Embracing Natural Light: Tips for Maximising Sunshine in Your NZ Home

One of the many terrific things about living in New Zealand is all the sunshine we get to enjoy. According to Stats NZ, most of the country receives between 1,600 and 2,100 hours of sun each year. Bringing some of that sunshine into your home helps boost your mood and overall well-being and creates an inviting, energy-efficient living space. Here are some of the best ways to embrace and maximise natural light in your home.

Natural light offers many benefits that can enhance your home and your life. Decades of research have proven that natural light has a powerful, positive effect on mental and physical health and overall well-being. It serves as a natural mood booster and can help alleviate stress and anxiety. Exposure to sunlight helps regulate your sleep-wake cycle, a natural rhythm that controls when you feel awake and when you feel sleepy and boosts your Vitamin D levels.  

Sunlight can brighten any space, making rooms feel more open, airy, and appealing. Natural light helps show off your home's interiors while reducing the need for artificial lighting during the day, saving energy and lowering your electricity bill.

Blinds are the perfect way to control the amount of natural light your home experiences, and when. They offer a sense of control over your environment, helping maintain a comfortable temperature and protect your family's privacy.

 

Choosing the Right Blinds

The type of blinds or shades you choose influences the brightness and ambience of your rooms, as well as your ability to protect your privacy and maintain a comfortable temperature. Translucent sheer roller blinds are an excellent choice for enjoying natural light indoors. These blinds allow soft, diffused light to fill your home, creating a cosy and inviting atmosphere. This gentle light brightens your space without causing harsh glare or fading to fabrics and furnishings from harsh UV rays. It brings the beauty of the outdoors inside while keeping outdoor eyes out.

Motorised blinds add an extra layer of convenience and energy efficiency. They enable you to adjust the amount of light in a room throughout the day with the simple touch of a button, reducing the need for artificial lighting and saving energy. Additionally, they can be programmed to open and close at specific times, helping to regulate the temperature in your home and further reducing your energy consumption.

 

Positioning and Placement

When it comes to optimising natural light in your home, the placement of your furniture and window treatments can make a big difference. Start by arranging your larger furniture pieces away from windows so they don't block any sunlight. This allows light to move freely through your rooms, brightening up every corner. When setting up seating areas, try to position them to face windows. This way, you can soak up the sunlight while enjoying your morning coffee or reading a good book.

As well as furniture positioning, mirrors and other reflective surfaces can amplify natural light. Consider strategically placing mirrors opposite windows to bounce light around the room, making it feel brighter and more spacious. To catch and reflect sunlight, you can incorporate glass or metallic decor elements, such as tables or picture frames. Doing this will help brighten darker areas of your home, creating a more open and airy atmosphere.

 

Enhancing Indoor-Outdoor Flow

New Zealanders love our indoor-outdoor living. Choosing the right blinds can enhance the connection between your indoor and outdoor spaces. Large windows or glass doors with stylish and practical coverings, like sliding panels or vertical blinds, can help create a seamless transition. These window treatments can be easily opened to let in natural light and fresh air or closed for privacy and shade when needed.

Outdoor blinds and shades offer great versatility when extending your living areas and maximising sunlight exposure. They provide a way to control light and temperature in your outdoor spaces, allowing you to enjoy your patio or deck comfortably. For example, retractable awnings or zip track blinds can be adjusted to provide shade when the sun is too intense or left open to soak in the sunlight on a cooler day. These options also offer protection from rain and wind, making your outdoor space usable year-round. By integrating outdoor blinds and shades, you can improve the functionality of your outdoor areas and create a more dynamic and enjoyable living space.

 

Energy Efficiency and Sustainability

Maximising natural light in your home doesn't just brighten your space, it can also help you save on energy costs. By letting in more natural light during the day, you can reduce your reliance on artificial lighting, which in turn lowers your electricity bills. In addition, sunlight can help warm your rooms naturally, decreasing the need for heating and creating a cosy environment. This natural approach to lighting and temperature control is a simple way to make your home more energy-efficient.

 

Practical Tips and Maintenance

Keeping your blinds clean and well-maintained helps them stay stylish and functional. Dust your blinds, shades, and curtains regularly to prevent a buildup. A soft cloth or vacuum attachment works well for removing dust. For fabric treatments, spot-clean any stains promptly using a gentle soap and water solution to keep them in top condition.

Fading is a common concern with blinds, especially if they are exposed to direct sunlight for long periods. To minimise fading, consider installing UV-protective film on your windows. This will reduce the amount of UV rays that enter your home and protect your window treatments and furniture from sun damage. It might also pay to periodically rotate your curtains or blinds to ensure even wear and tear.

