How to Bring Natural Light into Your Home With Glazing

Why is it important to bring natural light into the home?

The impact of the pandemic means that more people are now working, living and playing all within their home than ever before. Even with restrictions lifted, many of us aren’t returning to the office to the same extent; and with our properties now acting as part-time offices, homeowners are having to consider how they can design more efficient spaces within their home, and make the architecture of their house work better for them. Designing a positive space, that is conducive to productivity and happiness, requires an understanding of the design elements that influence this. 

Our ability to focus and maintain our energy levels is dependent on a few factors which are influenced by our home environment, and there are some basics of good design that can take an interior space from simply adequate to efficient. Everything from the aesthetics to the interior climate of a space have a role to play, but one of the most significant factors is natural light. 

We’ve spoken many times about the benefits of natural light on our overall health and wellbeing. It regulates our sleep cycles and our mood, and impacts our energy levels and ability to focus. Natural light has also been shown to have a positive effect on productivity and reduces the effects of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).

How to bring more natural light into your home through glazing

Exposure to daylight, most obviously, requires the inclusion of glass within your home design. It’s important to think in terms of maximising light exposure – which involves more than simply opening your curtains each day, or adding a solitary extra window in your kitchen area.

Opting for something more substantial like a frameless window or glass wall, or including something more elaborate such as a skylight or even an openable glass roof, can be a hugely positive step. Choosing the right type of glass, such as low iron panels to allow for more clarity, is also an important factor in maximising the impact of any renovation.

The versatility of glass for transforming your home and letting more light in is by no means limited to interior uses – it’s now possible to build an entire outdoor extension using nothing but frameless glass. A glass extension could be a fantastic investment in your home – perhaps bridging the transition between your interior space and garden – or you could create a glazed link between two existing buildings, adding a transparent room or corridor that provides a passage from one to the other.

When consulting with an architect, consider structural glazing solutions such as the ones we’ve mentioned above, from the early stages of your consultations. Doing so will mean they can be seamlessly integrated into the structural design of your space from the offset.

Choosing the right glazing solution

With so many different glazing features available, and technology allowing for more innovative and practical solutions than ever before, we thought we’d list a few of the most popular glazing features that bring something unique to interior design:

Glass walls – Glass walls primarily create a sense of horizontal continuity. Frameless and expansive glazed walls create the illusion that an interior space extends beyond its actual confines and, of course, floods an interior space with natural light. This glazing solution also adds a practical element, as glass walls can feature sliding doors that allow for seamless access to outside areas.

Skylight/glass roofs – Glass roofs can offer both practical and aesthetic elements to a design. With both fixed and opening options available, these glazed installations can provide access to external rooftop areas, while also providing the aesthetic benefits of a frameless glazed feature. Most importantly, this glazing solution offers a view of the sky and provides a powerful source of light.

Glass floors – A glass floor provides a highly functional but ornamental addition to any home, with options ranging from small single-panel floors and huge multi-panel installations, through to a number of different opening options, including pop-up, hinged and sliding glass floors. They can provide your home with ventilation, flood spaces below with natural light, and provide insulation, while maintaining an elegant, minimal look.

Additional things to consider

If you’re now spending more time working from home, consider the position of your desk in your home office space to ensure it makes the most of the natural light available, and check there are no shelves or furniture that might block external light sources. This will help you to feel more focused and productive throughout the day. 

In fact, exposing yourself to light first thing in the morning is the best way to set yourself up for the day – therefore if you can create a design that maximises the light shining through from the sun rising in the east, it’s a great way to start your day. The good news is that you only need around 13-15 minutes of exposure to trigger the reduction in melatonin secretion that will tell your brain it’s day time and get your mine and body awake and alert for the day.

The colour scheme you choose for your home will either absorb or reflect light. Dark shades will absorb daylight, whereas a room painted in white, or other light colours, will help to reflect and bounce daylight around the room.

You’re probably already aware that adding a mirror increases the feeling of light and space within a room, but if you put one across from a window, it can actually double the amount of sunlight that enters a room. This will bounce the natural light around your home and brighten up any interior space.

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There’s no doubt that natural light is beneficial for us and we should be maximising every opportunity to bring it into our homes. 

The most effective way to bring more light into your life is to install a glazing solution that will not only add value to your home, but will also represent a lifelong investment in your own health, wellbeing and happiness. Now, where can you go wrong with that?

If you’re interested in finding out more about how a glazing solution can help to bring more natural light into your home, take a look at the homeowner page on our website here.