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Fill Your Basement With Natural Sunlight Using These 5 Tricks
Diego Rojas
Basements offer a lot of extra square footage and unlimited choices in how to use it. But they also have their own inherent challenges. One of the most difficult for many homeowners is natural lighting. After all, this part of the house is largely built underground. How can you improve natural lighting in basement common areas? Here are a few of the best and most efficient ways.
1. Add Egress Windows
Egress windows are specially designed to allow a person to escape a basement room. They're often mandatory in basement bedrooms. But their style, with the ground pushed back in order to allow someone to climb out, allows a great deal of light in. Utilize egress windows even where not required.
2. Use Solar Tubes
Most people are familiar with skylights, which simply exchange a solid roof with a clear or frosted window in certain areas to increase sunlight. While you obviously can't add a skylight to a basement, you can add a solar tube. These tubes are installed on an exterior wall or roof and use mirrors to reflect sunlight through the tube into the room.
3. Limit Walls
With so much room to work with, you can turn one large basement into several smaller rooms for different purposes. However, adding walls blocks light. So be cautious about how you utilize them. While it's often necessary to create some permanent barriers—such as making a basement bedroom—try other options that leave a more open floor plan first.
4. Maximize Existing Windows
Assess the space's current windows to see if they could do more to allow light inside. Could they be made physically larger? If not, are there styles with smaller frames and more footprints dedicated to the actual glass? Swap out frosted glass for clear glass. And certainly, replace windows that are unsightly since people are unlikely to actually use them.
5. Keep It Light
Dark colors absorb what natural sunlight enters the basement. So avoid the temptation or trends to use deep shades in the basement. Instead, create a light and airy palette all around. Use lighter carpet and blonde or light gray wood on the floors. Pick a pastel or pale neutral for the walls. And skip dark-colored furniture, instead utilizing pops of color for fun.
Where to Learn More
Want more tips for brightening up your basement with natural sunlight? Meet with an experienced basement remodeling service in your local area to learn more. With their guidance and these tips, you'll have a comfortable and enjoyable new addition to your home.
Contact a local basement remodeling service to learn more.
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By the time I finally finished saving money for my new home, I knew that I wanted something special. I didn't want to buy a starter home, and I really didn't want to deal with fixing up an older place. Instead of scouring the market and dealing with real estate agents, I decided to work with a general contractor to start building a place of my own. However, I didn't choose my contractor willy nilly either. I spend hours interviewing and researching various construction firms until I found the business I wanted to work with. This blog is all about working with contractors, so that you can make better construction decisions.