Let there be light!

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Apartment Renovation – Australia , Corner-S Architectural Design (Australia) Corner-S Architectural Design (Australia) Modern houses
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As a rule, the majority of people favour light, bright homes. That’s why basement flats tend to be less expensive, and bedrooms that face the sun tend to be more desirable. Thinking about different ways of letting more light into your house or apartment is therefore a simple way to improve the experience of living there, as well as to potentially increase the value of the property. These pictures show just some of the many ways that various designers and architects have risen to that particular challenge.

Supersize your windows

The golden rule of windows is: they can always be bigger. Especially if your home faces just the right way to catch the sun, and especially if it is sufficiently high up that blinds or curtains are not required to protect your privacy, as appears to be the case here.  The high ceilings in this room make it the perfect size for the giant window/door that opens out onto a narrow balcony area here.

​All windows are equal, but some are more equal than others

The distribution of light throughout your house doesn’t need to be uniform, or anything near it. Some rooms work best when flooded with light; for example, living rooms, kitchens and sometimes even bedrooms. Others may only need minimal window space, such as bathrooms and studies. You may only use your dining room after dark, in which case perhaps it only requires a small window, or perhaps it can face away from the sun. Putting some thought into which rooms need most light rather than matching all windows perfectly can create some interesting effects on the exterior of the building, as seen here.

​Weightless white

If you want to truly capitalise on your home’s potential for lightness, you’re going to need to use white, white and more white. As this image shows, the effect – especially in combination with high ceilings, large windows and uncluttered furniture choices – can be very impressive.

​Glass in place of walls

If you had a privately positioned room where most of your walls could be replaced with glass, why wouldn’t you? During the day the room will be lit by the sun and at night it will look fantastic from the garden – even if the only person who can see it is you and your family.

​Picture perfect

This elegant and understated window acts as the perfect frame for the view beyond, while also letting unusually large quantities of light into the room. It reaches right from the floor up to almost the ceiling. Not child-safe, certainly, but beautiful nonetheless.

​Shadow play

The shadows cast by the various objects in your home as the light enters it can be as beautiful as the light itself. The grid-like pattern created by the window here, with the shadow of the model ship sailing peacefully across it, is quite lovely.

​Start at the top and work your way down

Of course, the very best place to position your windows in order to let in some additional sunlight is on the roof. Your room will then catch the sun throughout the whole day, even if the conventional windows on the walls face the wrong way. The unusual peaked glass roof shown here is  more than just a skylight, being long enough to ensure that both ends of the room get their fair share of the sun.

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