Natural and Artificial Light designs

The amount and quality of natural light a room receives depends on the size of its windows and its orientation with regard to the sun. South-facing windows get the lion's share of direct sunlight for most of the day. East-facing rooms benefit from early mornings, while rooms that face west are sunny in the afternoon. Because its back is to the sun, a north-facing room receives only indirect natural light and tends to be cool and dim.

When you are renovating or redecorating a room, always look at the existing space and take the seasons, time of day, and orientation of the windows into consideration with respect to natural light.

Artificial light picks up where natural light leaves off. It is the illumination that you provide, and unlike natural light, you can fine-tune it. In the daytime, artificial light augments natural light; after dark, it compensates lack of daylight.

The key to devising a versatile plan that can change with each activity, as well as with the time of day or the weather, begins with knowing about the different types of artificial light.