Why Natural Light Needs Boundaries In A Beautiful Home
Sunlight is the most wonderful feature of a house; however, if you do not manage the amount of sunlight entering your house properly, it will soon become an unpleasant nuisance for you and everyone else inside.
At first, you may only notice it in slight ways, such as glare across the top of your dining table. Faded fabric on your favorite chair. And finally, a room that appears great in the morning but looks harsh and uncomfortable in the afternoon. While natural light adds an element of elegance to a room, it can also benefit from some guidance.
Light Should Add To The Beauty Of Your House
While a bright house can create feelings of openness, serenity, and welcome, brightness itself can be very uncomfortable. Too much uncontrolled light can neutralize the emotion in a space and even ruin otherwise thoughtfully designed interior spaces.
It would be nice to see a gentle stream of light move through a room. Light on wood floors. Warmth of light on linen, stone, plants, artwork, etc. This type of lighting makes your home feel like it was created by someone who cared, versus merely being a brightly lit space.
Herein lies the importance of making practical decisions where the windows are located in relation to other rooms and items in the home. Placement of furniture and rugs. Colors used in painting walls. All of these options affect how pleasant or overwhelming sunlight feels.
Bright Lights Can Limit The Use Of A Space
In addition to reducing the functionality of a space, bright lighting can also reduce the usability of a space. The rooms in your home may look wonderful in photographs. However, when you are unable to enjoy being in a room (due to excessive sun) for various periods throughout the day (i.e., because you avoid sitting in a chair), that room did not meet its intended purpose regarding function.
Similarly, if you have to move your computer around on your desk so often as to require multiple locations, continually close your eyes while watching television, or frequently take your plants out of the window so they will survive, then the lighting in that room needs some boundaries.
Design is not merely about making a space visually appealing with all objects remaining stationary. Design relates to how you live inside these four walls at 7:00 AM, 2:00 PM, and before dusk. You do not want to eliminate the opportunity for using natural light. Your intention is to use it.
Natural Light Can Create a Sense of Exposure
In addition to creating an ambiance of warmth and beauty via large windows, sliding glass doors, blinds and expansive open plan layouts, natural light can also contribute to feelings of vulnerability. There are certainly moments in time when we desire to create a barrier between ourselves and our neighbors or passersby on the street. Softness (privacy) does not necessarily equate to closing off a room.
Providing Structure To Natural Light Creates Calmness In A Home
An aesthetically pleasing home does not require constant illumination from sunlight throughout each hour of each day. An aesthetically pleasing home requires balance. Balance includes providing enough shade, glow, privacy and small adjustments to fit how you really live in your home.
Allow the sunshine to enter your home, but allow it to behave appropriately. Often, this is where true beauty commences.
