5 Reasons to Prioritize Natural Light in Architecture
Your home should be a space that blends comfort, style, and function while simultaneously bringing out the best in you. One of the easiest and most effective ways to accomplish this is by integrating natural light into your home’s design plans. Not only is natural light essential to both pulling together and expanding a space, but it is also crucial to how we feel in the place where we should be most relaxed. At Plan Architecture, we understand the importance of curating a space that not only looks good, but makes you feel good, too. Here are some reasons you should consider prioritizing natural light in your home.
1. Conservation of Energy
Prioritizing natural light in your home’s plans can help reduce the need for artificial lighting during daytime hours. A house with spacious windows can let in enough light that stretches into the nighttime hours, especially during summer when the sun sets later. By reducing your energy consumption, natural light can significantly lower your electricity bills and decrease your home’s carbon footprint. Additionally, sunlight can provide natural passive heating, meaning that you need less artificial heating during the daytime of the cooler months.
2. Improves Physiological & Psychological Well-Being
Natural light has been proven to be vital to human health, meaning that the implementation of natural light in your home can improve both your physiological and psychological well-being. increase serotonin production. Exposure to natural light increases serotonin production, a hormone that improves mood and energy levels by concurrently combating stress and anxiety. Natural light also helps regulate the body’s circadian rhythm, which leads to better sleep patterns and quality. Home offices in particular can benefit from excess natural light, since it improves concentration, focus, and creativity. The sun also provides vitamin D, crucial for bone health and immune functions.
3. Enhances and Highlights Home Aesthetics
Harness natural light as its own decor element by emphasizing it in your home. Daylight enhances the true colors of your interior design, allowing you to fully appreciate the richness and vibrancy of paint colors, furniture, and accessories. Textures and details of fabrics and finishes are also highlighted by natural light, adding depth and dimension to your curated atmosphere. Consider it a complementary touch of class!
Well-lit rooms also appear larger and more open by minimizing shadows in your space. Skylights and floor-to-ceiling windows can be the perfect addition to your home without physically expanding the space.
4. Can Discourage Fungal Growth
Fungi, such as mold and mildew, thrive in dark, moist, and poorly ventilated areas, such as basements and bathrooms. An abundance of natural light counters these conditions by acting as a natural disinfectant. UV rays in sunlight can kill microorganisms, helping to control the growth of mold and mildew on surfaces and fabrics.
5. Higher Property Value
Since homes with abundant natural light are often more aesthetically pleasing and feel more spacious, your home can have an increased property value and be more appealing to potential buyers. This investment in your house not only improves the quality of your time in your home but also sets you up for a successful future, as well.
Design Your Home with Plan Architecture
Founded in 2014 by Dan D’Agostino, AIA, Plan Architecture is an award-winning, client-forward, full-service architecture firm located in Bergen, New Jersey, less than an hour from Midtown Manhattan. Delivering luxurious, functional architectural solutions that honor both the client and their site, Plan Architecture has been recognized with a coveted AIA Gold Medal for a mixed-use structure designed for Lower Manhattan, is a Luxe Red Award winner, and has received multiple “Best Of” awards on Houzz.
At Plan Architecture, we’re committed to designing homes that bring out the best in you, our client. We bring a holistic design approach to every residential project by blending architecture, interiors, and your own unique vision to create luxurious, livable spaces. Contact us today to start working towards the future of your home!