With working from home on the rise, we’re here to help you improve natural light in your living space. Natural light is not just a source of illumination; it has a profound impact on our mental well-being and productivity. It promotes a sense of calmness, improves our mood, and increases energy levels. Additionally, more exposure to natural light has been linked to better sleep quality and reduced eyestrain.
In this article, we will explore why natural light is important and simple ways you can boost natural light in your living areas and office space.
Vitamin D (the sunshine vitamin) is produced when the human body absorbs daylight. Evidence suggests that vitamin D can affect serotonin levels in the brain. Which explains why we feel so much happier in the sun.
Improving natural light in a space increases your ability to maximise sunlight and vitamin absorption indoors, making us feel happier and removing those winter blues.
Natural light indoors has been proven to increase productivity and boosts creativity. This is not only a result of the increase in mood but due to improvements in vision and reduced eyestrain tied to working on a computer and under fluorescent unnatural lighting.
Taking advantage of natural light is a great way to cut down on energy bills. Electricity used in artificial light in a home contributes to on average ⅓ of a UK household’s energy bill. By using natural sources to light your space you can effectively cut bill costs and reduce your carbon footprint and make your space feel brighter.
Improving natural light within your space, particularly when you spend a lot of time indoors, can make you feel more awake and active. This can further benefit productivity, creativity and boost your general mood, compared to using artificial lighting.
Natural light can make small rooms feel more spacious. Adding a light source by opening up windows and doors is a great way to extend the size of a room into the outside. With bifold and patio doors, the need to leave space for large doors to open is not necessarily required, as they let plenty of light in a room whilst closed. Thus, allowing you to maximise every aspect of a small room.
Here’s some simple and easy ways you can make sure more sunlight enters your home and workspace.
Become the interior designer of your home and consider the use of lighter colours to paint on your walls. Light hues such as whites, creams, and pastels have reflective properties that can reflect natural light around the room, creating a bright and airy atmosphere even in a small space. Pair this with neutral colours in the furniture, such as sofas and chairs, to further enhance the effect. Additionally, consider using translucent or sheer curtains instead of heavy drapes to allow maximum sunlight to filter through.
Avoid dark colours that absorb light as this creates dark rooms where the light flow is limited. Paint walls a few shades lighter or use high gloss paint and you’ll find more natural light coming in due to a more reflective surface. You can also use brighter light bulbs on evenings, which will bounce light off your new reflective surfaces.
Dirty windows can significantly reduce the amount of natural light pouring into your home. Regularly clean both the interior and exterior of your windows and glass doors can help to maximise light penetration.
Over time, windows can accumulate dirt, dust, pollen, and other particles, both on the interior and exterior surfaces. These particles can block sunlight and diffuse it, reducing the amount of sunlight that enters your home. With light cleaning or window treatments, you can brighten the surface of your windows and let light bounce across the room.
Cleaning windows can also improve the exterior appearance of your home and get your home summer ready. Sparkling windows are more visually appealing and can enhance the overall kerb appeal of your property.
Consider installing roof lanterns as this can introduce additional natural light into areas that do not have sufficient window access or light flow.
Roof lanterns are architectural elements that consist of a raised, glass-covered structure on the roof of a building. They are a key feature designed to bring natural light into interior spaces while also adding a unique visual element to the architecture.
The primary purpose of roof windows is to allow more natural light in a room where wall space for a window is limited. They are positioned to bring light from above, which can penetrate deeper into the space compared to traditional windows.
Roof lanterns distribute natural light evenly throughout a room, reducing the occurrence of harsh shadows and dark corners. This creates a bright and airy atmosphere and removes the need for artificial light during the day. Roof lanterns from UK Doors Online come in various sizes, to allow as much light in a property as possible.
Installing bifolds or patio doors can help maximise natural light in your home or garden room for several reasons.
Bifold and patio doors feature larger glass panels compared to traditional doors or windows. This expansive glass surface allows more light to enter your home, effectively brightening up the space.
Bifold and patio doors can be opened fully, creating a seamless transition between indoor and outdoor spaces. When these doors are open, there’s less glass blocks to the view and sunlight can flow freely, making your indoor spaces feel more connected to the outdoors. The frames of bifold and sliding doors are often designed to be slim and minimalistic with a polished finish, which means less framing material obstructing the view and blocking sunlight. This maximises the amount of glass exposed to natural light and brings more sunlight into a room.
Glass has reflective properties that bounce sunlight around a room. The larger glass panels of bifold or sliding doors reflect and disperse sunlight, enhancing the overall brightness of your home. By replacing a solid wall space with bifold or sliding patio doors, you visually extend your living space to the outdoors. This creates a sense of continuity and spaciousness that makes the interior feel more open and airy whilst also increasing natural light.
To find out more about sliding patio and bifolding doors and how they can add value to your home, check out our blog post on the differences between the two.
Bifold and patio doors not only allow more light in to brighten a dark room but also provide an opportunity for fresh air to circulate throughout your home. Proper ventilation can contribute to a healthier living environment. Well known for their energy efficiency, their properties allow for thermal comfort all year round.
Here at UK Doors Online, we supply a range of bifolding doors , sliding doors and windows so you can choose the best option to add light into your home! Interested? Give one of our friendly team members a call on 01924 929 600.
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