Want to Maximize the Natural Lighting in Your Home? Here's How

People joke about man-caves, but it’s no joke when you can’t see them. Older homes tend to have too few windows, dark corners and narrow hallways that could lighten up. Newer homes have more windows, but usually not in the places they’re needed, like dark hallways and corners. Natural light has so many benefits to our emotional and physical health, that it’s a disservice to live in dark caves. Natural light gives us better concentration, a peppier step and Vitamin D. So, let’s get those dark shadows outta there and maximize your natural light.

Add Windows

There are walls in every house without windows. Adding casement windows beside double-hung windows gives a room more light as well as adding fixed or transom windows above the double-hung windows. Floor to ceiling windows add natural light as well. Many homes have bay windows only in the formal living room or formal dining room. However, when they are extended to the story above, they are called oriels. This brings grace as well as plenty of natural light to rooms.

Odd shaped windows like ovals, diamonds and ship’s port windows are sometimes placed in hallways and at dark corners of a house to shed some light on the subject. Homeowners might consider placing these odd shaped windows in a pattern such as port-diamond-port or oval-square-oval. Perhaps smaller custom round windows, shaped like bubbles, could be installed around port or oval windows to make a pattern of light in the space. It would certainly be a focal point in the space or room.

Add Skylights

Older houses often have no windows at all in certain rooms. If this is the case, install a skylight. They can be cut to any length the homeowner needs. For example, if the kitchen has no windows at all, cut the skylight three-quarters of the length of the room, placed in the center of the ceiling. Of course, the heat coming in the skylight needs to be considered. When the room is not in use or homeowners want to control the heat coming in but not the light, blinds may be installed. The slats can be adjusted to reflect heat back outside, but allow natural light to come in.

Another idea would be to install tubular daylighting devices. These are small tubes cut from the roof like a skylight. The light is carried along a coated metal surface until it reaches a diffuser lens in the ceiling. One tube can illuminate a 100 to 600 foot space. The great thing about TDDs is that they create no dark shadowy spaces, making them good for hallways and dark corners as well as whole rooms.

Window Treatments

The budget can’t always handle knocking out walls and adding banks of windows. In that case, let’s maximize what is available. Rip out those dark curtains and hang filmy or lacy sheers. That keeps a little of the heat out, but allows for natural light. Shades and blinds do the same job, some of which can be enhanced by using sliding barn door hardware, if a bank of windows or floor to ceiling windows is involved. If the house is located in such a way as to have no one peering inside, the windows could always go uncovered. The weather would dictate when to hang window treatments, of course, but the rooms would have lots of natural light.



Other Methods

A coat of a light eggshell or shiny paint would help rooms lighten up. Homeowners would want warmer colors, however, in northern and eastern rooms, because they tend to be the chilliest. Hanging mirrors in strategic spots helps spread the light around and destroy any dark corners or spaces in rooms and hallways. Removing solid inner doors and replacing them with glass doors would help spread the light around, too.

Paisley Hansen is a freelance writer and expert in health, wellness and interior design. When she isn’t writing she can usually be found reading a good book or hitting the gym.

UPDATE: Since the publication of this article by Paisley Hansen, we invite you to read the following article from 

The Comfy Home Corner on 17 Interior Lighting Ideas That will Give A Modern Look to your House Within 45 Days.

You can check it out here: https://comfyhomecorner.com/interior-lighting-ideas/

Wooden Venetian Blinds

Homeowners sought since Egyptian days to shelter their homes from the sun and heat. One of the first ways utilized fixed wooden slats on the outside of windows. Examples abounded in ancient Egypt. In 1757, a French craftsman advertised blinds with adjustable slats. The rich soon added adjustable blinds to their homes, churches, shops and public buildings. These adjustable blinds were called Venetian blinds by the English, persian by Italians; jalousie a la persienne or just persiennes by the French. Whatever we call them today, they consist of slats, strung on strings that can rotate to open to let in sun and air or closed to protect furniture or reduce heat and glare.

Blinds2Go of Nottingham, England, was the first UK company to sell blinds online way back in 2000. One of their most popular products are Blinds 2 Go Wooden Venetian blinds. These blinds are natural basswood blinds stained in a range of colors from Ash, Canadian Maple, European Oak, Cedar, English Oak, Tuscan Oak, Yew, Golden Oak, Natural Rowen, Cherry, Walnut, and more all with natural graining.

