Ever heard of daylighting? In simplest terms, it’s about bringing indirect natural light into the home to light up the space. It tends to involve a little art and a little science, but the result is a greener—as in more eco-friendly—means of lighting a home’s interior. It’s a great way to brighten up a bathroom, add visual interest to the design, and use less electricity!
Windows are the most obvious means to bringing in outdoor lighting. They are the oldest form of daylighting around! Because people want privacy in the bathroom, if windows are used for daylighting a bathroom, it’s often best to go with obscure or glass-blocked windows.
Skylights are one of the most popular means of daylighting bathrooms. They’ve been around for decades, and aesthetically, they’ve had real staying power. They just don’t seem to fall out of fashion. Old homes have them. New homes have them. Perhaps that’s why people tend to think of them as the only natural-light alternative to windows. They’re wrong!
Ever heard of a solar tubular light, or solar tube? It’s a tubular shaft leading from a clear dome on the roof down to the ceiling of a room. (The end of it is flush with the ceiling, so don’t get picture some sci-fi design of metal tunnels dangling from the ceiling.) The interior of the tube is coated with a reflective surface. This reflective surface does an absolutely amazing job of harnessing the brightness of the sun and spreading it through the room. It’s almost like standing out in the bright daylight. Hence, daylighting!
Image via Houzz
Energy efficiency isn’t t he only reason to go with daylighting in a bathroom. Natural light is the best, truest lighting you can use when getting ready in front of a mirror. The bathroom is where most of us do this! Ask any woman, and she’ll tell you that the sunlight offers the best lighting for makeup-application. It gives a true view of how she’s going to look to the rest of the world after getting ready.
Tired of the vanity lights and pendant lights and want to do something different? Both aesthetically and functionally, skylights and solar tubes can make for a dramatic change during a bathroom remodel. Bring some sunshine into your bathroom and brighten the room in more ways than one!
