Does your home look like a bat cave during the day? That’s a sign you’re not getting enough natural light in your home. Not only will you avoid hard-to-see floor obstacles and finally find a pair of matching socks, but natural light also has many health benefits that you miss out on when it’s not present. Sunshine boosts your body’s serotonin levels, which can tremendously affect your mood and mental health. Additionally, natural light boosts vitamin D levels, improves sleep, and helps keep seasonal affective disorder at bay for many people. Natural light improves your quality of life, and it shouldn’t be taken for granted.
It’s safe to say that considerations for natural light weren’t always — and still aren’t — a priority when designing and constructing new homes. This is because it’s impossible to rotate your home toward the sun every hour. Fortunately, there are many ways to improve your home’s natural light so that you can take advantage of its long list of benefits.
Consider Window Placement in Your House for Optimal Sunlight
Windows seem like the obvious choice for increasing the amount of natural sunlight in your home, right? If construction safely allows, consider the position of your home and how to optimize the amount of light that fills your space. Installing new windows in strategic positions can ensure that your home is filled with natural sunlight at any time of the day. Adding high windows for light can help you overcome barriers that limit your home’s exposure. The added sunlight improves your quality of life, reduces your dependence on artificial light, and lowers electricity usage.
Upgrading your existing windows to more modern and advanced windows can boost the amount of natural light in areas where renovation is not possible. Monumental Windows and Doors manufactures elegant, expertly-crafted slim-profile windows that maximize the amount of sunlight entering your home. These thermally-broken, environmentally friendly windows allow more natural light inside while also blocking more harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation and better insulating your home against exterior conditions. Flood your home with natural light by installing a sliding glass door system that gives your entire home permanent sightlines into the horizon.
Swap Your Interior Decor for a Brighter, Lighter Color Scheme
Dark interior colors don’t efficiently reflect and spread incoming light. An effortless way to fill your space with more natural light is to ditch your dark-colored decor for a lighter color scheme. Start with painting your walls a brighter color — white or off-white is neutral and great for spreading light throughout your home. One of the characteristics of paint is its light-reflectance value (LRV), which is unique to each color and hue. Lighter paints have higher LRVs than darker paints, so consider when deciding on a color for any space. Paints also have unique gloss levels, determining the amount of light that bounces off a painted surface. Balancing a room’s amount of natural light with complementing color can offer the perfect amount of illumination.
Fill your home with reflective decor and glass to bounce light around the space. Glass tiles, for example, work as tasteful backsplashes in kitchens while also reflecting natural sunlight. Consider adding a mirror in your living space to spread light without depending on artificial light to illuminate the area. These options are inexpensive and do wonders to maximize the incoming light in your home.
Monumental Windows and Doors is one of Southern California’s leading modern window and doors manufacturers. Our luxury windows are built with expert craftsmanship and long-lasting materials. As a result, we can help you bring in ample natural light while boosting your home’s energy efficiency and lowering energy costs. Contact us to learn more about our products and dealers in your area.