Natural light comes with a whole host of benefits, including improved energy efficiency and improved mental health, and can help to regulate your circadian rhythm and improve sleep. But do you know how to increase natural light in a house? There are several different approaches that you can take to make your rooms brighter, and we’re here to show you a selection of these approaches. Learn more below.
Top tips for increasing daylight in your home
Add a roof window or skylight
One of the premiere ways to add more natural light to your room is to add a roof window or skylight to your home. As opposed to more traditional windows, roof windows and skylights receive light throughout the day, rather than only at specific times.
Clean or update your windows
Grimy windows are not only visually unappealing, they also inhibit the flow of light. Just cleaning your windows can make a huge difference to the amount of natural light that a room receives. Replacing your windows with more modern models could also make a big difference, with larger panes of glass and slimmer frames being the order of the day for better natural lighting.
Learn how to clean skylights in our blog.
Use sheer curtains
Sheer curtains are a great way to increase natural daylight while also keeping your privacy. If the curtains can allow light to shine through, you can leave them drawn while still getting natural light. In addition to this, light that comes through sheer curtains will also give the natural light a warm glow, which will also reduce glare.
Paint walls and ceilings white
No matter how many windows you have, if you have walls and ceilings painted in dark colours, you’ll never be able to brighten the room as much as possible. If you would like to make a room brighter without adding any windows, you can paint walls and ceilings white, or another light colour such as cream. These colours reflect a lot more light compared to darker colours, making the room appear much brighter.
Add or replace patio doors
Patio doors are essentially larger windows that replace traditional doors, making the room brighter. A patio door is a fairly easy change to make, and will make for a charming addition to your home, especially if you have a pleasant garden or patio for it to look out on. Ensure that you use high-quality glass for the best results.
Add mirrors
Mirrors can’t create more light, but they can make it feel like there’s more light in a room. Adding mirrors to your walls will reflect more light into the room from any sources, be they standard windows or skylights. Floor-to-ceiling mirrors are particularly good for this.
View our mirrors.
Add reflective surfaces
Mirrors are an excellent option, but they’re not the only one – other reflective surfaces can give similar results. Reflective surfaces can include polished wood, brass or chrome.
Rearrange furniture
While it may seem like a strange way to make a room appear brighter, rearranging your furniture can have a big impact on the brightness of a room. If, for instance, you have a large chair in front of your window, nowhere near as much light will be able to enter the room. Keep light sources clear of furniture and ensure that sufficient light can flow through the room. If possible, ensure that furniture doesn’t sit in the way of sunlight in any way, allowing natural light to flow from one side of the room to the other.
Add more plants
Plants can make a room seem airier and brighter, so strategically adding houseplants to your room is a great way to increase the sense of natural light in your home. However, they have other benefits too – for example some plants can help to purify the air in a room.
Remove objects that block natural light
As well as rearranging furniture, you can also rearrange other objects in your house to ensure that natural light isn’t blocked by other objects or clutter in your house. As with moving furniture, try to have as unobscured a flow of light as possible.
Add a glass floor or walk on glass rooflight
A glass floor or walk-on glass rooflight is a great way to add natural light to a small room, particularly one that is underground, such as a cellar. These features allow owners to add glass features to your ceiling while still allowing them to be used as flooring at ground level or above the room.
Use internal glazing
Not all rooms can have windows, whether roof windows or traditional ones. In this case, you should ensure that there is sufficient internal glazing, such as doors with glass panels. This will allow other rooms with natural light to benefit windowless or internal rooms that would otherwise be dark.
Utilise internal openings
Internal openings with windows also offer benefits like internal glazing. Access hatches and other internal openings can allow light to flow from the room into others, increasing the flow of light and allowing consistent natural light throughout the day.
Trim any trees or bushes that could block light outside
It’s not only internal fixtures and furniture that can cause issues with the flow of natural light. If you have a garden with large trees or bushes, these could significantly reduce the amount of natural light that comes into your house. Trimming these plants back will allow for much more natural light to enter your home.
The benefits of natural light
Natural light has a lot of benefits. In this section, we’re going to take a look at why increasing a room’s natural light can pay off in amazing ways.
Increased energy efficiency
Increasing the levels of natural light in your home means that you’ll have fewer reasons to use electric lighting during daylight hours. However, the energy efficiency benefits don’t end there! Sunlight can raise a room’s temperature quite considerably, which means that on bright days, even in winter, you’ll need to rely less on your central heating.
Boost your energy levels
Ever noticed that you get more sluggish as night falls? Natural light can help you focus and be a lot more productive. If you incorporate more natural light into your home, you’ll boost your energy levels, allowing you to be more productive during the daytime.
A natural sense of space
Finally, adding natural light to a room can make the room feel far larger. Natural light adds a sense of space and makes formerly dark rooms feel far more pleasant to be in.
Increase daylight with Toughened Glass Systems rooflights
As you can see, there are a whole host of different methods that you can use to make your home brighter, but without a doubt, the best way to increase natural light is to add a rooflight. At Toughened Glass Systems, we offer a wide range of different rooflights that can all make your home a brighter place to be, from Mardome rooflights to ventilated rooflights, as well as a host of other roof window options.
Shop our rooflights:
We stock an impressive range of rooflights and skylights, including:
Get yours today, or contact us if you have any questions.
FAQs
Can you use mirrors to increase light?
In scientific terms, mirrors don’t actually produce more light, but they do reflect it extremely well, spreading light that would otherwise be absorbed by the walls to other areas of your home.
How do you make a windowless room brighter?
Making a windowless room brighter can be tough. While the best option is always to add a window or rooflight, if this isn’t possible, focus on creating an uncluttered space, painting the walls white and adding internal glazing to the room.
