Lighting plays a crucial role in your home, and its importance is far too often overlooked by home builders. Lighting affects the ambiance and mood of your home and should be considered carefully with professional builders who understand lighting design. Get the lighting right and your home will feel comfortable, warm and inviting. Avoid mistakes such as a lack of windows and harsh lighting, which could make you feel anxious and uncomfortable in your own home. Select a custom home builder who knows their stuff and will capitalize on these three important lighting techniques.
1. Position of the House
Building your home strategically to harness the most natural light is the first critical step.
Home planning takes a lot of attention to details. Natural sunlight should be the main source of lighting in your home. Sunlight has so many benefits for your health and it helps create airy, bright and inviting spaces. Natural light has also been proven to increase productivity and help your natural sleep cycles to give you a better night’s rest. Who couldn’t use a few extra z’s each night?
The sun moves across a daily path, called the ecliptic, which (in our little corner of the world here in Indiana) is higher in the sky during summer and lower during winter. This is important to consider because the angle of the sun won’t be the same throughout the year.
That being said, we’ll help you figure out how to orient your house on your lot so that natural light comes into the most used spaces like the kitchen, living room, or family room. If you like the sun to filter in while you are waking up in the morning, position your bedroom to the east. If you like your room to stay dark, positioning your bedroom on the west is ideal.
Another huge benefit of allowing lots of natural light in your home is reduced energy consumption and savings on your energy bill. When you have more natural light filtering in through your windows, you are able to use less artificial lighting. If your home is oriented towards the sun, you can also see a reduction in cost on your heating bill. If you add solar panels too, the savings would increase even more. Cha-ching!
Allowing too much sunlight into your home can also have its drawbacks. If you love the idea of natural light, we’ll want to strategically plan the position of your home so you don’t get an extreme morning or afternoon glare. Additional accommodations will also need to be implemented as we design your custom home. For example, installing overhangs can help block the harsh sun when it is highest in the summer, while still allowing sunlight and warmth from the low winter sun. Trust the experts at Carrington Homes to lay out your home on your site to make sure your lighting is done right!
2. Window Placement
Strategic placement of windows, skylights, and French or glass sliding doors are the second-best way to allow more natural light into your home. In addition to providing stunning light in each room of your home, windows also give a connection to the outdoors. Windows located in front of a kitchen sink provide a nice view while you do the dishes. You might as well make clean up a little more enjoyable right? Skylights are a perfect option for bathrooms, as they bring in lots of natural light while still providing privacy. An open floor plan with a strategic window layout is the perfect way to flood your entire home with sunshiny goodness!
3. Artificial Lighting
Well-designed lighting schemes can be tricky but can create a dramatic effect on a space. Multiple layers of lighting are the best strategy but choosing light fixtures that are glare free is key. Indirect lighting will create a soft light and increase the ambiance in your room. If you have coffered or cove ceilings, introduce some LED uplighting to set the mood. Be plentiful with your artificial lighting sources, but also be strategic. Task lighting should be implemented to illuminate areas where you are doing a specific activity like reading in the living room or putting on makeup in the bathroom. Under cabinet lighting is another example of task lighting that will also highlight your gorgeous backsplash. Decorative pendant fixtures over your kitchen island and accent lighting in your cabinetry to showcase your favorite china, are additional lighting layers that can be included in your strategic lighting design. Dim it down and control the amount of artificial light you need to supplement your natural light. Putting dimmers on your switches is an easy solution to give you choice and control of lighting levels. Remote controls and motion sensors should also be considered to enhance the flexibility and convenience of your lighting design. Think of it like “clap on, clap off”, taken to the next level!
There is really so much to consider in order to create a purposeful lighting design. Get the light right the first time by selecting Carrington Homes to strategically customize your home lighting plan.
