Nothing beats natural sunlight when it comes to warming up and brightening our living spaces. Natural sunlight becomes even more appreciated after enduring a very harsh winter season. Bringing in natural sunlight in your home can lift your spirits up, improve your health, and help you reduce energy consumption.
It is for this reason why a lot of homebuyers today are looking for properties that have loads of natural sunlight coming in because they know how important and beneficial it is for a home. In fact, having lots of natural sunlight coming into the home is one of the key features they’re looking for when buying a new home.
However, you don’t really have to buy a home that has plenty of natural sunlight already coming in because you can do it on your own. You’ll be surprised at the many different ways of promoting natural sunlight into your home.
Install Larger Windows or Doors
If you’re planning to replace your old windows or doors with new ones, now is the right time to do it. Since you’re going to buy new windows or doors, make sure that you choose those larger ones and expand their openings to increase the amount of natural sunlight coming into your home.
Windows and doors from companies jbros.com are so advanced that they allow for a minimal framework. There’s more exposed glass which invites more natural sunlight. It’s best to choose bow or bay windows if you want to have plenty of natural sunlight coming in.
Replacing your old exterior door with a patio or garden door can transform any living space into a room with plenty of sunlight without compromising your privacy.
Clean Your Windows Regularly
If you need another reason why you should clean your windows regularly, here’s one: dusty, murky, and dirty windows can block out natural sunlight and prevent it from entering you’re your home.
This is a cost-free way of ensuring that natural sunlight will always come into your home. So, dust and clean your windows regularly. In addition, avoid installing dark and heavy treatments and curtains because they can block out sunlight. Instead, opt for sheer fabrics and treatments made of lightweight materials that can let natural sunlight in without compromising privacy.
Maintain Your Exterior As Well
Natural sunlight should be able to access your home at that must start outside your home. You have to ensure that there’s nothing that will block out natural sunlight from your windows, such as bushes or trees.
If there are bushes or trees near windows or doors, keep them pruned and well-maintained, so they don’t end up blocking sunlight completely. Try to avoid planting trees or hedges on the south side of your home for privacy purposes. The sun rises too high for them to provide you shade in summer and they’ll only block out the natural light and warmth of the sun in winter.
Choose The Right Color For Your Interior
As you may already know, different colors can either absorb or reflect light. Dark colors tend to absorb light. A dark interior, even with lots of windows, will look dull and dreary compared to light-colored interior. It won’t matter if your living spaces have plenty of large windows because if they are painted with a dark color, you won’t see and feel the benefits of natural sunlight coming in.
Lighter colors, on the other hand, act like a mirror and reflect light around a room. So, if you want to see and feel the benefits of natural coming into your home, choose a light color for your living spaces. You can even use a shinier or semi-gloss paint if you want to enhance the reflective properties of the chosen surface paint color of your interior.
You can’t also forget about your ceiling. Paint your ceiling with a color that is lighter than your walls so your interior will look and feel brighter, larger, and taller.
Install Light-Colored Curtains
Thick or dark curtains may be effective when you want to sleep or reduce the draft from your windows. But they’re not very effective when it comes to allowing more natural sunlight to come into your home and for brightening up your living space.
For your bedrooms, we recommend that you opt for black-out shades that can be easily rolled down in the evening before going to bed and rolled back up in the morning after waking up. As
As for your living room, dining room, and other areas of your home where people tend to gather, install light-colored curtains or blinds that can be easily retracted if necessary.
Add More Mirrors
We already know that mirrors can improve the visual aesthetic of your home. They also serve a function too, which allows us to see how we look before heading to work or for school in the morning.
Aside from their function and style, mirrors are also capable of making a room look bigger and help more natural sunlight to come in. Mirrors are reflective, so when they catch the sunlight, they become a source of light as well and help distribute it throughout the room by bouncing the light.
To optimize mirrors to help enhance natural sunlight in your home, you have to place them effectively. It’s best to place them on surfaces where natural sunlight hits.
Try An Open-Concept Layout For Your Interior
It’s also possible that the natural sunlight entering through your windows can be blocked by any clutter or furniture. To avoid blocking natural sunlight, make sure that there is no furniture or any clutter near your windows, such as large plants, desks, bookcases, appliances, and other bulky furniture. Try to move them to the other side of the room and replace them with floating shelves or smaller furniture.
Final Thoughts
There are still plenty of ways to promote natural sunlight in the home. But you can always start with the ones we mentioned above as they are easy to do on your own. Once you follow our tips from above, we can guarantee you that you’ll soon have plenty of natural sunlight coming into your home, making your living spaces that are bright and warm.
