Window shutters in Los Altos Hills, CA are a wonderful window treatment that enables you to let a lot of natural light into a room. There is a big difference between how artificial light and natural light make you feel.
You may have the most beautiful furnishings in a room, with the most stylish décor, but if the predominant light in the room, is artificial light, the room itself may feel cold or sterile. On the other hand, you may have some secondhand furnishings in a room, with a more casual décor, and have abundant natural light streaming in, and the room wraps you up like a warm blanket on a cold winter morning.
The difference between these two opposite effects is lighting. Lighting is a transformative element that gives rooms – and homes – a feeling of being welcoming or unwelcoming. Lighting and our moods are very intertwined. If there is a lot of warm light, we feel good. If there is little light, or a lot of cold light, we don’t feel so great.
All homes have two kinds of lighting. One of these is natural light, which comes into the home from outside. The other is artificial light, which comes from bulbs in light fixtures inside the home.
A home that feels warm and welcoming maximizes daylighting (using the natural light coming in from outside to its full capacity). Every home should incorporate daylighting into its design. This will reduce the reliance on artificial lighting during the day, which will give it a cozier feeling.
Optimal daylighting lets as much light in without making a room too hot or sacrificing privacy. On one extreme, a window treatment such as dark and heavy drapes give you two options for natural light: none or full strength. On the other extreme, window coverings like sheers do filter light, but they give little privacy and little ability to maintain a comfortable temperature.
Hunter Douglas window shutters, however, give you the best of light control and privacy. They can be fully open for the maximum amount of natural light, or they can be tilted to let some light in while ensuring privacy, or they can be completely closed for absolute privacy and maximum temperature control.
Some rooms don’t let a lot of natural light in. However, you can change this, even in your home’s darkest rooms, by using light paint colors, which reflect light (dark paint colors absorb light, so they will make dark rooms darker). You can also strategically place mirrors in rooms to bring in more natural light. The best position for mirrors to bring in the maximum amount of natural light is beside the windows in the room.
However, no all artificial light is bad. Without artificial light at night, your home will be completely dark. But the kind of artificial light used and how artificial lighting is incorporated into your home will determine whether it gives a warming or cooling effect to how your home feels.
The best lighting strategy for your home is layered lighting. Incorporate multiple sources of light, including standing lamps, wall scones, and table lamps, and have them placed so they create balance and warmth.
Another aspect that will determine the temperature of artificial lighting is light bulbs. Daylight bulbs and fluorescent lighting have a cool blue tone, making your home feel cooler. Warm-toned light bulbs that are slightly yellow (soft white; Kelvin temperature 1,800-3,000), on the other hand, will make your home feel warmer.
If you’d like to learn more about Hunter Douglas window shutters in Los Altos Hills, CA, you can speak with our experienced staff at Windows & Beyond, Inc. You can come to our showroom at 4020 Fabian Way, Palo Alto, CA 94303, or you can call us at (650) 938-8822 for a free in-home estimate.