Blinds2Go can be purchased using recess fitting, inside the window recess, or exact fitting for outside the window recess. The slats generally come in three widths and are made from kiln-dried hardwood, lacquered for a smooth finish and color coordinated with valance, bottom rails, and toggles. Delivery takes five to seven working days and can even be made to non-mainland locations; Northern Ireland, Scottish Islands (including Skye), Isle of Man and Isle of Wight. The blinds you order are insured and come with a three-year guarantee.

A new coat of paint and new window coverings are two ways to feel like you just moved in to a new home. Try our friends at Blinds2Go in the UK.

Blackout Means Black!

Prior to 1939, the Air Ministry in Britain believed that night, air attacks were coming. By September 1, 1939, night lighting regulations were imposed that prevented ground lights from being seen by enemy aircraft. The regulations required that all windows and doors be covered with heavy curtains, cardboard or paint. Today, technology has improved to such an extent that enemy aircraft don’t need to see light to find their targets.

The need for shutting out light is still needed. Some people suffer from migraines and need a room that is light free. Some live in Alaska where during some months of the year the sun never sets, making it difficult to sleep. Sanity is maintained by sleeping in a room that lets in no sunlight. Others work night shifts and must sleep during the day. Or maybe the glare from the sun is blocking you from seeing the big game. Of course, there are vampires, too, but you know about them.

Back to the UK, interior design solutions for a light free room range from blackout curtains to Blackout roller blinds by Tuiss. Who should know more about blackout blinds than the British? Right? Blackout roller blinds come in a plethora of colors and varieties of white and textures to match almost any décor. They can be patterned and even vertical. And when it’s cold, like we’ve had here for the better part of January, they keep the heat in and the cold out. The roller blinds can fit inside the window frame or outside the frame.

Our friends at Tuiss conducts themselves in a way that is kinder to the environment and maintains a membership in Landlife: Landlife works for a better environment by creating new opportunities for wildflowers and wildlife and encouraging people to enjoy them.

Affordable Luxury - Greener by Nature - Better by Design

I keep mentioning one of our favorite shows, House Hunters International.  We love to see the variety of homes that are in sunny climates and are beach side or come with a water view.  In many of the homes, we see "plantation shutters."

I didn't know much about plantation shutters until I read this article, Plantation Shutters: Window Treatments that Increase Your Home Value.

Plantation shutters are multi-purpose interior window coverings. They allow for an adjustable flow of air, and an adjustable amount of light, entering a room. They provide privacy. They provide shade, which helps keep interiors cool when outside temperatures climb. Additionally, they add an additional layer of insulation against outside cold. They are a versatile and highly desirable decorative touch.

The article lists five tips for the selection of plantation shutters. Aside from those tips, installation of plantation shutters greatly increase your home's curb appeal.

Window Coverings And the Holidays

I wrote this post for interior designer Suzanne Simon and it was lost on her site so I'm reprinting it here: 

I love to help my clients with their window coverings.  There are so many designs in fabric and blinds and color combinations that to the inexperienced, choosing what’s best for your home can seem overwhelming.  I can help you. 

Now’s the time, before the holidays and cold weather to make some changes.  Window coverings can make your home cozy, improve lighting, and save energy.

Now, before the holidays when the little ones come to visit, is also a good time to make sure your window coverings are safe.  Just as we hear every year about babies falling through second-floor screened windows, so do we hear of children and pets getting tangled in window cords and choking. 

The Window Covering Safety Council has some tips to make sure your children and grand kids are safe:

• Never place a crib, playpen, bed or any type of low-standing furniture near a window. In exploring their surroundings, young children can accidentally fall through an open window or window screen, or become tragically entangled in a nearby window cord.
• If you have looped pull cords, retrofit the cords for safety.

·        Rapidly gaining favor in today's window fashions, are cordless designs. They are the best choice for use in children's bedrooms and any area of the home where children spend time playing.  In fact, cordless designs are favored by consumers and decorators. They love the "clean" look and streamlined design.

Most traditionally corded window fashions, either vertical or horizontal, are available in "cordless" styles through the use of spring-loaded mechanisms, battery- or motor-operated lift controls, or simple wand pulls.  I will be happy to talk with you about your windows, and budget.