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5 of the best home refurbishments to increase natural light
5 of the best home refurbishments to increase natural light
Here at Aaran Bespoke, we’re passionate about all things natural light. It’s one of our core design principles, and it’s something we factor into every home renovation project we complete. It makes a space feel bigger, brighter as well as positively affecting your mood and wellbeing. So, if you’re looking to breathe some life into your living space, here is 5 of the best home refurbishments to increase natural light in the home.
1. Get creative with your window design
The first and perhaps most obvious way to increase natural light in the home is to upgrade your window design. It goes without saying that larger windows will allow more sunlight to enter a room. However, there are some other ways to get creative when it comes to your window design.
Window direction
If you live in the UK, you should consider a window design that maximises south-facing windows as we live in the Northern Hemisphere and experience our sunlight from a southerly direction. This means south-facing windows will be exposed to sunlight for the majority of the day. Whereas north-facing ones are more permanently shady.
And of course, you could also plan the interior of your house based on sunlight direction. For example, rooms with east-facing windows are likely to be bright in the morning and dimmer for the rest of the day. Therefore, rooms where you’re likely to spend your mornings would benefit from being east-facing.
Skylight windows
If you’re trying to brighten up rooms at the top of the house, you could consider adding skylight windows to your property. Skylight windows are an innovative way to maximise natural light because they give a much more consistent stream of sunlight than windows at the side of the house. They can also be a great way to add light to an attic conversion.
2. Add a glass conservatory
A glass conservatory is one of the most common home refurbishments, and also the perfect way to increase natural light in the home. They’re ideal for hosting guests and opening up for summer BBQs as well as relaxing at the end of the day while the sun sets.
Usually built at the back of the property, a glass conservatory helps to blend outside and inside. And even on a cloudy day, the use of glass walls and ceilings allows any sunlight to penetrate deep into the interior of the house.
This type of installation has come a long way over the past few decades. – They’re no longer the scorching heat absorbers that they used to be! By working with a qualified glass conservatory designer you’ll benefit from all the latest temperature regulating technology. So, you can allow natural light to flood into your home without turning it into an oven.
3. Embrace minimalist interior design
If you’re trying to increase natural light in the home without opting for disruptive building work, why not try embracing minimalist interior design styles? Natural light is one of the core principles of minimalist design. It focuses on clean lines, uncluttered living and monochromatic simplicity.
Scandinavian design is one way to embrace this trend as its main focus is to maximise natural light. If you’ve ever been to Scandinavia, you’ll know that the days are incredibly dark. And in fact, this is the very reason that the Scandinavian design style is the way it is – to beat the winter blues that come with a dark, dingy room.
Think back to when you first moved into your home. Didn’t it feel much bigger when it was empty? That’s because clutter hides natural light, draining the feeling of brightness and airiness from a room. But by embracing the use of blank space that comes with a minimalist design, you can avoid ‘light traps’ and create a beautiful, open space. Therefore, home refurbishments that centre around open plan design are a great way to achieve this.
However, minimalist interior design can be difficult to achieve on your own. You should work with an interior designer to avoid a room that looks clinical, bare and cold.
4. Choose lighter colours
Updating your colour scheme is another one of our favourite simple and non-disruptive home refurbishments. And if you’re looking to increase natural light in the home, you might want to opt for a lighter colour palette.
This is another core principle of minimalist interior design, which uses a pale monochromatic colour scheme with subtle pops of stronger colour as an accent. And whilst a bright light might leave your room feeling clinical, a soft and gentle pastel will help create the illusion of a much brighter room.
Once again, you’ll need to work with an interior designer to choose your colour palette. This is because every colour will change throughout the day depending on how the sunlight and shade hits it. A designer will be able to help guide you through this and help you decide on the exact shade to suit your room and location.
5. Internal glass work
We’ve already mentioned that we’re specialist glaziers here at Aaran Bespoke. So, we’ve seen first hand how using internal glass work can really brighten up the inside of your home! Here are some ideas for glass home refurbishments:
Use of mirrors
Mirrors not only maximise natural light, they also reflect it into darker corners of the room, creating the appearance of a much larger space. Try adding a mirror to the corner of a room to prevent light traps, or hanging in a prominent place such as above a mantel to direct the eye to a bright, open area.
Glass partitions and walls
We’ve already talked about how minimalism and open plan designs can increase natural light in the home. And glass partitions are a great way to achieve this. They allow you to segment your space without closing it off and making it feel small or dingy. And if you’re not a fan of open plan home refurbishments, glass walls are a great way to add rooms without forfeiting the brightness that comes with an open plan design.
Home refurbishments with Aaran Bespoke
If you’re looking for more advice when it comes to home refurbishments or natural light, get in touch with Aaran Bespoke today.
We’re an interior design and specialist glazing company based in Hertfordshire. And we’ve been working on home refurbishments and renovations for over 15 years! Our core design principles are:
- Increasing natural light in the home
- Maximising use of space to create the illusion of much larger rooms
- Helping people to fall in love with their homes again
So, if you’ve been putting off having your home redeisgned, or think you need to move to achieve the home you’ve always dreamed of; think again! Contact us today for an initial consultation.