Interior design is a discipline of art that entails modifying and amplifying the interior environment of a building in a bid to realize and accomplish a more robust and exquisitely pleasing environment for people utilizing the available inside space (Grimley and Love 2018). The person in charge the planning, researching, coordinating, and managing such projects is known as an interior designer. Natural lighting is simply the light that is sourced from the sun as seen from earth. Natural light is regarded as the best source of lighting for any building because of the many advantages that come along with it. Natural light has, for centuries, been adopted and used by numerous interior designers and architects in their respective designs and plans and has been seen to make homes more inviting, cheery, and warm (El Hawary 2014, p.50). Despite being one of the most overlooked and disregarded elements of interior design, natural lighting has been proven to be very significant in the creation of enjoyable and comfortable working and living spaces. It is essential in carrying out the most basic tasks of lighting up the luxury surroundings created inside any room. This essay will explore the importance of using natural lighting in interior design and the benefits that come along with the same.
The first and most obvious benefit of using natural light in interior design is the efficient use and saving of energy. It is very undisputable fact that using natural lighting at home results in lower utility bills (Sayigh 2014, p.174). A recent study conducted by the United States Department of Energy with respect to the consumption of household electricity showed that approximately 10% of the household’s electricity consumption resulted from lighting (Grimley and Love 2018). This means that using natural light at the expense of artificial light energy significantly saves money that would have otherwise been spent in paying for electricity bills accrued from artificial internal lighting. Putting out electric lights throughout the daytime and utilizing natural light instead is more likely to cut down energy usage and consumption by approximately 50% to 80& (Innes 2012, p.67).
Secondly, natural lighting is also important in color management and generally enhances the overall colors of a room and its surfaces. This is because natural light makes colors look deeper, more natural, and more appealing to the eye as compared to the effect brought about by an artificial lighting system (Grimley and Love 2018). Natural lights make the walls of rooms brighter, hence, making the room seem bigger and spacious as opposed to artificially lit rooms or dark rooms that generally feel smaller and crowded (El Hawary 2014, p.56). Natural light more often reflects off the walls of the room, creating the illusion of space. This can be seen in the design of various office buildings with large windows that allow huge amounts of sunlight to enter the rooms.
Another importance of natural lighting in interior design is the generation of fresher air in a room, and hence, improved comfortability. Large windows that allow free flow of skylights ensure that the interior of the building smells nice and is full of fresh air (Grimley and Love 2018). The lack of natural light in a room is one of the major factors that contribute to the uncomfortable smell that exists in some rooms. Adequate natural light prevents the formation of molds, mildew, and bacteria that mainly contributes to the bad smell. Furthermore, illuminating the inside of a home or office using natural light tend to make the spaces more comfortable as compared to rooms lit by artificial lighting (Innes 2012, p.70). Natural light is also the best fit to avoid over-illumination which is also an issue that can highly result to unwanted health effects in humans.
Natural lighting has also been proven to have a number of health benefits. First, natural light is an important tool for fighting depression because it raises the levels of serotonin and endorphins which results in a better psychological and physical feeling in humans (Innes 2012, p.79). Secondly, natural light lights up dark spaces that would be potential breeding spaces for bacteria and also acts as a natural antiseptic through the action of its UV rays. Thirdly, natural light is a good source of Vitamin D, which is a very important nutrient for the human body that helps in the prevention of a number of diseases such as osteoporosis in adults and rickets in children (Winchip 2017, p.278). These health benefits show just how much benefits natural light can bring when used in interior design.
Moreover, there are other personal benefits that come along with the use of daylighting systems in the interior design of homes and buildings. Among others, natural lighting and daylighting systems improve the sleep quality and hygiene, prevent eyestrains, improve productivity, restore and maintain the body’s natural balance, promote the production of the natural melatonin throughout the day, and also enhance the general mood in a home (El Hawary 2014, p.60). In offices and other internal working spaces, natural lighting has been associated with a happier workforce as well as huge human-performance and financial benefits. A study carried out to investigate the relationship between daytime natural lighting and student performance showed that an increase in daylight exposure in a classroom was directly related to the student test scores (Winchip 2017, p.283). In general, using natural light in interior design helps to improve productivity and focus.
Natural lighting is also important in helping our bodies develop the required circadian rhythms. According to an investigation carried out by the doctors from the Harvard School of Medicine, the circadian rhythms of humans must be reset daily to ensure they remain in synchrony with the time of the external environment (Winchip 2017, p.285). Circadian rhythms are essential to the daily coordination of all the bodily functions and are majorly influenced by the systematic exposure to light and darkness. Another research conducted by the HLB Lighting Design firm, Americans generally spend approximately 85-89% of their time inside buildings (El Hawary 2014, p.65). It is therefore very important for interior designers to develop interiors that provide healthy atmospheres to their occupants. Coming up with designs that incorporate the natural light into the interior designs of buildings is very crucial to achieving this goal. Living in a room with plenty of natural light helps our bodies reorient themselves to the natural rhythm of daylight, hence, improving overall effectiveness.
One of the most overlooked benefits of using natural lighting in the interior design of office spaces is the overall increase in sales. Providing an efficient and adequate amount of natural light into an office space or business building has been proven to increase the overall sales of the business (Winchip 2017, p.289). A study conducted by the Horton Lees Brogden lighting design organization with respect to this phenomenon showed that daylighting a business building generally equates to increased customer loyalty, more relaxed customers and shoppers, increased product visibility and interest, high employee morale, as well as a sublime shopping experience among a few other benefits (Grimley and Love 2018).
Another benefit of using natural light in interior design is the ability of natural light to shape form in an artistically appealing way (El Hawary 2014, p.71). Most interior designers and architects develop designs that use natural light to shape the interiors and help in wayfinding. This has been seen to make the interior design become alive and reveal the real form and shape of the design. Moreover, natural lighting makes the spaces in the buildings more inviting because humans generally thrive in sunlight (Grimley and Love 2018). Using natural light in the right way in interior design has been proven to be extremely beneficial and valuable both to the environment and the people occupying it.
In conclusion, natural lighting is a very crucial aspect of interior designing. Over the years, architects and interior designers have fully adopted the concept of using natural lighting in interior design, a step that has resulted in a number of architectural and interior design masterpieces that have fully explored the use of natural lighting. As shown above, the use of natural lighting in interior designs has been proven to come along with numerous benefits ranging from the artistic to the health benefits. It is, therefore, important for interior designers and architects to constantly explore the concept of natural lighting while preparing and coming up with their designs to ensure that occupants of the space fully enjoy the benefits of the same.
References
El Hawary, S. (2014). Lighting System In Interior Design for Modern administration buildings. Saarbrücken, LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing. 50, 56-72.
Grimley, C., & Love, M. (2018). The Interior Design Reference & Specification Book updated & revised Everything Interior Designers Need to Know Every Day. Minneapolis, Rockport Publishers. 99-102.
Innes, M. (2012). Lighting for Interior Design. Lighting for Interior Design. London, Laurence King Publishing. 67-71, 79.
Sayigh, A. (2014). Sustainability, energy and architecture: case studies in realizing green buildings. 174.
Winchip, S. M. (2017). Fundamentals of lighting. 277-290.
