How To Increase Natural Light in Your Home
As a homeowner, you have probably heard a lot about natural light. It’s commonly ranked as one of the top priorities for families looking to buy a new home. After all, not only does natural light have aesthetic benefits, but it also has a huge impact on your overall quality of life. Natural lighting has been shown to reduce stress, anxiety, and blood pressure, improve overall health, massively decrease your yearly energy bill, and significantly increase the average resale value of your home.
Filling your home with natural light doesn’t require a lengthy remodel. By selecting the right fixtures and making careful adjustments, you can control the amount of natural light entering your home throughout the day.
Optimizing Your Windows for Natural Light
Clean, unobstructed windows are of course the most crucial aspect of natural light management. With the right configurations, you can not only maximize the amount of light coming in, but control it as well. After all, sometimes you want only a moderate amount of light in your home – natural light should never be an inconvenience.
Tier-on-tier shutters, or double-hung shutters, are perfect for this. They’re made up of two panels hung one on top of the other for four separate elements that can be opened and closed independently. These make a bold visual statement and provide a huge range of flexibility.
Similarly, café style shutters cover the bottom part of the window while leaving the upper area completely unobstructed. This offers similar benefits to the tier on tier but with an added visual flair. A well thought out shutter system can give you complete control of the light in your home without ever touching a light switch.
If you’re looking to absolutely fill your home with natural light, you should consider investing in a bay window. By carefully determining where you install one of these expansive windows into your kitchen or another central room, you can potentially illuminate an entire floor, making the room look bigger and more inviting.
Finally, if your windows have any overhangs, you can paint them white to increase their reflectiveness and bounce light into your home. Even painting your window frames in bright colors can contribute to a healthy flow of light.
Natural Lighting and Doors
Your doors have a lot of potential for naturally illuminating your home. First, if any of your doors are solid material or have small windows, consider replacing them with a more glass-heavy option. With a range of designs available, this is a great way to allow natural light in without compromising the aesthetic of your home.
A less conventional option is the use of storm doors. A storm door provides a fantastic option to not only increase the light on your home when the primary door is open, but to also effectively control the way that light looks. If you leave your primary door open in nice weather, your storm door can instantly light up the room. Storm doors come in a variety of styles allowing you to manage the color and tint of the light entering your home.
Finally, you should look for places where you can integrate a sliding glass door, particularly for your porch or patio. Sliding doors are among the most efficient means to bring in natural light and provide a space-efficient option to light up your home.
Color and Decor Modifications To Enhance Natural Light
When increasing your natural light, bright colors are your best tool. Painting walls and ceilings white will help bounce light throughout your home.
Mirrors are another huge aspect of getting the most out of your natural light. By strategically placing reflective surfaces throughout your home, you can use just a room’s worth of light to cover an entire floor. This isn’t just limited to walls—counters, floors, fixtures, and tiles can all be used as reflective surfaces. By carefully selecting the right materials, you can get the most out of your light. By contrast, dark woods and heavy fabrics can absorb light and leave a room feeling darker and more closed off.
Don’t wait to create the bright, energy-efficient home of your dreams. We have the expertise to make sure every fixture is working towards your vision as a homeowner. Contact us today to begin revitalizing your exterior.