4 ways with windows to create a bright & airy home

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One of the things that I’m trying to achieve in my home is a feeling of brightness and airiness. I’ve been painting dark walls in fresh white paint, and have positioned mirrors at suitable points around the house to reflect the light. But I’m sure that there’s more I can do to achieve a home filled with bright natural daylight. And I’m sure I’m not the only person to want this kind of effect in my home. Today I’m sharing my ideas for increasing light levels in the home, without resorting to daylight bulbs..!

1. Goodbye Curtains

Firstly, let’s look at the ways to maximise the amount of light coming in through your existing windows. If you’ve got heavy curtains hanging at your windows, lets take them down. Either replace them with floaty-light voiles or consider whether you can go without curtains altogether. If the window isn’t overlooked, or is already frosted, maybe those curtains aren’t necessary. This will ensure that the maximum amount of light possible enters through these windows.

2. Hello blinds

If you do need to cover the windows for privacy or at night, a practical option is to install blinds inside the window recess. Go for blinds that fold or roll right away, such as venetian blinds or roller blinds. I chose vertical blinds for my living room and they open from the centre so can be pulled back to expose the entire window. Any of these types of blinds will allow loads of light into the room but still allow you to maintain your privacy at night. And you’re able to control the amount of light coming in through the window by angling the slats to direct the daylight away from your laptop screen.

3. Roof lights

Another way to bring in more light is to add Velux windows. If you’ve got a sloping ceiling, the chances are that you could add a window in the roof, which will flood the room below with light. This is a great solution as it doesn’t take up wall space – or involved knocking down any walls, for that matter! – but brings in a huge amount of brightness from above. Of course, you’ll need to check with the local planning authority about the positioning of roof windows, but once you’ve got the go-ahead, it’s quite a straight forward DIY project.I found a step-by-step roof window installation guide and was surprised at how simple the process is. 

4. Patio doors

If you’re happy to consider larger building projects, why not replace ground-floor windows with patio doors? Opening up a living room or kitchen window and turning it into a pair of glass double-doors will bring much more light into a space. Plus, you can throw the doors open in the summer to bring in the fresh air – how lovely! If you’ve got extra wall-space beside the window, you could even increase the size of the gap and put in bi-fold patio doors. Turning a whole wall into a wall of glass will inevitably make the room brighter and feel bigger.

Bringing more natural daylight into your home will help to cut energy bills (you can finally turn off those dark-corner lamps) and you’ll feel more energised with the sunlight streaming in through your windows. What do you think of these ideas for brightening up the home? Let me know what you’ve done to make your home seem brighter and feel airier by leaving me a comment below or tagging me in your home photos on Instagram @Cassiefairy.

This article is a sponsored collaboration. The pink links in the content indicate a sponsored link or information source. The blog post reflects my own experience and the sponsor hasn’t had any control over my content 🙂