How to Get More Natural Light in Your Home

A home with natural light is the best medicine for a wealth of illnesses, both physical and mental. There’s nothing quite like the warm sunshine filtering through your windows throughout the day, which not only lifts your mood but also helps you save energy in the long run. This is why new homeowners place such a premium on purchasing properties that allow for plenty of natural light, and they are often willing to pay the necessary price tag for it. If you already own a home and would like to find ways to be greeted with more sunlight first thing every morning, then the following tips are sure to help you.

Paint Your Home a Different Color 

During the summer months, wearing bright colors helps decrease the amount of heat your body absorbs when you’re out and about. The same goes for the home and paint colors. Light paint will reflect light, whereas dark colors will absorb it. This is why a room painted dark green with a lot of windows will look fairly dull as opposed to a room painted white or light baby blue. Lighter paint acts almost as a mirror to help bounce light around the room. If you’re going to repaint, then don’t forget the ceiling since, ideally, you want it to be a few shades lighter than the walls so that the room feels bigger and brighter. 

Install New Windows and Doors

A clear way to bring more natural light into your home is to change the windows or even doors. There have been so many advances in the manufacturing of windows these days, which encompass the minimal use of a framework and allows for more exposed glass. That particular design is quite popular in Barrie, Newmarket, and all over Canada, and it provides an amazing look while also bringing more light into the house. There are so many styles to choose from, including picture windows, bay or bow styles, and so on. They can be combined with units that allow light and ventilation, as well as ease of use. If you want something that looks even chic and won’t compromise your privacy, then adding radius windows above the door could be a nice touch. In all cases, upgrading your windows – or even doors in some cases – is an excellent way of allowing more light into your home.

Ditch the Drapes

This is another obvious point, but it’s worth saying: heavy curtains are a thing of the past. Besides feeling old fashioned, they don’t make it easy for natural light to flow into the rooms. Nowadays, it’s all about light, airy, and lacy fabrics that don’t block sunlight. Sheer drapes in a single panel allow you to easily pull them back and enjoy the beautiful view while allowing sunlight to stream in. If sheer drapes fail to provide the requisite privacy you crave, you can also get blinders. That way, you will enjoy the best of both worlds; you can open the drapes or push the blinders up when you crave the sunlight, and close them entirely or pull them down when evening comes. 

Install Skylights

These might seem straight out of the pages of Architectural Digest, but they are within reach if you hire a good construction crew to help you. Skylights are a unique and beautiful way of bringing light into your home, and they come in all sizes and shapes, making them easy to implement in areas of the home that see a lot of foot traffic, such as bathrooms or the family den. You’ll need to cut a hole through the roof and install a skylight to allow sunlight to peek through without creating other problems, such as water leaks when it rains. An added benefit is that a skylight is so efficient it will also let in light from a full moon, which can help you save even more on your energy bills. 

Mind the Floors

You probably didn’t factor in the floors when considering different sources of light in your home. However, if you choose wood or ceramic tiles, the polished surfaces will allow you to obtain the best light reflection. Just make sure that the colors are light or neutral to help optimize the effect. Surfaces, such as carpeting generally don’t allow sunlight easily into your home, but the harsh effect could be minimized by selecting light colors. 

A bright and sunny home is essential to keeping your comfort zone light and airy while minimizing the health effects of living in a dark, enclosed space. Depending on your time and budget, there are different techniques you can employ to bring more natural light into your living quarters – not everything has to cost an arm and a leg. Even the smallest adjustments will have a positive effect.