Best Ways to Increase Natural Light in Your Home

The health of a human being is highly influenced by his/her home and surroundings. The nature itself is a treasure trove of nutrients required by humans to lead a healthy and balanced life. Sunlight is one such gift of nature that is packed with vitamin D essential for our bodies. Unfortunately we overlook the significance of sunlight in our daily lives. It is high time that we analyse the amount of sunlight that we are exposed to while we are indoors. However it is refreshing to note that people are increasingly looking for ways and means to improve natural light in their homes. Here are a few techniques and tips to keep in mind for getting natural light into a dark room.

1. Too much greenery can block the natural daylight

Trim the plants, bushes and trees outside your home that have especially grown big enough to cover the doors and windows. This is because these plants block the sunlight from entering your house. Having green cover near your home is good for you and your family but it should not prevent sunlight from coming through.

2. See that your windows and doors are spic and span

Ensure that your doors and windows are clean and dust-free. The more dirt the windows accumulate, the less sunlight passes through them.

3. Experiment with mirrors in your home

Surfaces that reflect off sunlight create an illusion of more light in your room. Mirrors bounce off light falling on them and hanging them at strategic locations will help you spread sunlight in your house. You can either opt for a single large mirror or play with an array of small mirrors to illuminate your space with natural daylight.

4. Choose a white or neutral colour palette for your home

Walls of your home will reflect more light if painted with a light colour. It helps to use soft shades of white paint as shimmery white paint can make the space feel cold. An off-white shade can create warmer effect. Also, another way to increase sunlight is to paint the ceiling one or two shades lighter than that of the walls which will create a wrong impression of height and space.

5. Go metallic with your interior decor

Introducing glittering gold and silver showpieces or artwork in your home will not only add a touch of luxury but will also brighten up your rooms. Since these metals reflect light, they bring about a remarkable change when placed in a dull gloomy room of your house.

6. Ditch your hefty curtains and large paintings

Replace your hefty, dark and opaque curtains with translucent ones that let in sunlight into your rooms. It is advised to use light shades of colours for your curtains and blinds. Also, it is high time that you bid adieu to the large paintings sprawling on the walls of your house as they absorb all the sunlight that penetrates into the room. Thus your attempt to beautify your room will unknowingly deprive itself of the much-needed daylight. Avoid heavy curtains and large paintings for getting more natural light into a dark room.

7. Embrace French windows and skylights

Though expensive, installing skylights or roof windows in your ceilings works wonders when it comes to trapping natural light. They are windows built facing upwards towards the roof. This is a method that is gaining popularity in order to bring in more sunlight. You can also construct large windows or French doors that allow huge amounts of sunlight into your home. Both these remedies involve huge cost and they are time consuming too.

8. Location of Bookshelves and room partitions matters

It is recommended that you place the bookshelves or partitions perpendicular to the wall that has windows in your home. This is because they hinder the passage of light if kept parallel to the window. Furniture that disturb the flow of light should be placed in strategic locations.

9. Use frosted or tinted glass and bi folding doors

Using frosted or tinted glass for windows and doors can amp up the level of sunlight passing through them. Frosted or tinted glass makes them translucent and therefore lets in more sunlight without compromising on privacy. Using Bi folding doors is a great idea to gather more sunlight inside houses. Also known as folding sliding doors, these are made of glass and can transform your room with glass doors that spread across an entire wall. Apart from offering breath-taking views of the surroundings, it facilitates a lot of sunlight to stream into the room. Moreover it is an excellent option for those who do not have any constraints of budget.

10. Opt for furniture/accessories in lighter shades

No rooms in your home are devoid of furniture and accessories. Therefore special attention needs to be paid while choosing the colour palette of your furniture. Ensure that you buy furniture that come in lighter shades so that they reflect more light which in turn brightens up the room.

So hope you have learnt how to brighten up the dark corners of your home after reading this article. If so, share the above mentioned tips with your friends and family. Getting natural light into a dark room not only lights up your space but also provides you with optimal health as sunlight is the best source of Vitamin D, a key nutrient required by human body.