Natural light. It’s a photographer’s best friend, a major perk for office employees and a selling point for homes. Many people prefer to live in houses or apartments where they can bask in the warm light of the sun rather than under the glare and buzz of fluorescent bulbs. It influences their comfort, their health and even their mood. Vitamin D from the sun has been proven to decrease stress levels and improve a person’s mental health.
If you want to harness the benefits of natural light and flood your home with sunshine, these three tips are a great way to start.
Use lighter colours
Introduce lighter colours to your ceilings and walls. Rid your home of statement wallpaper and dark block colours and opt for softer shades of white paint. Soft hues of white – like ecru, cream, off-white and ivory – will make any space feel brighter as white paint reflects rather than absorbs natural light. The uniform blank slate will also make the ceilings look higher and the space bigger, giving your home an open and airy atmosphere.
However, not all white paints are equal in terms of visual appeal. Yellow undertones provide white paint with a creamier and warmer appearance while blue undertones give white paint a crisper and colder look. Before choosing your base, decide on whether you want a cool or a warm ambience for your home.
Add interiors with reflective surfaces
You may have heard that adding mirrors to walls will make rooms look bigger. When you put one across a window, you double the amount of sunlight that enters the room. Smooth and shiny objects such as mirrors and glass tiles reflect light back into the room because of their surfaces. When a surface is smooth and shiny, natural light will reflect at the same angle at which it hits the surface.
Try adding items with reflective surfaces to your home; consider decorative wall mirrors, metallic light fixtures, glass tiles and other interior accents. In Australia, internal glass doors are also becoming popular as they help bounce sunlight around the room and brighten any space. If you have the budget, install large new windows as well. They will not only increase the light levels in your home, but they also offer breathtaking views.
Install skylights
Skylights are a unique way to let the sunshine in your home. They are literally windows on your roof so they are the most effective way to increase the amount of natural light that enters your home. They come in various sizes and configurations and are often used in high-traffic spaces such as family rooms, kitchens and bathrooms. They’re especially convenient in rooms where privacy is an issue and you want to keep the windows covered. Skylights will instantly brighten up your space without letting others peer into your home.
Skylights also help naturally warm a home, helping lower your heating bills during the colder months.
Nothing compares to the glorious feeling of warm sunshine across your skin in the comfort of your own home. Maximise natural light in your abode with the tips above and you’ll enjoy basking in the soft rays of the sun, every day.
