Natural light is something that everyone benefits from, providing various vitamins and nutrients, relieving depression, and just making everything feel better. For these reasons and so many more, an increasing number of homeowners are taking steps to allow more natural light into their homes. However, while it is important to expose yourself to more natural light, you also need to be able to control the amount of it so that you can regulate your exposure to some degree.
There are a variety of options available nowadays that allow you to control the amount o natural light in your home, such as Clearshield plantation shutters, which are surprisingly affordable and incredibly effective. There are options available for everyone, regardless of budget and style, and the right blinds will enhance the look and feel of any room in your home. Go from dark and uninviting, to bright and cheerful in a matter of hours, allowing the sun to do what it does best.
Let’s take a closer look at just some of the ways that you can control the natural light in your home to ensure your home is as comfortable as possible moving forward.
Open Things Up
In the last 30 or 40 years, open-concept designs have become one of the most popular layouts for homes across the country. There is a lot of advantage to having everything open and visible, especially with young children, as you can see what they are up to much easier. This type of layout also has the added benefit of helping to bring more natural light into your home, if done properly.
Take advantage of rooms along the perimeter of your home, paying special attention to the location of the windows in reference to the sun. The right layout will bring more natural light to the inner parts of the home throughout the entire day, helping you to maintain a comfortable home while keeping your energy bills down in the process.
Blinded By The Light
Is there too much sunlight getting into your home? While the sun gives us a lot of good things, it can also cause a room to be almost uninhabitable at times. Blinds are a great way to control what gets in for natural light, and they come in many different sizes and styles that will match just about any design aesthetic.
There are even options available to install automated blinds that do all the hard work for you. With artificial intelligence and smart technology, they can even open and close on their own, according to the current weather conditions, meaning you can set and forget.
It’s Curtain Time
Curtains tend to get shrugged off as an afterthought these days, but they are still the most affordable way to add style to a room and control natural light at the same time. What’s more, not all curtains have to be blackout quality, as sheer curtains can allow just enough light to get in to make things comfortable. If you are on a budget, or you want to try making something yourself, curtains are a great way to go.
Colour Me Happy
Controlling the natural light in your home doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with your windows or doors, as there are plenty of other factors that can play a role too. One thing that can make a huge difference is the colours you choose for particular rooms. Dark colours tend to absorb more than they reflect, and the natural light will not be used to its full potential when these darker colours are applied to the space. However, a quick paint job with a lighter colour can make a drastic difference, as you will now be reflecting the natural light instead of taking it away.
Don’t Shutter Me Out
Shutters and blinds tend to be tossed into the same category a lot of the time, but there are some key differences between the two. Blinds are a less permanent solution, as they only attach above a window and can be easily removed or replaced. On the other hand, shutters are made as a solid structure and attached to the home itself. They will have a longer lifespan than any of the other options but you need to be committed to the look as they can be an imposing feature on any home.
Work With Your Home To Control The Amount Of Natural Light
The number one thing you have to keep in mind when looking at your options for controlling the amount of natural light in your home is understanding what you have to work with. No one solution is going to work for everyone, and it is important to choose options that fit with your existing home design. Whether you decide to just change the paint colour, or go with a full-blown renovation to open things up, work with what you have to ensure that you end up with a result that brightens up your day, just the right amount.
