There are many factors you should consider when making your home. The ones usually given most attention include furniture, paint color, decorations, and finishing materials. But did you know that there’s one more aspect of interior design that you should give priority to? This is lighting and it’s very important if you want a beautiful home.
Lighting can either be artificial or natural. Pendant lights, wall lamps, ceiling mounted lights, and the like all belong to artificial lights. All these when used correctly can beautify your home and even help you improve your daily living. In the morning when artificial light is almost of no use, natural light can also accentuate the interior of your home. Natural light from the term itself is the natural light produced by the sun and it is basically free but very functional. Here are 11 interior designs leveraging natural light that can inspire you in your quest for a great home interior design.
Enough Windows with Blinds Retracted and Curtains Drawn to the Side
Design by Starry Homestead
Image Credit: Qanvast, Starry Homested
This design by Starry Homestead is a perfect example of an interior design that leverages natural lighting. By maximizing the home’s abundance of windows, almost every area of the room is sufficiently lighted both for functionality and for aesthetical purposes.
Image Credit: Qanvast, Starry Homested
Whether it be on the living room, the kitchen, or in the bedroom, natural lighting is very present in this design. No wonder it looks bright, cozy, and spacious.
Image Credit: Qanvast, Starry Homested
The best way to take advantage of natural lighting is by retracting blinds or drawing curtains to the side.
Image Credit: Qanvast, Starry Homested
Design by Design 4 Space Pte Ltd
Image Credit: Renopedia, Design 4 Space Pte Ltd
This creation of Design 4 Space shows another way of maximizing natural light without drawing curtains. Sheer curtains are used in this home which practically allows light to filter through the fabric. It definitely allows natural light into the home but privacy may be an issue if it’s a priority on your end.
Design by WHST Design Pte Ltd
Combination blinds popularly referred to as Korean blinds are also great should you opt for a more flexible type of window treatment. This creation by WHST Design Pte Ltd very much shows how flexible these types of blinds are – draw it all the way up for intense natural lighting, use the combination/dual feature with both thicker and lighter fabric to allow minimal natural lighting, or expose only the thicker fabric to completely block the sunlight.
Image Credit: Renopedia, WHST Design PTE Ltd
Perfect for Scandinavian themed Homes
Design by Juz Interior
Image Credit: Qanvast, Juz Interior
This modern Scandinavian themed home created by Juz Interior exemplifies simplicity, functionality, and freshness in one interior design. The mix of white, neutral colors, and natural wood-like finish were all made better by the presence of natural light. No doubt that this home is a pleasure to see.
Image Credit: Qanvast, Juz Interior
Makes Interior with white, off-white, or beige better
Another Design by Starry Homestead
Image Credit: Renonation, Starry Homestead
Singaporean based designer Starry Homestead gives us another home interior inspiration that leverages natural lighting. This perfectly executed light colored home consisting of beige walls, white cabinets, accents in wood finish, and white-yellowish flooring is without a doubt made even better through maximizing natural light. As researches have proven, light colors reflect sunlight beautifully. White tones will make a space feel brighter as they’ll reflect the natural light entering the room, rather than absorbing it.
Image Credit: Renonation, Starry Homestead
Image Credit: Renonation, Starry Homestead
Still great even with accents
Design by The Interior Lab
Image Credit: Qanvast, The Interior Lab
Image Credit: Qanvast, The Interior Lab
Image Credit: Qanvast, The Interior Lab
This design by The Interior Lab still classifies under Scandinavian theme but with more depth given the accents. With majority of walls painted in off-white, some walls and beams are painted in gray, cabinets painted in blue and dark cream, one wall is covered in brown wall paper, and splashboards have dark patterns. Nevertheless, it’s safe to say that the introduction of dark colors have been negated by natural lighting. The entire space still looks airy, light, and cozy.
