There’s something about natural light that feels healthier, warmer, and friendlier than artificial light. If you have the option to let natural light into your home, it will improve your quality of life in countless ways, from helping you sleep better to making your home more attractive. Unfortunately, not all houses or apartments have equal access to natural light. However, there are ways you can bring natural light into your space, even if your home doesn’t have gigantic windows.
What Are The Top Ways To Let Natural Light Into Your Home?
There are a variety of methods to can enhance your home’s lighting. First, you should know that there are a number of decorating tricks that fool the eye. They are designed to enhance the natural light that already exists in a room.
For example, hanging mirrors around the room so that they reflect the natural light from your home’s windows counts among the easiest ways to bring more light into a space. It’s certainly a cheaper option than installing new windows in a living room or bedroom.
Second, add sheers to your windows, even if you have curtains on them. With sheers on the windows, you receive a double benefit. You retain the privacy you get from curtains, while still allowing you to open up the blinds and let the sunshine in.
Third, skylights provide an excellent alternative for letting natural light pour into your room from above. Further, because of their position on the ceiling, they don’t just let the sunlight in. They let the moonlight in, too, giving you some natural lighting options, even at night.
What Colors Reflect Light The Best?
Choosing the right colors for your home is another decorator trick that enhances the natural light in a room. Light colors, like white, yellow, light blue, light green, or light orange, don’t suck up the light in the same way that dark colors, like cobalt blue, does.
Even a room with small windows benefits from light-colored paint, window hangings, and furnishings. Gloss paints enhance the effect of light colors. They also work in a similar fashion as mirrors do. That is, light gloss paints reflect the light that’s already in a space.
What Are The Trends Right Now For Natural Lighting?
There are a few notable natural lighting trends to talk about right now. The first of them isn’t exactly lighting, but rather, lighting enhancers. These lighting enhancers come in the form of natural materials, like wicker or rattan furnishings.
These materials are popular in outdoor rooms, and bringing them inside offers you a visual reminder of the textures of the great outdoors. Granted, the effect is largely psychological, but then again, many of the best decor tricks are. You’ll double the light-enhancing effect of these furnishings if you choose white or off-white colors.
Another thing we’ll see this year is lighting as a room focal point. One of the easiest ways to pull this off is to center your furnishings around a bay window to create a seating nook. Painting this area with light colors and enhancing the natural light with smaller sconces and lamps sets a bright, cheery tone in a room.
What Is The Difference Between Natural Light And Artificial Light?
Lamps, chandeliers, and overhead lights that require electricity to operate count among the sources of artificial light in your home. A lot of decorative lighting design centers around the use of these types of light in home decor.
Natural light is just like it sounds: light that comes from natural sources, the sun, usually, though not always. The easiest way to understand this is to think about a room with no windows. Even during the day, this room remains dark when the lights are off. Very little natural light comes in. This particularly holds true if this room sits in the basement of a home or apartment.
Additionally, there are smaller sources of natural light in your home that don’t come from the sun. If you light your home with candles, sconces, or even a fireplace, then you’re also letting in natural light.
Clean Your Windows!
You can enhance the natural light in your home by taking care of your windows. Getting them cleaned and serviced regularly allows more of the natural light to come in. Dirty windows block the natural light, but often, it’s hard to tell until you get your windows cleaned.
At Squeegee Squad, we utilize a five-step window washing process. We use a mild, non-toxic solution that is safe for the environment. We prioritize safely through the proper use of ladders, and the occasional use of water-fed poles using streak-free pure water. Squeegee Squad crew members are professional, uniformed, and friendly. We take great care both inside and outside of your home.
We recommend an interior and exterior window cleaning at least twice a year, and additional exterior cleanings as needed. All Squeegee Squad locations perform residential cleanings year-round!
If you’d like to bring more light into your space, think about having your windows professionally cleaned. A Squeegee Squad crew can come and personally clean your windows so that more of the sun shines into your space.