With a bit of imagination, your garden window can become an indoor nook for plants and decor that elevates the appearance of your home. It’s also a perfect spot to nurture your decorative instincts and cultivate tranquility. Integrating natural light into home architecture improves mood, reduces stress, and offers several health benefits. Learn expert tips for designing garden windows below.
Add a Window Seat
When you work with a qualified window and door expert, a garden window can resemble a traditional picture window by deepening the sill and incorporating a window seat. Many homeowners install these innovative windows in kitchens and sunrooms, where they can enjoy the beauty of indoor plants and sunlight.
To build a window seat:
- Start with two two-by-fours cut to 60 inches long.
- Place the two boards perpendicular, then add five 12-inch boards (15 inches on-center).
- Nail the frame together, checking frequently for a a square with a speed square.
Other ways to welcome natural light into a home include mirrors, colorful panels, and light shelves. These reflective surfaces refract sunlight and distribute it evenly throughout the room, making them ideal for spaces without direct sunlight. Another option is to orient rooms towards the north, ensuring they receive indirect sunlight throughout the day and preventing overheating in warmer climates.
Create a Sense of Space
Bringing natural light into your home is an inexpensive and effective way to brighten up spaces that would otherwise be lacking in sunlight. The right amount of natural light expands rooms, uplifts moods, and even boosts productivity. Garden windows are a great design solution for homes that don’t have enough room to install a sunroom. These unique windows feature a wide sill and shelving to showcase indoor plants and other decorations. They also offer a view of your yard from multiple sides, which creates a more spacious living space in the room. To maximize your garden window, consider filling it with various houseplants that thrive in bright and indirect sunlight. Adding plants like philodendron and grape ivy can draw attention to the window and provide visual interest in your space. Other options include spider plant, dracaena, and jade plant. These plants are low maintenance and require little to no watering to keep them healthy.
Get a Bonsai Tree
Bonsai trees are a great way to bring nature into your home. They look lovely but can also be paired with other indoor plants and accessories to create a feng shui-inspired space. Bonsais require bright, indirect sunlight to thrive. The best place to keep one is near a window, but you can also use lighting to help the plant meet its needs. The joy of owning a bonsai comes from the aesthetics, the sense of accomplishment in caring for it, the connection to nature, and the therapeutic benefits it provides. It isn’t for the faint of heart, however – Bonsai requires a lot of patience and hard work. Natural light uplifts our mood, supercharges productivity, and promotes healthier living. There’s a reason why it’s known as the sun’s vitamin. To get the most out of it, bathe your home in natural light with these tips for designing garden windows. You’ll be glad you did!
Invest in a Shelving System
Inviting more sunlight into your home isn’t just good for your mood; it can benefit your health. Natural light boosts energy, supercharges productivity, and even multiplies serotonin levels. It also reduces your need for artificial lighting and is a great way to reduce your energy bill! Garden windows are the perfect solution for bringing in extra natural light and displaying plants. They have short walls under them and are at the perfect height for various decorative knick-knacks and indoor plants. They’re also an excellent option for homeowners with limited space. While they’re often found in kitchens, garden windows can be installed in any house room to let in more light and create a cozy seating area. They have an interior shelf for herbs other plants, and side vents to promote air circulation. They are typically made of fiberglass, which is less prone to moisture damage than wood frames.