For fabric care, always follow the manufacturer's instructions for cleaning. Some materials may be machine washable, while others may require dry cleaning. Choose window treatments that are easy to care for and maintain so you can enjoy their benefits without worrying too much about upkeep. Staying on top of cleaning and maintenance helps keep your window treatments in good shape, allowing natural light to fill your home for years.

Making the most of New Zealand's ample sunlight by inviting it into your home can enhance your living space, improve your well-being and help you save energy. If you are ready to brighten your home, browse Total Look Blinds' range. With plenty of practical yet stylish options to maximise natural light while maintaining privacy and energy efficiency, book a free consultation today to find the perfect solution for your home. 

Top Quality Custom Blinds and Shutters

Total Look Blinds has the best and most experienced people in the industry with a combined experience of greater than 180 years within the industry. If we can’t help you nobody can. We offer free help and advice when you ask us to meet with you.
Contact us Today

What Our Customers Say

Excellent
4.7
D Smith
I've used Total Look Blinds on a number of occasions and have always have excellent quality and service, Lauren is fantastic to deal with. I highly recommend them!
Stephen Ball
Very happy with result, beautiful appearance. High quality, efficient and effective at a good price.
Paula Reason
Total Look Blinds are amazing ! Fantastic fast service , top quality product, friendly, and best of all , installed early !
Gaye Heywood
Total -Look BlindsWould recommend them they are organised, friendly, great communication, quick installation. Nothing is a problem. Very happy with their service from start to finish.
Trudi Stevenson
Total Look blinds were an outstanding company to work with. They installed both shutters and blinds in our home at competitive prices and using high quality materials. Timing and installation were faultless. We are thrilled with the service and the result.
James B
Lovely blinds with professional service.Sincere thanks to Laren for your helpful advice and Carl for excellent installation…..much appreciated
Mary McDonald
Having worked with Total Look Blinds previously, they were our number 1 choice when we decided to install Shutters in our new home - we are absolutely thrilled with the result. Adds a 'wow' factor ! Thank you so much TLB - everyone we have dealt with has been fantastic. We highly recommend dealing with this Team - they are great and their product - TOP NOTCH!
Vaughan Ludlam
Excellent product, pricing and service from Total Look Blinds – thanks David, Lauren, Carl & the rest of the team.
Vicki Landon
Cannot fault Caroline and the team from Total Look Blinds. Very professional and accommodating. Friendly people from the measuring, advice on product and installation. We have used them in several houses and will continue to do so. Highly recommend Total Look Blinds.
Antoinette Cooney
Happy to recommend the service and products provided by Total Look Blinds recently.Terry did the initial measuring with helpful suggestions. Roger the installer was great and a perfect tradesman to help us ‘oldies’ - no rushing through the job or explanations. Pleased with our vertical and roll up blinds👏
Mark Jeus Buenavista
Great company to deal with. Terry is very knowledgeable. Happy with the outcome of our kitchen windows with shutters. Next project would be shutters in our living room windows. Thanks Total Look Blinds team!
David Lim
Vertical and horizontal blinds completed on time. Reliable and great people to deal. Over the years, I have engaged the services of Total Look Blinds a few times and I have always been pleased with the results. I would do it again in the future with any hesitation. Highly recommended.
Niall Robertson
Excellent service quality product from this company who consistently delivers a great personal experience to its customers.Comes highly recommended. Thank you Team!
Kambiz Radman
Could not be happier with my new sun screens and blinds, look awesome. The material seems nice and hopefully durable (I'll update you on that later)."Terry" is a positive Rep who speaks clearly. He measured well but didn't explain some installation details, which confused me afterward. However, "Carolyn" came to the site and explained everything very well. Roger is a professional installer who did a quick and clean job. Thanks "Jo" for admin updates and following up. 101% recommended.
Melissa Slater
Awesome consultation gave really good ideas and pointers. Quick to manufacture and install. End result is beautiful.
Jackson Whitham
Outstanding service from everyone at Total Look Blinds. Jo was incredibly helpful in quoting a sun screen blind over the phone including looking up previous work done at home to match measurements, ordered over the phone and installed in less than 2 weeks - well ahead of schedule - high quality, friendly installer. Definitely recommend using this company!
Lia Wongsohardjo
I love my roller blinds from Total Look Blinds, the products are great. They have excellent customer service, the sales, the admin and the installer are amazing. I have bought from them twice for my house in Oteha and now in Orewa where I moved recently. Terry is very expert, kind and helpful, he is a talented salesman.
hong he
Love the company and the products they provided and installed. We are very grateful for their wonderful support and help!
john millanta
Roger was wonderful put them in nicely great service total look 👀 blinds
Diane Andrew
Recommend this company highly. Efficient and quality service. Very happy with my blinds. Very reasonably priced
Audrey Usmar
