5 Home Improvements That Say: “Let There Be Light!”
By H.L. StaplesRefacingCabinet.com Columnist
Exposure to light can eliminate seasonal depression. It can help you sleep longer and better. It can improve the weight gain of premature infants. It can even reduce breast cancer growth. Light is the new (and the oldest) miracle drug. Put a skip in your step by remodelling to let more light into your home.
Make Light with These Home Improvements
If you want a bright and cheery home, implement a few of these remodelling options for a quick and undeniable improvement in the amount and quality of light in your life.
- Glass Doors: Replace your exterior and interior doors with windowed entrances. You'll increase the number of windows in your home and create a major improvement by adding cross light between rooms.
- Widen Doorways: If you really want to go the whole hog and make the best use of your entrance ways, widen them. Your exterior doorway can have a glass panel for the express purpose of letting in light.
- Roof Windows: Remodel to bring the light in directly from the sky with a roof window or skylight. You can have your contractor install a vented or non-vented window. Tubular windows also exist, which angle around problem areas like attic obstructions.
- Blinds and Shades: Want an inexpensive remodelling option and a quick improvement in your home's light quality? Take down the curtains. Burn the drapes. Put up blinds and shades, which maximize a room's potential brightness.
- Glass Block: If you want to try something truly radical, replace walls and partitions with glass block. You might even install glass block into exterior walls. You'll maintain privacy while creating a vast improvement in the amount of light in your living space.
These are some fairly simple steps you can take to increase your daily exposure to sun light. If you really want a place in the sun, you can always take your remodelling to the next level and add a sunroom!
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About The Author
H.L. Staples has renovated three older homes and has just purchased her fourth. Her articles have appeared in The Boston Review, Denver Quarterly, The Georgia Review, and elsewhere.
