Bringing natural light into your home | 4 tips to help you achieve this

Next week we are going to fall behind with the time change. I detest falling behind and turning our clocks back by one hour. By seven o-clock I feel like it's time for bed. I also mentally know that we are entering into the darker days of our seasons and I am a huge craver of natural light. So this week, I'm going to be talking about bringing natural light into your home. My tips below are in no particular order.

Windows

There is nothing that comes close to having natural light shine through your home. During daylight hours, let that light shine in. In my own home, while the windows have window coverings on them, we rarely have them pulled down. I will say that when we do get lots of snow, I pull them down so I don't see the white stuff! There are plenty of trees that give us privacy and we really love the natural light. If you have heavy drapery, it may be time to swap that out for something sheer.

Even though our window coverings are sheer, we still pull the up to let in that natural light. As you may be able to see, the day I took this photo was a dreary, rainy (almost snowy) day.

Lighting

My friend and fellow designer, Elizabeth Scruggs, just wrote a wonderful blog titled, 13 Bright Ideas for Pendants, Chandeliers & Sconces. In her blog, Elizabeth also talks about the time change and how lighting can help with a dark home.

Layering lighting is a great way, when the sun is down, to get more light into your home. From floor lamps, to table, lamps, the the lighting that is installed in your home (pendant lighting, flush mounts, semi-flush mounts, chandeliers, etc.). In my world, there is never enough light. As Elizabeth explains in her blog, there are:

• 6 different types of lighting in a home
• The 3 layers of lighting

Automated Solutions

What I find best is to have lighting automated. Strategically have those interior lights turn on so that your home is never in the dark. Not building new and need some solutions?

Lutron

These days, it is so easy to automate lights. Lutron has a wonderful option called Caseta. This is by far, my favourite way to get automation without having to do major work in your home.

Caseta

Smart Outlets

This is most likely the easiest way to get some lighting automation in your home. There are so many brands available that the sky really is the limit. You simply plug the outlet into the wall and then plug in your light into the plug. Easy-peasy.

Smart Plug

Paint

Another way to enhance brining in natural light to your home is through your paint choice. Dark walls and moulding can absorb light, so consider a lighter hue in your home. While white is a hot, hot trend on Instagram, it may not be the right colour for your home. I think I've said this a thousand times,

Just because you see something on Instagram, it does not mean it will work in your home. Your fixed elements will dictate your colour choices and steer you in the right direction, along with the architecture of your home.

Sheri Bruneau

Our Mid Century Vibe project where white walls were the perfect choice.

Mirrors

As we all know, mirrors reflect. If you house does not have a lot of windows, and adding additional windows is not an option, a mirror can work magic! It not only reflects light, it can make your room feel larger. Mirrors are a wonderful way to use the reflection to bring natural light into your home.

With all mirrors, the placement is key! The principles of Feng Shui are pretty clear with mirror guidelines.

Tyler Karu Design + Interiors

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I'm going to mentally prepare myself for next weekend and ensure all of our lighting automation will be set! Over to you. Are you a fan of the time change(s)?

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