Winter is fiercely stealing the sun from us and turning our interiors into a crypt. We talked to experts and found out how to stop it
December 22 is the shortest day of the year.Many Russians feel inspired on this day - after all, the days will gradually get longer! However, winter is not even half over yet, and we have many dark winter evenings ahead of us.
Constant twilight has a negative impact onpsychological state of a person. Lack of natural light inhibits the production of serotonin. When it is deficient, depression, melancholy and a feeling that everything is meaningless arise. To avoid this, you need to try to get as much natural sunlight as possible even in winter. Experts from Urban Group have prepared some practical tips on how to extend daylight hours at home.
Review the purpose of the rooms
If your apartment has several rooms,oriented to different cardinal directions, think about whether you are using them correctly. Almost no light enters the northern room, neither in winter nor in summer. Pleasant twilight is the best lighting for a bedroom. The northern room is also suitable for the kitchen, but only if you do not have a habit of spending a lot of time here and you use it only for cooking.
In a room facing east, it is bestarrange a nursery: almost all children are early birds, and the room will be filled with light until lunch, which will please the baby. Of course, the room will become dark towards evening, but children go to bed early, so it does not matter much. In a room facing east, you can also place a kitchen if this is the coziest place in the house for you and you often sit here in the morning with a cup of coffee.
Western and southern rooms are suitable for a living room - in the evenings the light leaves them last, and it is in the evening that we like to sit here with family or friends.
Choose apartments with large windows
If you are just thinking about buying a home,Pay special attention to apartments with panoramic windows. The larger the window, the higher the illumination factor. According to a study by Urban Group, panoramic windows allow you to do without artificial lighting for up to 15% of the time per day longer. Ideally, the window area should be more than 1/8 of the floor area - this is the minimum acceptable indicator for residential premises. And do not be afraid of the cold - modern double-glazed windows retain heat well even in 40-degree frosts, even if your window is from wall to wall and from floor to ceiling.
Use light colors
When choosing wallpaper or paint for walls, givepreference for light warm tones - sand, peach, cream, pistachio, beige. Large surfaces of dark shades absorb up to 40% of light and visually make the room more gloomy. Light surfaces, on the contrary, reflect light. Satin and glossy textures cope with this especially well. All this concerns not only the walls, but also the furniture. An elegant white wardrobe, a beige carpet and a light wood table - such furnishings can make the room brighter.
"Goldenize" the room
It is not at all necessary to turn it into a semblanceballroom from the time of Marie Antoinette. But a few golden accents will "warm" the room and make the lighting temperature warmer. Gilded frames for paintings or mirrors, golden tiles on the floor, a few brocade pillows embroidered with gold thread - this will be enough.
Place furniture around the perimeter
A massive table or sofa in the center of the room— a good solution for spacious, bright rooms. But if you lack natural light, leave the central part of the room free — the room will immediately be filled with light and air. When arranging furniture, make sure that nothing stands in the way of precious sunlight.
When choosing furnishings, avoid contrasts.If the walls and floor are beige, let the chairs be in the same tone. Playing with contrasts is dangerous. They can, of course, give the room individuality, but at the same time make it darker and more cramped.
Avoid heavy curtains
Thick curtains in dark colors are not the best choice forour latitudes. Replace them with light translucent curtains made of light fabric. If you are worried about your privacy and think that when the lights are on, your room will look like a shop window from the outside, use a trick - continue the strip with LED bulbs around the perimeter of the window opening. It will create a kind of contrasting "light curtain" - no one will be able to see what is happening inside from the street. In addition, this is an original design technique.
Be careful with textures
Textured plaster, coarse jute carpetweaving, baroque stucco - all these stylish interior solutions should be avoided if you want to make the room brighter. Light, falling at an angle on any textured surface, creates many tiny shadows. The larger such a surface, the darker the room will seem.
Don't clutter your windowsills
Cute little things, potted flowers and other little thingsblock sunlight. You might think that a couple of ficus trees won't make much of a difference. But in reality, a few lush potted plants can take up half a metre of total window space, which is a lot – especially when you consider the amount of sunlight we get from October to April.
Use glass and mirrors
These materials do not reflect light and are shiny - that is,what you need for short grey winter days! Glass partitions and decorative blocks in the walls, stained glass windows, mirrors in frames and on cabinet doors, crystal chandeliers increase the illumination of the room many times over.
