A house that’s well-illuminated with natural light will never go out of style. Whether it’s country, industrial, or ranch-style; Federal, Colonial, Greek Revival, Mediterranean, Scandinavian minimalism, or modern architecture, natural light can enhance a house’s interiors and improve the ambiance of its rooms.

How can you ensure that your house gets enough natural light throughout the day? Below are five things you can do.

Ideally, a house’s orientation should be designed based on the direction and position of the sun.

Recall the basics: the sun rises on the east and sets on the west. This means that east-facing rooms are bathed in sunshine in the mornings while west-facing rooms get a blast of sunset glare, especially since the sun sinks so low in the sky.

It would be a great idea to put the breakfast nook and kitchen on the side that faces the east. Bedrooms in this direction are also doable, but not for people who like to sleep-in. They’ll likely be happier with west-facing bedrooms since they won’t be baking in the sunshine when they wake up. The remaining warmth from the sunset can help heat their bedrooms, too, which can help them sleep well at night during winter.

As for the north and south-facing rooms, the former receive even sunlight throughout the day while the latter get lots of sunshine during winter and very little of it in the summer. This means that the dining area, living rooms, home office, and the kids’ study room — the common areas and rooms where people stay the most during the day — would be great on the north side. Meanwhile, the laundry room and garage are best placed on the south side of the house.

If, unfortunately, your house wasn’t designed relative to the sun’s position, the easy way to let as much natural light in is to have large windows and glass doors. This is more cost-effective than redesigning and renovating your house. If you don’t have the luxury of time or resources for a massive reconstruction, just open up your house more by replacing a series of tiny windows with one huge bay window or picture window.

When you already have the right windows, you’ll need appropriate window treatments next. This is our specialty at Blind Guy Vancouver: we can recommend custom window coverings that will match your windows’ aesthetics and satisfy your needs like privacy, shade, and security. If your property is anywhere near Vancouver in Washington State, we got you covered.

It would defeat the purpose of having large, picture windows if you’re going to put a tall bookshelf directly in front of it. Similarly, if you’re trying to let in as much sunlight as possible in a southwest-facing room, it would be better to have a light color palette for the walls and furniture.

Obstructions outside your house will also keep sunlight from entering your home. There’s not much you can do if the issue is a tall building right next door; but if the problem is an overgrown tree outside your window, you can remedy the situation by keeping it trimmed if not replanted to a more ideal position in your yard.

Any of these tips can increase the natural light in your home and let you maximize its benefits. If you need professional advice on optimizing your house’s design so that you can maximize natural lighting, our window treatment specialists can help.

Get in touch with Blind Guy Vancouver today.

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