Amazing customer service and product!! From Lauren doing the quote and recommendations, to Carl doing the install, to the amazing office support with Jo... Highly recommended. You can't go wrong with this awesome group looking after you THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
Peter Glass
Great service from quote to install. Deliver on their promises. Multiple repeat customer. Excellent team to deal with.
Sarahlou Clark
AAA+++ service professional recommended to all. I thought I could imagine what it was going to look like but I am absolutely rapt looks so fresh, clean and high end it’s mind blowing and great price Thank you so much.
Lanice McMillan
Thank you for your awesome service and flexibility to get quotes on very short notice. Love the roller blinds
Angela Shepherd
Roger did a fantastic job of installing our new shutters. He was very professional and very friendly. His attention to detail was impeccable. (Terry was involved in the initial consultation and was also very knowledgeable and helpful.) We would definitely recommend them. AAAA++++
Jim Richardson
Total blinds were Totally Professional. Excellent service from measurements to advice given through to the final fitting and the blinds look great! The price was also very reasonable and far better than competitor's. I totally recommended Total Blinds. Thanks! Jim
Bhavika n Divesh Kumar
We used Total Look Blinds in 2005 for our family home. After 19 years of wear and tear we needed some parts and couple of vertical blinds track needed fixing. Took a drive to Takanini and was greeted by the office lady Jo who was very helpful and was amazed when she pulled out our 19 years old invoice from their record. The team manage to fix the track within a day and got the parts i needed at a fair price. Highly recommend them if you want quality products and a fantastic after sales service. Great company to deal with 😊
Nerissa Attewell
Excellent service, quick turnaround the whole team were informative and helpful! We love our blinds so much :)
Ant MacLean
Had an old vertical blind that was manufactured by them, that was broken. Excellent cheery and quick repair service and great value too.Support kiwi jobs stay local. If you buy something NZ made you can get spares.
nicola taylor
Amazing company, amazing team and amazing service. Totally recommend Total Look Blinds.
Parvaneh Karimi Fishani
We had double roller blinds installed in our new house. The price was much more reasonable compared to other shops, and their service was reasonably fast. The staff were friendly and helpful!I can't say much about the quality of the material since the blinds haven't been installed for long, but we hope they will be as good as the service we received!
Leila El-yassir
I cannot recommend Total Look Blinds enough. From start to finish, their professionalism, expertise, and attention to detail were truly commendable. The quality of their blinds is exceptional.The customer service provided was second to none. Brent and David were knowledgeable, friendly, and always ready to assist. They patiently answered all my questions and helped me make informed decisions that perfectly matched my style and requirements.They went above and beyond to ensure that I was completely happy with my blinds. Any concerns or issues I had were promptly addressed and resolved to my utmost satisfaction.I highly recommend Total Look Blinds to anyone in need of high-quality blinds and outstanding service. I am extremely pleased with my blinds and the overall experience. Five stars all the way!
WYNN RIECHELMANN
Absolutely love our TotalBlinds shutters! They have transformed our bedroom. Service from measure up and quote was excellent and communication with the TotalBlinds team was a pleasure! They took half the time than was quoted by another supplier and although they were a bit cheaper, the shutters are very good quality. Plus they are NZ made! Highly recommend!
Lisa Fong
Could not be happier with my new shutters - big shout out to Total Look Blinds who did a fantastic job with the measure, manufacture and installation! All done in NZ so would highly recommend!
Debbie Somervell
We received excellent service from beginning to end.We are returning customers and would highly recommend.Thanks.
John Trotman
We had Total Look Blinds install blinds in our House they were very professional and efficient,from when Terry first measured and Quoted until the blinds were installed,would recommend them for all your blinds and curtains you may need,Thanks again for a great service.
Prabhath Lewke Bandara
Pros:Swift and efficient measurement and quote processShortest lead time in the industryOutstanding product quality and craftsmanshipGenerous and reliable warrantyProfessional and attentive teamCons:None to mention – Shutters exceeded all expectations.
Grant McFlinn
From first contact with Sales Consultant Lauren to Jo in the office and installer Carl, the entire process was nothing short of exceptional. As for the blinds themselves, thanks to Lauren's invaluable input, they look amazing and are undoubtedly high quality. Thoroughly recommend and will most definitely use again.
Emily Anderson
Love my new shutters - they have transformed our guest room and bathrooms! From the sales visit to the installation, so easy to work with the great people of Total Look Blinds! Love that they are made here in NZ too! Thanks!
Tracy-Ann Willcock
Thank you Jo and Roger at Total Look Blinds. Your service and after service and products are absolutely fantastic. From 3 years ago when Roger installed the Blinds to the fantastic after sale service today, absolutely brilliant. Jo and Roger are just such nice people. Thank you!
Marley Brady
We had stunning shutters installed throughout the house. The staff were great and we love the final look! 5 stars
js_loader
menu