Create a Different Type of Mood with Natural Lighting

Natural light is one of our most valuable resources, yet is often taken for granted in the home, especially in the sun drenched Southern states. The sun's natural rays are an important tool for maximizing the potential of your home's interior, and of particular significance, it doesn't cost a dime. A well-lit room will elevate your mood and is much more conducive to work, study or simply unwinding with a book. In developed cities and towns, natural light alone is not adequate to fully illuminate a home, but with some thoughtfulness and creativity, it can balance and enhance the appearance of each and every room. Both the quantity and quality of natural light differs with the seasons, so at some times of the year, there will be a need for supplementary artificial light in the home.

Illuminating your home with natural light will work best with good placement of windows, skylights and doorways and the actual floor plan and ceiling in a room is also important. A floor plan with too many alcoves and hidden recesses will leave parts of it in shadow. It is also beneficial to have a lighter shade for your ceiling so that natural light bounces downward into the room. It should be noted that rich, bold colors absorb much of the light, so neutral, pastel shades will aid in lighting a room better. The strategic placing of a couple of mirrors will help draw in additional light and shrink areas of the room left in shadow and house plants can make a substantial difference to the overall brightness of an enclosed space.

The placement of furniture and appliances can have a big effect on the quantity of sunlight that enters a room. For instance, a light and fresh home office space is instrumental for comfort and efficiency, but a central desk or work station should be positioned away from the direct glare of the midday sun. Kitchens also need to be as bright as possible and, of course, well-ventilated. These ventilation outlets can often also provide a conduit for incoming natural light. Brightening up usually dark spaces can easily be achieved by borrowing light from adjacent rooms. This is best exemplified in long and dark corridors which often receive no natural light. The placement of a glass plate above an adjacent door will shower it with light and also give it a more spacious feel.

Modern technology can also give the home a helping hand. Tubular skylights are becoming more and more fashionable in homes across the land and require no energy. A clear dome placed on the roof absorbs sunlight, which is then fed into a ceiling diffuser to radiate natural light into the home. Models come in various shapes and sizes and can be used to brighten a whole house or just an individual room. It filters out harmful UV rays ensuring furniture and fabrics do not lose color and is much less harsh than artificial light from fluorescent and incandescent bulbs. Dimmer controls can be used to vary the quantity of natural light that makes it into a room at any given time.