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More Articles by Karla J. Nielson  More Design Perspectives

Lighting the Way
The sun affects our mood, bodies and interiors.

by Karla Nielson, Allied ASID, WCAA

Next to air and water, light is the most powerful ally to the human mind and body. Natural sunlight is the source of power that moves the wind, waves and Earth itself. Sunlight provides heat and energy to keep the delicate balance of all living things in check.

We are the beneficiaries of the life and movement of the Earth. Our individual circadian rhythms are set to this 24-hour clock, ordering a time for everything required for a balanced, healthful life: a time to eat, to sleep, to work, to play, to study, to exercise, to socialize, to pray, to love and be loved, and to strive to reach our fullest potentials. If every day were that perfect, how wonderful life would be.

Yet there are days that are less than perfect, when things go wrong; when fear, anger, hurt, disappointment, miscommunication or exhaustion mar the outlook, deplete the soul and lower the body’s immunity to disease. At times like these, there is a need for healing and rejuvenation. One effective way healing takes place is through exposure to natural sunlight. A few minutes of stress-free basking, working or exercising in the sun can do wonders for one’s attitude. The milder the climate, the longer we can stay outdoors to soak up Vitamin D, enhance the immune system and increase the determination to treat others more kindly.

EXPANSIVE GLASS

As technological advances have complicated our lives and kept us indoors at the computer workstation or in front of the television and away from nature, more homeowners have turned to expansive windows to encourage sunlight to penetrate their residences, thus reclaiming some of the nature missing in the lives of so many people.

While some clients desire privacy at home, others, particularly the younger generation, want all the light and view possible. These clients want access to their world, to connect with it and to incorporate the outdoors into their interior spaces, expanding the living space and feeling the mental and emotional freedom that untreated windows seem to offer.

Interestingly, just as exposure to too many hours of sunlight puts us as risk of dangers such as skin cancer, too much light in the interior has negative consequences. For furnishings, heat and ultraviolet (UV) rays combine to cause irreparable damage as sunlight permanently fades colors and dries furnishings, splitting wood and weakening fibers.

• Glare: For the user, glare—excessive luminance in the field of vision—can also be a problem. Glare, so often combined with heat, causes fatigue, irritation, headaches and a general feeling of malaise. And even though glare is relatively simple to control through quality window film and wisely selected window coverings, about half of the interiors featured in consumer shelter magazines have no window treatments whatsoever. This lack of light control works against the person who desires view, but also those who experience problems with heat, UV damage and glare.

• Convection Air Loop: The flip side of this dilemma is, where there is a lack of window coverings there are some opposite but equally serious problems, especially during the nighttime.

A window that gains too much heat in the day will allow too much heat to escape at night. The glass becomes cold and uncomfortable. Downdrafts result from the natural convection air movement. This is where warm air rises, meets the ceiling, then travels laterally toward the glass where it is cooled via contact with cold glass, then drops to the floor and moves along until it meets a warmer wall where the air heats and rises again. This also can be avoided through textile window coverings that keep the convection air loop from reaching the glass.

• Fearsome Darkness: Additionally, the view that might be relished by day becomes a dark, foreboding void at night. Even with exterior landscape lighting, an interior well lighted at night becomes vulnerable as do the people inside. This is a nightmare no thinking person invites, yet many do just that. No window treatments means a home and its occupants are decidedly “at risk.” Privacy window treatments should not allow any view indoors, even pinholes whereby a potential intruder could gather information. Remember, we see toward the light. Interiors lit at night are surprisingly clear to view from outside.

The insecurity in not knowing who might be out there is a terrible price to pay for the “clean look” of no window treatments during the day.

• Light Control: Blinds, shades, shutters, draperies and window film are the tools we use to diminish glare, to control light and to eliminate the dreaded ultraviolet and heat damage. Window coverings that filter direct sunshine and allow a glow of light are successful at screening UV rays. Where better sleep is enhanced through room-darkening treatments, light control is a must. There are other reasons to control light: to elevate mood and encourage good mental and physical health.

• Rejuvenation: Window coverings that diffuse and screen excessive glare allow the healthful aspects of sunlight for the occupants. Light still enters the eyes and stimulates the production of mood elevating body chemistry, but without the negative consequences. Treatments that allow the user to manipulate the exact amount of light are even more desirable. They provide not only light control, but also a sense of “being in control”—something many people sense they lack in their complex contemporary lives.

• Treating the Winter Blues: Treatments that give daytime and nighttime privacy while still allowing light to enter are especially helpful to encourage the entry of natural sunlight. During winter, in locations where that season is cold and daytime light is shortened, sheer materials during the day will allow a maximum of natural sunlight and still ensure daytime privacy. This helps in treating the condition known as Seasonal Affected Disorder (SAD). SAD is a type of winter depression experienced because too little light causes an imbalance in the hypothalamus. For this segment of the population, warm, light colors on the walls and in furnishings will augment limited natural light and will help treat depression.

• Summer Control: In the summer, and in climates with year-round high temperatures, heat and glare can cause a different kind of discomfort in the glare problems accompanied by heat build-up. Insulating treatments such as fabric shades or draperies with pockets of air between the layers will keep interiors cooler in the summer.

Bamboo shades and woven woods also diminish light and filter excessive brightness. These have an added advantage of being natural and environmentally friendly materials. Bamboo is one of the most sustainable materials on Earth. Its rapid growth and proliferation make it a highly renewable resource.

Shutters and blinds that control the amount of light that enter the room are especially useful. Window film also decreases heat gain while eliminating nearly 100 percent of the glare. Draperies are also insulating, particularly if they are lined, and are beneficial both summer and winter.

SOFTER INTERIORS

One of the trends for 2005 and 2006 is a visual and tactile softening of interiors. This trend serves the need many feel to heal and rejuvenate, to feel safer and become physically, mentally and emotionally healthier. After the attack on America and its war involvement, many people want to recover and to mend emotionally. There is a consensus desire for optimism and for safety.

With 2006 color names to watch for such as Fresh, Smiley, Sweet and Bliss, America is hopeful for an emotional recovery. At the same time, blues have darkened and brightened; and warm, browned greens have proliferated, partly in honor of our military war heroes. Textures and colors can augment softness.

Light control has much to do with creating this desirable healing-spa effect in today’s interiors. There are times when a wide opened window treatment is glorious as sunlight and view lift the spirit. Other times, screened and diffused light is warm and glowing. Directed light can produce shafts of brightness dramatically contrasted with shadow that is handsome and stimulating. Customers who have these options and understand how to use them to their benefit will be happier in their interiors. And happy, satisfied customers are very good for business.