If your home feels dark, dim or dreary no matter how many lights you turn on, you will need to look for a stronger solution. Natural sunshine will always brighten up a space better than any light bulbs, lamps or tubes that you install in your ceiling. If you’re wondering how to get more sunshine into your home, here are the window and door renovations that will fill your rooms with warm golden light.
Glass Doors
Sunshine will be easily coaxed into your home’s interior if you decide to revamp your back entrance with glass doors, choosing a set of brand-new sliding patio doors or garden doors. These two styles are equally capable of filtering in lots of natural light, but they both bring different qualities to the table. Sliding patio doors are a convenient option for houses with a narrow and confined patio because of their compact design. On the other hand, garden doors are a classic option that make for a grand entrance into a backyard and create the impression of loftiness. You can check with a consultant at your local window and door company or visit the nearest showroom to discuss what type of glass door will fit the layout of your home and suit your personal taste.
Door Additions
Most people want to maintain some degree of privacy with their front door, which is why they choose solid steel, fiberglass or wood panels. However, these opaque door surfaces cut off natural light and make the front entrance feel dim and closed off. As a convenient solution, you can have decorative glass door additions included with any set of high quality fiberglass doors or steel doors primarily used for main entrances. Elements like doorlites, sidelites and transom windows can make the front entrance feel more spacious, look more interesting and bring in a lot more sunshine. They are also a happy compromise for any homeowner that wants a brighter space without having to put their entire foyer on display.
- Doorlites: these are decorative windows of varying shapes and sizes that are fastened to the door. They are usually inserted into the top or middle of the door, instead of the lower end of the panel.
- Sidelites: these are sets of decorative vertical windows that sit along the side of a large window frame or door frame.
- Transoms: these are sets of decorative horizontal windows that rest above the frame of a large window or door.
Windows
This may seem like an obvious suggestion, but there are plenty of design ideas and practical tips to add sunshine to your home when it comes to windows. If you want to brighten up your interior, replace your windows with taller and wider options like bay windows, bow windows or large picture windows. If you don’t have enough room for these sizable pieces, then you should choose smaller windows and place them higher up along the wall, so that you can easily capture the angle of the sun’s rays. Another important tip is to include windows in rooms that typically don’t have any, like raised basements, attics, bathrooms and closets — as long as it’s structurally possible to place a window in the area, then you should consider the installation. When you rethink the sizes, styles and placements of your windows, you can increase the natural light in your home so that it never appears dim or dreary.
In the case of bringing more natural light into the house, the most obvious solution is the best one. Instead of turning to interior design tricks like painting walls or hanging up mirrors, you can make your home a brighter place by changing your windows and doors.
