A room that has little to no light, whether that be in the workplace or home, can have an impact on our health and happiness since lack of light is linked to depression, an inability to mentally focus, and physical issues. Thankfully, there are ways to bring natural-looking light to a dark area. For example, if you have a windowless room in your home.
In this blog, we will offer various light solutions for windowless rooms, which are typically basements, kitchens, and offices. But first, we will explain why exposure to natural light is so important to humans.
We need at least 10 to 30 minutes of daylight several times a week, for one reason - natural light is believed to assist with our circadian rhythm, which is a 24-hour cycle, involving our sleeping patterns, our diet, and the amount of light we should expose ourselves to daily. If this is off-kilter, then it can affect our decision-making skills, make us overtired, and reduce our productivity.
Furthermore, lack of light can impact our mood, resulting in Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).
With the above information in mind and considering the many benefits of daylight lighting, it is important to try and bring light into a windowless room, particularly one that you use often.
Find out how to lighten a dark room with no natural light and discover the best daylight lighting solutions available.
Types of Daylight Lighting
Desk Lamps
For a windowless office, a daylight desk lamp is an effective lighting solution. They can lift the mood of the office, which will help to boost productivity.
Daylight desk lamps are particularly ideal for reading, writing, or when working on a computer. The light from electronic screens can cause eye strain, so natural-looking light provides the relief required, which will reduce headaches as well as tiredness.
Floor Lamps
For a home or working environment, a daylight flexi-vision floor lamp is ideal if you need to read or write for long periods. It has been designed specifically to reduce glare to allow for optimum comfort. The lamp comes with a daylight bulb, so you can instantly bring a natural-looking hue to a dark room and simulate daylight.
Additionally, daylight floor lamps can be useful when doing needlework and sewing.
Table Lamps
For any table-based activities, whether at home or in the office, daylight table lamps are perfect for bringing natural-looking light to a shaded area. These can be positioned around a windowless room to provide pools of calming and inviting light.
How Much Light Does A Windowless Room Need?
Sunlight helps to make your home feel airy and welcoming. If a room is windowless, however, it won’t have daylight pouring in so it will be lacking an uplifting atmosphere. But how do you go about replicating sunlight?
The number of daylight lighting solutions you use will depend on the size of the room, the shape, and what it is being used for.
To calculate the amount of light required (lumens), there is a formula you can use.
This is square footage multiplied by the expected level of lumens, which can vary from room to room.
For example, if you have a bedroom that has no windows, then the formula is:
Square footage of the room x 10 or 20 lumens.
This formula also works for rooms of a similar size, such as a lounge.
For a bathroom or kitchen that has no windows, then the formula is:
Square footage of the room x 70 or 80 lumens.
So now you should be able to measure the amount of light that is typically required for certain rooms in the home.
How To Replicate Natural Lighting?
There are many ways to optimise the light within a windowless or dark room to help create an airy and uplifting space. These are as follows:
1) Layer light
You can either cast light evenly over a dark space, such as with an overhead light in a studio, or layer lighting, such as with lamps in dark corners.
To effectively layer lighting in a windowless room, avoid using lamps that have lampshades. Instead, you should use lamps that cast light upwards to help replicate bright sunlight.
Choosing the best daylight lamp can make all the difference to your home or office.
2) Carefully choose light bulbs for a dark room
If you aim to bring natural-looking light to a room, then you should consider acquiring daylight bulbs.
Daylight bulbs differ from normal bulbs since they have a cooler colour temperature to create a bluish hue similar to that found outdoors in the daytime.
3) Use mirrors to reflect light
Mirrors provide a surface for light to bounce off and they also create the illusion of a bigger space.
Additionally, on a wall where there is no window, consider placing a mirror that has a built-in light, which will help to divert attention away from the fact there isn’t a natural light source in that area.
4) Use light-emitting decor
Whilst the colour white reflects light, having decor of this colour will not necessarily help to create a welcoming and warm space. This is because white furniture or white-painted walls can further emphasise the dark areas of a room, such as the shadows in corners where no natural light can penetrate.
Additionally, avoid painting your windowless room in colours that absorb light, such as black or any other colours that are of a similar tone.
Instead, consider acquiring furniture that has warm undertones, such as peach or yellow, and paint your walls in pastel colours.
5) Implement floor lamps
Bringing natural-looking light into your room can be achieved by adding several artfully placed daylight table lamps and, as an alternative, floor lamps, such as a Daylight UnoLamp Floor. This has a touch switch dimmer, which would allow you to control the brightness level of your room, according to the time of day it is i.e. whether you are doing a task in the middle of the day or want to wind down in the evening.
Daylight floor lamps are a particularly good choice if you have a large open-plan space, such as a studio. They will brighten dark corners, making them appear warm and bringing an uplifting feel to the area.
Additionally, a daylight floor lamp will add another layer of light to crisscross with other light sources in the room, which will help to give the illusion of natural sunlight streaming in.
After reading this blog you should now be able to create a sanctuary that has natural-looking light for you to happily and healthily live or work in.
If you think that you may be suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder due to low light levels in a room, then Heamar stocks a variety of SAD lights and daylight lighting solutions that are perfect for a variety of dark rooms.
