When homeowners shut their houses off to the outside world, they can make their home, and their moods, feel smaller, dimmer and gloomier. Making the most of daylight can not only improve the environment of your home and reduce your utility bill, but it can actually influence and impact your energy, your metabolism and your mood. Here at Dayside Windows and Doors, we understand that the average home, and person, can feel completely refreshed when it lets in more natural light. You may not even realize what cutting yourself off from natural sunlight is doing to your physical and emotional health. That’s why we have put together these ideas that will help bring more natural light into your home and into your life.

Open Doors

You can bring in plenty of natural light with sliding patio doors or garden doors. Traditionally installed as back entrances, these doors can bring in more sunlight and expand the space of a room whereas an opaque door will obstruct your outside view and make the room feel more compact and closed off.

With your front entrance, you don’t have to get another set of glass doors. Many front entranceways offer the opportunity to have doorlites, sidelites and transom windows that will make your front entrance look warmer and brighter.

Add Glass Doors

Whether you prefer hinged, French or sliding doors, replacing solid doors with glass doors will allow natural light to flow from one part of your house into another. When combining multiple sources of daylight, such as windows and doors, it’s important that you balance the lighting. Instead of having all of the light coming from only one direction, consider having a glass door on one side and a set of windows on the other so that light enters from more than one direction.

Expansive Windows

We know it seems like an obvious answer, but the best way to bring more natural light into your home is to have your old windows replaced with high-quality ones. Consider a set of expansive windows such as bay or bow windows to draw in natural light and display an incredible view. Our energy efficient windows are also great at keeping the cold weather out during the winter months and reducing the amount of heat in during the summer months.

Interior Tips and Tricks

We understand most of the above ideas involve time and money. These interior tricks can be used to maximize the natural light already brought in by your current windows and doors installed so that sunlight reaches every corner of your house.

You can strategically place mirrors around rooms to reflect light and the beautiful outdoor scenery. A well-placed mirror in a dark living room or stairway can dramatically change the lighting throughout your home. Mirrors are also great tools to make narrow areas look more spacious.

Another interior trick is to add pops of colours throughout the rooms. Whether you want to paint your walls a brighter colour or add bright coloured decorations throughout darker rooms, brighter colours like yellow or a reflective shade like white will help to illuminate your home.

Some final tips to brighten your home include putting up curtains made of light or sheer materials that will let the natural sunlight come through, keeping your windows and glass doors clean, and positioning furniture so that it doesn’t block any sources of sunlight.

Try out some of the above home improvements and your house will immediately feel bigger, brighter and better than it was before. If and when you’re ready to introduce your home to a larger amount of natural sunlight contact us and our expert team will get you started towards a brighter and happier home.