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How to Increase the Amount of Natural Light in Your Home

It’s always a great feeling to come home to a bright and airy space. In fact, research featured on House Beautiful reveals that natural light is the number one feature people look for when buying a family home. Natural light makes a room feel more inviting and comfortable. It’s not very difficult to achieve, even for homes with limited space.

Here are some of the simplest ways to increase the amount of natural light in your home.

Use lighter colours

Subtle tones, especially pastel colours, have a tranquil and uplifting property. Country Living’s list of ’15 Ways to Make Your Entire Home Feel Brighter’ suggests using shades of blue and green, as they reflect the colours of nature and are best for areas where you want to relax. Lavender, sunny yellow, soft grey, pink, and white are also great colour choices for a relaxed mood.

Reflect light with mirrors

Good Housekeeping’s editor, Carolyn Bailey details that using a mirror is the easiest way to trick the eye into believing that a space is larger. “The reflection carries the eye, giving the illusion of more space. Also, it’s a good idea to position mirrors opposite a window to reflect the light and brighten up space at the same time,” she said. Your floors can be transformed into light-friendly reflectors as well. Wood, ceramic, stone or anything with a polished finish can make your rooms look brighter. However, if you prefer carpet, you need to stick with light-coloured tones.

Use Light Curtains

Using light coloured and translucent fabrics, rather than darker coloured fabrics, for your curtains will help preserve precious natural light. In their window treatment guide, Decorated Life recommends Best Home Fashion’s Sheer Lace Overlap Curtain, available on Amazon, which is simply draped over a curtain rod and creates a sheer, layered look to provide some privacy while maximizing the amount of light coming in. The next step is to pair your curtains with a rod that will transform the look of your room. The curtain poles listed on Screwfix range from the traditional to more contemporary designs. Installing the right poles and curtains can help you maximise the available natural light and complement your room’s décor.

Trim trees and plants outside

Overgrown bushes, trees, and shrubs can block the sun and minimise natural light, so make sure you always trim any climbing plants that are growing around your doors and windows. While you’re outside, it’s also a good idea to clean your windows thoroughly or remove any garden fixtures that may be obstructing your view.

Declutter and update your home’s layout

Minimalism is starting to be very popular: less clutter means a brighter, more spacious room. Don’t fill your home with too much furniture as it can make it feel smaller and darker. Choose your furniture wisely—it’s always best to go for multipurpose ones to save space. The open-plan design is also a great way to bring more light into your home. We talked about this when we featured Catherine Bradshaw’s beautiful Victorian property on Southsea Lifestyle. Catherine opted for an open-plan layout to breathe new life into the house, which originally had a disastrous layout. Now the home has a lovely, inviting flow and a lot of natural light—the kitchen, in particular, gets a lot of sun. “We liked the kitchen-diner so much, we were inspired to renovate the rest of the house, we love it – I wouldn’t change a thing,” Bradshaw shared.


Posted in: Articles, Home & Garden