Natural Light Holds the Key to Happiness

A home with lots of natural light is at the top of the wish list for many homeowners and it’s no secret that sunlight has a whole host of health benefits. A new study has confirmed that natural light is the key to homeowner happiness, with 70 per cent of Brits claiming it improves their mood and wellbeing all year round.

Conducted by aluminium glazing specialists Express Bi-folding Doors, the survey found that 84 per cent of Brits value natural light ‘greatly’ when buying their dream property and on average would pay £4,786 on top of their budget. A further seven per cent were willing to fork out a staggering £15,000 – £20,000 above the asking price in order to bathe their homes in sunlight.

The findings are backed by celebrity interior designer, Linda Barker, who commented: “Most of us crave natural light in our homes. A large glazed area or a door that opens-up onto a garden space serves to enhance our sense of wellbeing and can quite literally connect us to the natural world. There are scientific studies to show that looking out onto greenspace can improve our mental health. Another simple trick to cheat extra daylight into a room, is to position a mirror opposite a window as it will have the benefit of doubling the light effect.”

When it comes to improving our mood all year round, nearly three quarters of homeowners believe natural light is the ‘key to happiness and wellbeing’, with a further 12% ‘relying on it’ in the dark winter months and 11% ‘needing it’ in Spring-Summer.

With these results in mind, it’s clear that choosing the right window blinds is particularly important when it comes to letting light into the home. Style Studio’s Lorna McAleer commented:

“We know that natural light is key criteria to homeowners as we’re often asked for advice on the best blinds for privacy without blocking light. This survey proves exactly how important it is! Get it right and you could be significantly adding to the value of your property. Luckily, there are window blinds that allow incredible flexibility over how to let the light into homes. Semi-transparent or sheer fabrics are a top choice, alternatively our amazing Mirage window blinds have alternating stripes of sheer and solid fabric.

Mirage window blinds by Style Studio

“There are also specialist blinds to dress the large windows and glazed doors that flood the home with light such as bi-fold doors and skylights.”

To see how different styles of blinds look around the home try out Style Studio’s new DesignSpace interactive design tool for visualising blinds in different room sets and at different times of day. Or order up to five free samples to check a fabric’s transparency at the window.