Controlling Natural Light Levels

Creating Atmosphere with Natural Light

The amount of natural light entering a room will determine its overall feel. Light is essential for our wellbeing and, from an interior design point of, for bold colours to be seen at their best and for pale neutral colours not to appear faded and lifeless. If daylight is limited by small windows or a north facing aspect, then apart from taking steps such as painting the windows and wall surrounds in a gloss paint to reflect as much light as possible, a window blind such as a venetian or roller blind makes an ideal choice for dressing your window. The benefits being that the blind rolls or stacks sit neatly at the top of the window so discreetly that they are barely seen, allowing the maximum amount of light to stream into the room.

Windows in schools, laboratories, offices and private homes can have their levels of natural light completely controlled with hi-tech specialised fabrics that have been made into blinds or curtains. Silent Gliss is one of our quality suppliers, providing blinds and specialised curtains for some of the grandest of boardrooms to the smallest of cloakroom windows.

Blinds

Windows are usually the most important feature in a room, simply because they let light in whilst allowing us to see out. The strength of a window, as far as decoration is concerned, is that they offer light as their main feature, which often needs to be controlled. Blinds are an extremely versatile window dressing, providing ample variety to control natural light levels to your own personal requirements. Whether you need a complete blackout for a nursery or screening room, or a blind that gives off a warm ambient glow without the glare of direct sunlight, there is no shortage of options available.

Most blinds can eradicate the harsh glare of the sunshine from a room, to what extent and ultimate effect are solely down to the choice of blind type and material. For windows that endure long bouts of direct sunlight, most notably on south facing walls, controlling the natural light often requires a blind such as a Roller, Venetian or Vertical Blind. These offer complete coverage, preventing shards of light creeping through and allowing you to create the desired ambience for your home or office.

Many of these blinds are available with specific properties such as Glare Reduction, which is a specially developed blind fabric which shields the effect of the sun, see the Mercury SRC Green vertical blind. Light Reflective, which is a fabric that helps to keep the heat of the sun out in the summer and retain warmth in the winter, such as the Caprice Terracotta pleated blind. Black Out, which does exactly what it says, like the Costello Denim roller blind and Dim Out, which reduces the amount of light coming into the room, the Zanzibar Biscuit roller blind, for example.

The opacity and the colour of the fabric used in the blinds often helps determine what glow, if any, the blind produces when in direct sunlight. Cool colours such as blues and greens will seem restful in the summer, casting a shadowy hue, ideal for offices where glare may be a significant problem. Conversely, the softer shades of yellows, oranges and pinks provide a warm unobtrusive glow ideal for any living area or bedroom in the house.

Blocking out the Sun

Rather than softening light to create an appropriate ambience, you can simply use blinds to create a complete blackout. Dense materials - such as metal, wood or thick fabrics - used in designs such as the Wentworth Taupe Roller Blind and Frosted Sky Metal Venetian Blind, offer a near total blackout even at the height of day. Due to the total restriction of natural light, these forms of blinds are often only used for very specific purposes, for example it can help clarity during projections either in the workplace or at home, protecting furniture and soft furnishings from the harmful rays of the sun and it can also aid sleep during the day for night workers and young children. The darkness also helps keep rooms cooler in the hot summer months. These window blinds look ultra-chic in a modern contemporary home or office space, but in a more traditional setting, they may need additional curtains to soften the look, making for a more stylish window finish.

Variable Blinds

Of course if total blackout is not required, there are a number of alternatives that allow partial daylight to filter through; Vertical and Venetian blinds are two such examples. Vertical blinds feature long vertical fabric slats, these can be twisted to angle natural light in from certain directions, they can also be fully drawn back or closed making them extremely versatile. Vertical blinds are especially suited to wider and longer window spaces, bay windows or patio doors.

Venetian blinds work on a very similar principle, however the slats are positioned horizontally and are ordinarily made from either metal or wood. This type of blind offers precise control of the sun and light, as well as privacy. Depending on the angle you choose the slats to be, these blinds will allow you to see out, without prying eyes seeing in.

Curtains

The choices of curtain fabric is every bit as varied as the choice of window blind fabric. Whether you are looking for something that says modern sophistication, antique luxury, eastern opulence or country cottage charm, there is sure to be hundreds of curtain fabrics to choose from. To achieve the desired ambience in the room is then a question of deciding if a thick blackout lining is required to control daylight and sunlight, or interlined curtains for opulence as well as insulation. Or perhaps you favour light unlined muslin or sheer curtains to screen an unwelcome view or offer privacy in a bedroom, bathroom or for a living room window that is looking out into a busy street. The choice of curtain tracks and curtain poles from Poles and Blinds will provide a wonderful basis for window treatments that will make a real statement.

The best solution for dealing with specific problems of light levels, be it sunlight or daylight, is to choose a combination of window treatments of both blinds and curtains. Allowing the window blind to deal directly with the specific light problem, using it as and when necessary, and leaving your curtains and curtain poles to be the centre of attention.