Ways to Maximize the Natural Light in Your Home
No one enjoys being in a space that always feels a little too dark and dingy. If that’s how your home often feels to you, you should probably start to think about what you can do to address the problem. Luckily, there’s no shortage of practical options open to you.
Each of the ideas we’re about to discuss has already been proven to work and produce positive results in terms of making the home brighter and lighter. Natural light is vital to all of us, so if this is a problem in your home, overlook it no longer. Read on now to find out about the changes you can make.
Consider the Impact of Trees Around the Home
First of all, you should think about how the surroundings of your home might impact the amount of natural light coming in through the windows. If you have large trees or shrubs that are located close to your windows, they’re going to block the light from entering, no matter what kind of changes you make to the home’s interior. That’s why it’s so important to manage trees and shrubs and maybe even have them removed if they’re blocking too much of the natural light.
Choose a Light-Friendly Flooring
You should always choose a type of flooring in your home that reflects light to some extent. This is important because when you have carpets in place or flooring that’s too dark, it can fail to reflect the natural light around the room, making the whole space seem darker than it needs to seem. Light colored wood flooring and light tiles are usually the best at reflecting light and making the overall space seem lighter, so keep that in mind.
Invest in a New Mirror
As we’ve just discussed, reflecting natural light around the space is one of the most important things to try to do if you feel that your home is currently lacking natural light. That’s why you should make use of mirrors in most rooms in your home. There are so many styles of mirror out there, so there’s something that suits just about everyone. Mirrors are great at creating these kinds of illusions; they make rooms seem bigger and they make them lighter, so make the most of them.
Choose a Lighter Color for the Walls and Ceiling
It’s a good idea to choose lighter colors for the walls and ceiling of your home if at all possible. It’s also a good idea to keep those colors the same as each other. If you have a distinction between the color of the wall and the color of the ceiling, it can create a conflict that actually makes the room feel smaller than it is.
Choose colors that are generally very light and not too in your face; you don’t want them to overwhelm the room.
Install French Doors Opening Onto Your Garden
Having french doors installed in your home can be a fantastic way of letting a lot more natural light into the space. It can make it easier for you to maximize your garden as well. When you have a set of french doors that open out onto the garden, it helps to effectively bridge that gap that exists between the interior of the home and the garden beyond it.
That’s why many people have french doors that connect the kitchen dining space with the garden. It makes eating outdoors in the summer much easier too.
Install a Skylight
It’s definitely a good idea to think about having a skylight installed in the home if you want to add extra natural light to a space that’s severely lacking it. Of course, this only really works for rooms on the top floor of the home, but if it’s the case that you have a converted attic that always feels a little too dark, a skylight might be just the thing you’re looking for to correct that issue. They really can make a hugely positive difference.
Use Reflective Tiles in Your Bathroom and Kitchen
The tiles you use in the bathroom definitely need to be reflective. If you choose flooring that isn’t reflective in the kitchen and bathroom, you’ll severely limit the amount of natural light that’s reflected around the space.
In fact, this one of the most common reasons for people feeling as if their bathroom is darker than it should be. It makes sense to choose small, reflective tiles that reflect light and make the floor space look bigger too. Larger tiles can make it seem smaller than it is.
Choose the Right Artificial Lights
Natural light is important, as we’ve discussed at length, but it also needs to be supplemented with the right artificial lighting choices throughout the home. To put it bluntly, natural light alone is never quite enough. That’s the fact of the matter, so you should try to do what you can do to find the artificial lighting solutions that work best for you and that offer you the light you need, at whatever times of the day or night you need it. Explore the options because there’s a wide variety of solutions out there.
Keep the Windows Clean
This might seem irrelevant to how much natural light enters your home, but it really isn’t. If you want to make sure that the natural light is able to penetrate your windows and fill your home, you first need to make sure that those windows are kept properly clean at all times. If they’re allowed to get dirty over time and they’re rarely cleaned, all they’ll do is block some of that natural light in its path.
If you’re looking to maximize natural light in your home, the advice laid out above will help to ensure you get this right and achieve the outcomes you’re looking for. There’s no reason why you can’t improve the situation in your home, making it lighter, brighter and more inviting going forward.
