign your home, here are some ideas of ways you can intentionally incorporate maximising the natural light that comes in.
1. Create a sunlight room
Sunlight rooms are just like they sound – a room dedicated to letting in sunlight. Some people design these as conservatories or orangeries added at the back of their home, but you could adapt an existing room with additional or larger windows, glass ceilings or roof lanterns.
2. Install patio doors to the outside
Instead of boring back doors, instead, swap them out for glass patio doors. These will work like large windows, allowing the maximum amount of sunlight to enter your home in just one simple swap. Or, better yet, you could install double french patio doors or bifold doors, to let in double the light. Many people install these in the living rooms – particularly if it is garden-facing.
3. Swap to glass doors around the home
Swapping out your regular doors, including your front door, for glass ones around your home, even frosted, allows daylight to travel around your house; instead of being trapped inside rooms. If privacy is a concern with glass doors, you could instead install doors with glass panels or fanlight windows, to carry some light through.
4. Install a glass ceiling
Depending on the structure of your home and where you would like to install it, adding glass to your ceiling lets sunlight rain down into your house. Some options to do this include; full glass ceilings, strategically placed glass roof tiles, skylights, lightwells, roof lanterns and sun tunnels. Despite each having a different size and design, their sole purpose is to let light into your home.
5. Embrace open tread stairs
Stairways are often a huge light block in your home. If you’re looking for a huge impact, to let light travel all around your home – from top to bottom – think about swapping out your traditional staircase for an open tread one instead. With gaps between each step, light can seamlessly travel through the space, instead of swallowing it up.
6. Add more or replace windows
Adding more windows into your home, or replacing existing windows, is going to truly maximise the amount of natural light that you let in. With a huge selection of different windows to choose from, including box sash, casement, Georgian, clerestory and fanlight windows, you’ll be able to add more light to every single room – no matter the space.
Decorating your home to maximise light:
If redesigning your home isn’t on the cards, there are multiple ways you can decorate your home to maximise natural light instead.
7. Remove objects blocking natural light
Where you place your furniture in your home needs to be strategic. Move your furniture away from blocking windows and light sources and into places where the light can catch it and travel past.
8. Incorporate reflective surfaces
Reflective surfaces, such as metallic and shiny furnishings, can spread light around a room. Be intentional about where you place these furnishings, looking at where the light hits them and where they reflect the light. Reflective tiles in places such as your kitchen and bathroom can also have this effect. Ensure that these objects are not shining directly into flammable objects or into the eyes of someone sitting down.
9. Decorate with mirrors
Mirrors work even better than general reflective decor. Placing mirrors opposite windows, in reflective corners and generally where the light hits can spread natural daylight around the whole room. This can be incredibly useful in larger rooms with smaller windows. Mirrors also have the capability to make a room “look” bigger, too.
10. Add texture
Texture on walls and furnishings adds dimension to your home, as well as giving light something to gently and subtly reflect off. Think about using textured wallpaper or furniture with wooden or woven elements to maximise the light and dimension in your home.
11. Swap to sheer window decor
Sometimes having your windows open all the time can create a feeling of lack of privacy. If this is the case, swap out thick curtains to sheer drapes or blinds, to let natural light enter the room gently, without compromising on your privacy and security. If you want to choose when to let the light in but want privacy too, like with thick curtains, some people choose shutters over blinds for this purpose.
12. Decorate walls for light
As well as textured wallpaper, there are other things you can do with your walls to maximise the natural light that enters your home. Painting your walls in light colours or using paint that has a gloss finish will reflect light around the room. White and/or pale ceilings can also make a space seem far brighter.
13. Install lighter-coloured flooring
The floors in your home can also have a huge impact on the light in your home. Where dark, thick carpets often absorb light, instead opt for light lino or wooden flooring that has a subtle sheen to it. This way, the light that enters your home can be reflected from every surface, including your floor.
14. Use artificial lighting wisely
Whilst a floor lamp in a dark corner may seem like the best option to bring light to a dim space, it removes the intention of maximising natural light in your home. Instead, try some of the other ideas and options above, before resorting to artificial lighting.
15. Window cleaning and maintenance
Dusty or grimy windows are never going to let the light entering your home reach its full potential, as are windows that need sealing or are filling with condensation between the double glazing. Cleaning and maintaining your windows is a surefire way to utilise what you already have.
16. Garden and landscaping maintenance
Gardens full of tall, messy shrubbery and unruly trees are going to block the natural light entering your home. Make sure to consider cutting down plants in your garden around your windows, as well as trees that consistently block out the sun from reaching your home.
