Whether it’s a room in the center of your home without windows, a dark hallway or nook, or a centered walk-in closet, you can get natural light into a room without windows with a little thought and planning.
Some methods are quick and easy, others would require some renovation, but depending on your needs and situation, here your options to get natural light into a windowless room:
1. Reflect Light from Adjoining Rooms with Mirrors
Probably the easiest and lowest cost way to add natural light into a windowless room is to reflect it from another room with a mirror. Here’s where any past snooker lessons pay off because you’re going to want to angle your mirrors strategically to catch and bounce sunlight from any windows you have in adjoining rooms. Your goal is to reflect it into the room with no windows, from the room with windows.
Usually, this will mean placing a mirror on a wall within the dark room, strategically opposite a window in the lit room.
If you’re even more creative, you could also place a mirror opposite another mirror that’s reflecting sunlight, to reflect the light a longer distance.
You can also place a mirror on a door, which can then reflect light into the darker room when opened.
Here are a few examples in pictures:
You’ll notice that big mirrors are often used in this way, just because the bigger the mirror the more light can be reflected.
In the absence of a large mirror, grouping small ones together is a good option. A collection of mirrors can not only reflect light but also serve as a beautiful focal point.
2. Use Reflective Furniture and Decor to Help Bounce Light into the Room
If a mirror can’t be hung at the right spot, or if you’re just looking for an alternative, using furnature with metallics and other reflective surfaces can also bounce the sunlight from adjoing rooms, and bring it into the room with a lack of natural light.
With some creativity, mirrored cabinets, shiny coffee tables, metallic picture frames, and all sorts of reflective home accessories can be used to capture light sources and use them to brighten up the windowless room.
With any project, 80 percent of the work is done in the planning stage. We have simple checklists to help you get organized and make sure you’re prepared for every step along the way. Download them now for FREE:
3. Bounce Light into The Room With Brightly Painted (High-Gloss) Walls
This one is kind of a given, but another low-friction way of maximizing the natural light from adjoining rooms is to bounce it around the dark room with light colored wall paint.
Of course this requires you to have a source of sunlight in the next room that bleeds into the windowless room, but even if that’s not the case, bright walls will make any room appear to have more organic light in them.
Best Paint Color for a Room without Natural Light?
Light is reflected by all colors except black. It makes sense then that white is the best paint to reflect light because it’s the opposite of black, and every other color will absorb at least some light.
But white is not your only option. Soft neutrals absorb the least amount of light, and paint colors that are cooler, such as light shades of blue or gray, help make rooms appear lighter and more spacious. Some of my favorite colors for rooms with no daylight are:
- Pale yellow
- Soft teal
- Powder blue
- Soft ocher
- Soft gray
- Sage green
- Lavender
- Soft peach
- Pink
There are of course other options. You can get help choosing the best paint colors for rooms with little natural light using LRV here, but in short, for rooms with no sunlight at all, it’s best to stay cool, light, and bright.
Best Paint Finish for a Room without Natural Light?
Once you’ve chosen a light-reflective paint color that works with your space, make sure to purchase it in gloss paint. While matt paint is classic and beautiful, it’s not very reflective. The higher the gloss of your paint, the better it will bounce light around your room.
4. Get a Sun Light Therapy Lamp
Ok, so it’s not exactly “natural light” but the next best thing is definitely a light therapy lamp if you can’t get any daylight from adjoining spaces.
Sometimes called SAD lamps, as they help with Seasonal Affective Disorder, a type of depression that peaks after long periods without natural sunlight, these lamps are made to mimic sunlight to the body and brain.
A well-placed light therapy lamp, or even a cleverly hidden, wall-mounted light therapy lamp behind curtains, can really make a windowless room feel as though it’s getting natural light, even when there are no true windows in sight.
Here are some of my favorite sun lamps available online:
-
Buy on Amazon NowAmazon Basics has come out with an inexpensive light therapy lamp, which has a full spectrum led light, UV free 10000 lux. It operates by touch control with three brightness levels and two color temperatures.
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
-
Buy on Amazon NowThis light therapy lamp not only brings the sunshine indoors with a 10,000 lux therapy light it has a contemporary and fun design that will blend into your decor rather than look like an appliance. It also has three color temperature modes, adjustable brightness, and a timerand memory function.
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
-
$215.00Buy on Amazon NowIf a floor lamp matches your decor, the Northern Light therapy lamp is a great way to bring the sunshine into any room from a high level so it can shine down on your space just like a natural light source. It has a 10,000 lux light therapy bulb and is lightweight and sleek looking so it can fit into a number of decor styles perfectly.
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
04/14/2024 08:43 pm GMT
5. Swap Out Your Fixture and Lamp Bulbs for Sunlight Light Bulbs
Again, I know this one is a bit of a cheat since ti’s technically artificial light, but if you’re just concerned with acheiving the look of natural lighting in your space, simply swapping out the light bulbs in your lighting fixtures and lamps may be all that you need.
Sunlight light bulbs, also known as spectrum light bulbs, are LED bulbs designed to emit light that matches the visible part of the solar spectrum. They emit small quantities of ultraviolet and infrared rays to closely mimic the spectrum of sunlight.
Light bulbs that mimic natural sunlight not only make windowless a room bright and beautiful, but they have a wavelength spectrum similar to that of natural sunlight, unlike conventional lights. Because of this they can actually provide your body with many of the benefits of natural sunlight as well.
Even better, these sunlight bulbs turn your regular old light fixtures into sun lamps and make the room feel like it’s open to the sun.
