If your house appears to be on the dark side when it comes to light, there are many ways that you can illuminate your rooms. Although artificial light also does the trick, there is nothing quite like the comfort of natural light, warming many a dreary room. With natural light, it gives off a natural buzz – think drinking fresh coffee in the morning in a sun-drenched kitchen – and it costs nothing. So how can you turn your home into a natural light palace?
Are Your Windows Doing The Job?
You could have a room that has multiple windows in it, yet it may still retain a dark demeanor if they are not letting in enough light. Sometimes you will find it is the actual construction of the window that is causing the issue, finished off with a low-e metallic coating that blocks out natural light. Switch your windows to ones that use high solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC). This tells you how much heat comes through the window when it is sunny, so a high is good. You can determine which side of the house warrants high if it is in a particular area where the sun shine is not so prevalent.
Get Skylights Installed
There is no easier way to get light into a room, than through a skylight. A large window in the ceiling opens up a room amazingly and can totally change the character of the area below it. A kitchen with a skylight directly over the bench/island provides enough natural light to open up the space below. Or, a hallway with a round skylight provides enough light to brighten up the passageway. You will be surprised when there is a full moon how often you the skylight will illuminate the hall, without the need to flick the light switch.
Replace Walls With Glass
Have you ever walked into a room that has floor to ceiling glass windows and gone ‘wow!’? A room with this much light is an amazing experience as it warms the room, while also opening it up. If you have natural vegetation outside the room, then you can decorate the area to reflect what is on the other side of the glass. By changing your room around, where once there was a solid wall, it is now a repository for natural light.
A Glass Splash Back Makes A Difference
If your kitchen is on the dark side, then there is no better way to lighten it up, while also opening it up, than using mirrors as a splash back in your cooking area. It will reflect any natural light in the room and give it a warmer feel. You can also use glass tiles to great effect too, or highly glossed up tiles for added brightness.
If All Fails: Paint!
Painting is an ideal way to make your rooms feel naturally brighter. First, do you have eaves that overhang your roof? Use white paint to let natural sunlight reflect off them and into your windows; you will be amazed at how simple and effective this step is. Look at your interior wall colors. Are they all dark, thus sucking up the natural light that may be prevalent? If so, change them. Light Reflectance Value (LRV) is what you need to check out, to find a color that suits your house. By painting your walls brighter, you will find light bounce is not so degraded and the room will appear bigger than it is.