25 Apr Design Solutions to Bring Natural Light Into Dark Rooms

It’s not unusual for even the most well-thought-out custom home design to have rooms that are darker than desired. It may be due to the position of the home, the natural growth of trees around the home, room placement within the home, or simply an interior design that uses darker colors on walls, flooring, and furniture. But, rest assured, some solutions bring natural light into dark rooms. Let’s take a look.

What Causes a Lack of Natural Light

Natural light in the home opens a space and makes it far more comfortable and welcoming. Some studies show exposure to natural light can help with depression and seasonal affective disorders. When you bring natural light into dark rooms the change is pretty nearly immediate. 

There are many reasons why homeowners in the Quad Cities area experience a lack of natural light in certain spaces within their homes. Here are three of those reasons.

• Exterior Features of The Home: Overgrown plants, dense tree lines, and cloudy, inefficient windows can cause a failure to bring natural light into dark rooms. Another reason your room may be darker than you like? Exterior features such as a covered porch or deck, enclosed patio, and window and door awnings can block natural light.

• Window Placement: Placing your windows too near an exterior wall, fence, or wing of your home prevents natural light from fully flowing through the window. 

• Window Size: Windows that are too small for the room, or too few windows, are a big reason you’re unable to bring natural light into a dark room. 

• Room Orientation: In addition to the exterior factors and window size and placement, room orientation prevents Mother Nature’s light from flooding darker spaces in your home. Rooms that face south, east, and west are typically better lit by nature than those that face north.

• Furniture Placement: While it seems fairly rudimentary, placing things like bookshelves, appliances, large, high-backed furniture, and oversized objects in front of your room’s windows, or patio doors will prevent light from flooding the room.

How to Bring Natural Light into Dark Rooms

The design solutions to bring natural light into dark rooms are not necessarily costly or difficult. They just involve both strategy and elemental design to maximize your natural light sources. This is when it becomes helpful to engage the services of Seiffert Home Design’s professional home design team. Here are our solutions to bring natural light into dark rooms.

• Clear Obvious Obstructions: Whether it’s your high-backed sofa that’s blocking half your window, or an overgrown rosebush in your flower bed, clearing the clutter that blocks your source of Mother Nature’s light has a huge impact on brightening up a dark space.

• Swap Out Window Treatments and Coverings: Are your drapes heavy and light-blocking? Do your blinds allow light to filter through or do they prevent you from bringing natural light into dark rooms? Reconsider sheerer fabrics and blinds you’re able to slant that allow more light to flood your space. 

• Mirror Placement: Hang a mirror or consider a mirrored wall opposite a window or patio door. This tried and true design strategy doesn’t just amplify light coming into your space but also makes the room appear larger. 

• Light Colored Walls: While dark and deep jewel-toned walls look stunning they do cause a room to appear dim (and smaller). Lighter colors reflect light and make your room appear less confined. Bring natural light into dark rooms by changing your color palette. 

Bring More Natural Light into Dark Rooms When You Renovate

Renovations, while an investment to be sure, provide the ultimate solution to your lack of enough natural light. By making these changes you not only bring in more natural light, you increase the value of your home. That’s a win-win for your investment.

• Expand Windows and Install Large Windows and Doors: When you add large windows or increase the size of your windows you automatically increase the amount of natural light that pours into your space. Glass French doors or patio doors that are all glass also brighten a dark space significantly. 
• Install Skylights and Light Tunnels: One sure way to bring unobscured light into a room is by installing a skylight. Even on the dreariest Iowa days, your skylight lets in a good amount of natural brightness. If you aren’t sure about a skylight or you aren’t a fan of the design element, consider a light tunnel. Light tunnels are much less intrusive to the ceiling design and yet let in a considerable amount of light.
• Consider a Glass Storm Door: A glass storm door isn’t a huge investment yet the payoff is great. 
• Add Sidelights to Existing Doors: The addition of sidelights to the front entry door to your home adds to your curb appeal and allows light to flood your foyer (typically a darker area of your home) theater may spill over into adjacent rooms. 

Let Us Shine a Light on Your Design

For more on how you can bring natural light into dark rooms please contact Seiffert Home Design. We have the right solutions for all of your design needs. Contact us today.

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