Image Credit: Qanvast, The Interior Lab
Image Credit: Qanvast, The Interior Lab
Contrast of Light and Dark
Design by ECasa Studio
Image Credit: Renonation, ECasa Studio
Image Credit: Renonation, ECasa Studio
Have you envisioned your home to have gray tiles, gray appliances, black tiles, and a grayish wall color? Are you having doubts because many are saying that it could be too dark and dull? This creation by ECasa studio could prove otherwise as it was able to show that black accents can still appear to be nice especially if you take advantage of your windows. With natural lighting present in the said home, the dark features of the home did not become too overbearing but has been very modern and classy.
You will also see variety of artificial lighting used per room which will obviously make the home bright even at night. Pendant lights, linear track lights, under cabinet lighting, and ceiling fan with mounted light were used by the designer.
Image Credit: Renonation, ECasa Studio
Image Credit: Renonation, ECasa Studio
See this look: Reetahnna Slim Rectangular Linear Ceiling Lamp
Perfect for Home Offices
Many are now referring to the COVID 19 as an endemic, Most public health emergency response has ended but we can’t deny that it still poses a threat albeit at least not fatal anymore. With this, many companies have chosen to maintain a full time work from home status while some have opted for a hybrid work setup. Those working from home should use these designs as inspiration for their home office.
Design by ChengYi Interior Design
Image Credit: Qanvast, ChengYi Interior Design
Wooden accents, white cabinets, white walls, white lighting fixtures and a hint of greenery – a very popular theme for homes used by interior designers. It’s light and refreshing. This interior design will not be completed without introducing natural light not just for aesthetics but also for increased productivity perfect for those working from home. Heat and possibly too much light have been solved by installing venetial blinds for more control of the natural light.
Design by Mr Shopper Studio
Image Credit: Qanvast, Mr Shopper Studio
You may also use your creative juices and come up with a design that will fit your personality. If you want to be playful but still end up with a nice home office, use this design by Mr Shopper Studio as inspiration. The cabinets and furniture are in gray, gold, and white finish, flooring with vinyl in wood finish, dual wall colors both with the shade of pink, and overhead linear lighting as the main source of light particularly for the table. Vertiflutes have also been used as accent for the upper part of the home office table. Since there’s an obvious absence of window in the home office area, mirror was installed so natural light will be reflected. Great thinking by the designer, indeed.
Natural Light can elevate class and make it grander
Design by Weiken.com
This design by Weiken.com gives a glimpse of a grand Chinese-owned hotel in the 90’s. Extravagant wall features, porcelain tiles, and antique displays were prominent at that time for these hotels. This is a modernized version, however. Despite dark design features, the overall look of the interior is still light. Presence of natural light made the area bright and said dark features such as gray marble finish on the walls and table, brown fluted panels, gray couch and chairs have all been accentuated by the presence of natural light.
Image Credit: Renonation, Weiken.com
Image Credit: Renonation, Weiken.com
The finish without a doubt is fancy and really expensive looking. Natural lighting is a big part of this.
Perfect for Green Homes
Design by DC Vision Design Pte Ltd
At the end of the day, we all want a great-looking home interior. However, we also must consider its practicality and how it can make our lives better. Take this design by DC Vision Design Pte Ltd as an example. It looks fresh, bright, and nice. But the presence of greeneries made it better not just by the look but on how it can improve the living of the homeowners. There’s a scientific reason why plants are recommended features in a home. Thanks to photosynthesis, plants are natural air freshners and it can help lower the air temperature. Well of course, these plants will not be able to look this good without presence of sunlight. In this case, natural lighting is not only to make the home interior brighter but it is also used in keeping the plants alive. It’s just a very practical and tactical design. Plants are aesthetic and good for the health, natural light can make the place bright and it can also help the plants live, and finally, the overall look of the home is made better.
Image Credit: DC Vision SG
Conclusion:
Natural lighting is an integral part of any home. Unfortunately, not all homes are designed for this. If you have minimal windows in your recently purchased home, you should definitely take advantage of it. If you have a lot of windows, then make sure to maximize it. These 11 designs featured above definitely leverages natural light. Mimic how they do it or you may even come up with better ideas to suit your needs. Remember, natural light make your lives bright. Good luck!
