Maximizing sunlight in your home is so important and beneficial to you for many different reasons. Studies show that the lack of natural light can lead to a vitamin D deficiency. Bringing more sunlight to your room has a big positive impact on your mental health and helps you to create a comfortable living room, bedroom or kitchen. Lack of natural light can also cost you money and here is why. You are more reliant on electric lighting if certain rooms in your home are always very dark. But if you increase the sunlight in your home, you save money and improve your health at the same time.
Often, people struggle with a dark home because they are not maximizing the natural sunlight that comes through the windows. When you have a room with a small window, you need to make the most of the limited sunlight that you get. The good news is, there are some simple ways that you can solve this problem and brighten the place up. Choosing the right window furnishings and learning some simple light control techniques can make a huge difference.
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These are some of the best ways to maximize the use of sunlight in your room.
1. Use Mirrors
The easiest way to boost the natural light in a room is to use some well placed mirrors. Sunlight can easily be soaked up by walls and furniture, instead of being reflected around the room. But if you place some mirrors on walls opposite the windows, you can reflect more sunlight around the room. Instead of mirrors, you can also use furniture and decorations with a mirrored surface to recreate the same effect.
2. Paint In A Light Colour Palette
Dark colors are a bad choice in rooms that do not get much light because they will absorb it all. The room will feel much brighter if you paint it in a lighter colour that reflects the natural light a lot more effectively. White and cream work very well. But if you want more color, you go for pastel tones instead of darker shades. If you still want to add more colour to a room, do it on a feature wall. However, make sure that you offset it with some light shades on the other walls in the room.
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3. Move The Furniture Around
Furniture placement is a very important part of light control in a room. Unfortunately, a lot of people get it wrong. If you have large pieces of furniture blocking a window, or in the centre of the room, it can block the flow of natural light and make the room feel dark. This is especially problematic in rooms with small windows because there is only a minimal amount of light coming in. So, move the furniture around a little and you can easily fix the problem and bring more sunlight through the room. Here is one of the best ways to do this. Take all of the furniture out of the room and see where the light naturally falls. Then you can build your furniture arrangement around the light to avoid blocking it.
4. Change Your Window Furnishings
Window furnishings are very important when you are trying to maximize the use of natural light in a room. If you have heavy drapes in a very small room with small windows, they will absorb a lot of the natural light, even when they are open during the day. But if you change them for some lighter window dressings, like some transparent curtains that let light in while also maintaining privacy, you can improve the level of natural light in a big way. Sheer curtains are one of the best options for dark rooms with small windows. You should also consider installing blinds or shutters to give you improved light control so you can let more light in, even if you want to have the blinds closed.
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5. Use Lighter Fabrics
Choosing lighter window furnishings that allow more light into the room is important, but you also need to think about any other fabrics that you have in the room, especially in the bedroom and living area. If you have a lot of dark fabrics on your bedding or cushions, for example, they soak up a lot of the sunlight and make the room appear dark. Switching these fabrics out for whites and creams will make a big difference.
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6. Cut Back Trees And Bushes
If you only have one small window in a room, you need to make sure that there are no obstructions outside that will block the light. If you have trees and bushes outside the window, you should consider whether they might be blocking sunlight during the day. You may find that if you cut back your trees and bushes, you get a lot more natural light into the room.
7. Install Glass Doors
Improving the flow of light through the house as a whole can help in dark rooms with small windows. One of the easiest ways to do this is to install interior and exterior doors with large glass windows on them. If you want to maintain privacy, you can use frosted glass, which will still improve the flow of light.
8. Add A Skylight
Sometimes a dark room with a small window that is not sun-facing is incredibly difficult to get natural sunlight into. If you have tried everything on this list and you are still not getting enough sunlight, think of more radical alterations to the room. Like adding a skylight to the room. You will get a lot more sunlight coming in through the roof, so it will fill the room.
If you have a room with a small window and you are struggling to improve the flow of light, these simple changes will make a big difference.
What are your ideas how to get more natural light in a room? Please let us know with us in the comments below! And please share this post with friends on social media!
