Have you ever walked into a room and felt instantly uplifted? Has a bright kitchen filled you with unexpected energy, or has a cozy living room put you at ease? Good spatial layout, color schemes, and furniture can impact the mood of a space, but natural light can also have a huge influence on the energy of a room. Here, we’ll explain three ways lighting can influence the beauty of your living space, and make suggestions for how you can incorporate natural light into your home.

The Benefits of Strategic Natural Light

1. 1. Creating the Illusion of SpaceA room full of light is not a full room; in fact, a bright, well-lit space feels much larger and airier than a dark one. Walls painted in light colors can help reflect natural inbound daylight so it “bounces” around the room. Feelings of spaciousness and energy are ideal for kitchens where your spend mornings and make meals and can be a good option for entryways or high-traffic living rooms.
   2. Highlighting Key ElementsWindows, skylights and even light fixtures cast light in specific directions, especially when shaded. Pay attention to where light is directed– whatever the brilliance falls on will naturally draw a visitor’s eye. For example, placing a favorite piece of wall art or statement furniture opposite a window will highlight its presence and amplify its colors.
   3. Visibility and HealthWhile strategic lighting can make a space more beautiful, it can also make a space more functional. After all, a beautiful reading nook with bookshelves and fancy pillows is useless if it is not bright enough to read! Interestingly, light quantity and quality in certain rooms can also impact your health. An overly-bright bedroom can hijack your sleep, and dark, dreary office with a vivid computer screen can induce vision complications and headaches.

How to Achieve Great Natural Lighting Indoors

Luckily, there are a few ways to make sure the light in your home is both attractive and good for your health. Here are just a few.

1. 1. If Building or Remodelling, Focus on WindowsWindows placed in strategic locations can transform a room. Place windows in the south for greater winter sunlight, east for morning light and west for evening brilliance. Northern windows produce steady, lower-level light without glare and too much additional heat. Don’t rule out skylights as a method of streaming in even more natural, full-spectrum illumination.
   2. Consider Installing Custom Window TreatmentsAnother way to transform how light enters your room is through shutters, blinds, and curtains. Automated, motorized blinds offer a new, tech-savvy way to have more control over the lighting in your home. Window treatments can be operated from your phone with a variety of customization opportunities. If you want to be awakened by gentle light, for example, you can program motorized window blinds in your bedroom to open at specific times. Or, if you’re settling down for a movie, you can close the blinds from your phone, reducing TV glare without even getting off the couch.

Natural light control is essential to good interior design, and for a happy and healthy home. Using strategic window placements, and custom window treatments, you can make your space “lit!”