With the festive season now behind us for another year, it’s not unusual for many people to start feeling sad during the first few weeks of the year. The colder temperatures and dark mornings hit harder than they did before Christmas, and the possibility of failing our New Year’s resolutions can impact our mood significantly.
When it comes to trying to improve your mood and avoid the January blues, one of the most common pieces of advice you will come across is to get as much daylight as possible, with the colder months usually resulting in us not getting enough Vitamin D.
Home experts at Express Bi-Folding Doors understand how important this is, not just in January but all year round, and showroom stylist Jade Oliver has shared her best advice on how to let more light into those dark, dull rooms around the home.
Consider upgrading your windows in 2024
With it being the new year, many of us are considering what home renovations we might want to carry out throughout 2024. If you’re struggling with darkness in your home, a new set of aluminium windows can help, or even a roof lantern skylight – which can help capture low light levels in the morning and evening.
If you’re looking for a slightly bigger project this year, however, Jade suggests looking into installing sliding or bi-folding doors. “If you have a bare, external facing wall, installing bi-folding or sliding doors is a great way of bringing the outdoors, indoors and is the best possible solution to allowing more natural light into your home”
Take advantage of glossy surfaces
Reflective surfaces are one of the best additions to your home when looking for ways to bring more light into a room. Metallic and mirrored furniture, especially in your lounge or bedroom can make your space feel considerably bigger. Glass furniture, being translucent, can also help the perceived size of a room because you can see through it, making the room seem larger and brighter.
This is something you do have to be careful with though, Jade warns “If this is an approach you’ll be taking, you do have to be careful with how many glossy materials you us – or you might just end up feeling as if you’re living in a hall of mirrors. You should choose one of two statement pieces, and combine them with light colours so you get the affect you need, without it being too much”
Redesign your lighting set up
Letting more natural light into your rooms might not be feasible, but that doesn’t mean nothing can be done about rooms that feel perpetually dark and gloomy. “Take a step back and reevaluate your lighting set up” Jade suggests. “Make sure you’ve got one ‘main light’ on the ceiling, with more than one bulb – or spotlights, one or two side lamps for reading, low mood lighting for ambience, and scone lights above your bed in your bedroom for lower levels of light in the evening”.
Putting thought into your lighting design, especially in a darker room can make a huge difference, even without natural light. However, if you are missing the feel of natural light you can invest in a ‘daylight’ lamp, which emulates the feeling of natural light – a great product if you struggle to find the motivation to wake up in the dark mornings or find yourself suffering low moods in the colder months.
Make sure your windows are clean
This might seem like an obvious one, but this should be the first thing you think off when considering how to make your room feel brighter.
Jade advises “when you look at your windows, you might think they look clean, but upon further inspection you’ll end up seeing there will be a layer of dirt, and even if it is just a bit, it will still affect the amount of light entering through your window”
Small windows especially, can get dirty much more quickly than you expect – and you should try to incorporate cleaning them into your regular cleaning routine rather than a ‘one off’.
For more advice on how to let more natural light into your home, please visit; https://www.expressbifolds.co.uk/news/bring-light-home/