Here are links to the two best sunlight light bulbs online:
-
$19.95Buy on Amazon NowThis dimmable replacement lightbulb is GE's closest replica of natural sunlight, with a CRI (color rendering index) of 97 (sunlight = 100 CRI). resulting in lighting that looks great.
Unlike artificial light sources that emit blue light wavelengths, which may interfere with a good night's sleep, these bulbs can help maintain natural sleep-wake cycles by limiting blue light before bedtime.
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
04/14/2024 10:11 pm GMT -
$19.95Buy on Amazon NowNorb's sunlight mimicing bulbs use a patented LED chip to imitate sunlight (without the harmful UV rays). It gives an impressive CRI of 96 (Sunlight = 100 CRI), which means colors appear natural and clear.
Though not yet well-known Norb Lighting is a U.S. company; their bulbs are UL rated.
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
04/14/2024 09:41 pm GMT
6. Switch or Ditch Your Doors To Let in the Light
If your in your own home (ie. not renting an appartment) and light is accessible only on the other side of the door to your windowless room, removing the door or swapping it out may be the ideal option.
Removing a Door to Let in the Light
The quicker and less expensive route is to simply remove the door to your room if that door is blocking the natural light.
Of course this will only work in rooms where privacy isn’t needed. Also, if you’re completely removing the door it will require some filling in of door hinge holes.
Replacing a Solid Door with Glass Doors to Let in Light
If removing a door isn’t desirable because of sound, installing glass doors could also a way to quickly bring in light to a room from an adjoining room while also maintaining a separate space.
I don’t know about you, but I also love the look of glass doors inside, it drips elegance to me!
7. Open up a Wall to Stop Blocking the Light
This is another one that won’t work if you’re renting an apartment or not looking to make drastic changes. But if you want to go one step further than just knocking out a door, you can consider opening up a whole wall, even partially. Knocking down a wall is certainly an effective way to allow the natural light to from a neighbouring room to flood into the adjoining room without windows.
In addition to just making the wall completely open, you have could also do a knee wall (if the wall is load bearing) or a pony wall to give you some more forgiveness when it comes to furnature layout and still keep the room division visible
8. Change Out a Wall for a Room Divider to Let the Light Through
It just so happens, that partition walls, and fancy room dividers are super trendy right now. And for good reason, they give a sense of space and room division without sacrificing any of the light and air flow between rooms.
From simple wooden slats, to decorative metal, PVC, and more the ideas and patterns for partitian walls are seemingly endless today and can be created for every budget.
Best of all, while partitian walls keep the sense of space and room divisions, they allow light through, meaning you can easily bring natural light from one room to another.
If a full pony wall or wall removal is not your taste replacing a wall with either a partial or a full partitian wall could be the way to have the best of all worlds in your home — defined spaces and an open flow of light.
9. Consider a Glass Block Wall to Allow Light Through
If a partitian wall is not going to work for you because of privacy concerns (no one really wants everyone to be able to see into the room if they are going to be changing in there or soemthing) glass block may be the answer.
Glass blocks offer all the sight privacy and sound insulation of a regular drywall, but they allow the light through.
I have a full post all about glass block windows here, which can be a good place to learn more about their cost, function, etc. as well as see a few modern styles of glass blocks available (however there are tons more not shown in the post), but there will be some special considerations when using them as an interior wall rather than an exterior window.
Specifically, they can not be placed in load-bearing walls, as they are only able to hold up their own weight. Also, they can be a bit expensive with a box of eight average-sized glass blocks costing around $100 USD depending on where you live. Installing them is also a bit of a specialty, and unfortunately, you can expect to spend almost as much on installation as you did on materials – if not more!
With that said, glass blocks have stood the test of time for a reson; and there are many many more glass block styles than the typical clear brick today, so you can also customize a glass block wall to suit your decor taste.
10. Add a Skylight to Your Windowless Room
Finally, the most expensive but without a doubt the best looking and highest ROI solution for letting natural light into a windowless room is a skylight.
Skylight windows are essentially ceiling windows that give overhead light from the sun. This of course means that the room’s ceiling must be at roof level.
Overhead natural light is very powerful however and even a small skylight can blathe a room with light and completely change it’s look.
While this overhead light is beautiful, skylights aren’t without their downfalls. If you’re unsure click here for more information and help in deciding if a skylight is worth it for you.
Conclusion: Getting Natural Light into Your Room With No Windows
There you have it; the 10 best ways to bring natural light in a room without windows:
- Well Placed Mirrors,
- Reflective Furnature and Decor,
- Brightly Painted, Glossy Walls,
- Sun Therapy Lamps,
- Sunlight LED Bulbs,
- Switching or Removing Doors,
- Opening up Walls,
- Swapping Walls for Room Dividers,
- Swapping Walls for Glass Block, and
- Adding a Skylight.
No matter what your budget or space there are a least a few options available to you; combining two or more will be sure to create a space that’s brighter and more inviting than the dark windowless room you’re hoping to spruce up.
thewriteDuffy
At home, April is a mom, wife, and DIY darling. Among other home projects, she helped her husband Dan renovate their 1986 bungalow and is currently designing and decorating the 2023 custom home they are building themselves. Professionally, April is a writer, author, and online marketer with 15 years of experience writing for newspapers and magazines, building online authority websites, and publishing books.
With any project, 80 percent of the work is done in the planning stage. We have simple checklists to help you get organized and make sure you’re prepared for every step along the way. Download them now for FREE: