Eight tips for assessing natural light in your home

Ponytail palm soaking up the light in a southerly front window. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2022.

​Whether you are deciding on which types of houseplants to buy, trying to identify artificial light needs, or have concerns about fabric or artwork that may fade in direct sunlight, you will need to understand how the natural light interacts with your interior space. 

Consider this scenario…

A couple of years ago, I got the “plant” bug and bought a bunch of houseplants from my local home improvement store. I loaded them into the back of my Jeep, transported them home, and merrily unloaded them straight into my living room. I plopped them here and there on tables and windowsills, thinking that my living room would get plenty of light. Then reality hit when some of them started dying.  As it turns out, there’s not enough direct light in the space to keep some of the more fussy plants alive. That revelation started me on a quest to understand how much natural light each room in my home receives and when.

So today, I thought I’d share some tips learned from this experience and my research into daylighting, which refers to using natural sunlight as passive lighting in an interior space.

Identify how your home is oriented to the cardinal compass points

One of your first tasks is to figure out how your home is laid out according to the cardinal points on a compass. There are mobile compass apps you can download that identify the cardinal direction of each wall. Knowing the orientation of your home will help you understand the natural light (and passive heat, but that’s a subject for another blog article) that you will receive in your interior spaces. It’s well worth getting familiar with the four directions about your home.
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Image by Cultura Creative on Adobe Stock.

​Note the orientation of your windows

Once you have your mobile app, this is a simple process. Align the phone perpendicular to each window wall and note the cardinal direction. Since most homes are not built in specific cardinal directions, you may have windows on a northeast, northwest, southeast, or southwest axis. And that’s ok! You are looking for a general idea of the direction each window faces so that you can start understanding how much light to expect to receive through each opening. Below is a very general overview of this relationship:

Windows facing east—The most direct light will be in the morning
Windows facing west—The most direct light will occur in the evening
Windows facing south—The most direct light in the middle of the day
Windows facing north—Mostly indirect light through a good portion of the day

Image by FollowTheFlow on Adobe Stock.

Assess the window size & position on the wall

Note the size and placement of all windows in a particular space so you can assess how much natural light you will get from all directions. Combinations of window sizes and shapes within a space will create overlapping light values and cross-lighting within your interior space. This cross-lighting can help eradicate those pesky shadows.

Image by topntp on Adobe Stock.

Understand the sun’s daily trajectory

Windows that face south get the most natural light, and windows facing north will get indirect sunlight. As we all know, most homes are not oriented so neatly, so you'll need to identify the cardinal directions for your home’s site and each window in your space. 

Fortunately, the sun’s daily trajectory is predictable. As the sun rises, it will come up from the east, then gradually travel through the sky towards the west, where it sets later in the day. This means you'll be able to follow the sun's path from your easterly windows to your westerly windows as the day progresses. You could even create a chart with timetables for when direct light enters each window.

Image by gopixa on Adobe Stock.

Understand the seasonal orientation of the sun in the sky

During the summer, the sun is higher in the sky, which means the direct light will not penetrate as deeply into the interior. However, the light that does enter will be much more intense, creating glare. Harness the power of this glare by bouncing it off shiny surfaces that reflect the light deep into the room. 

In the winter, the sun sits lower in the sky, and while it is weaker in strength than summer sunlight, the lower angle means direct light can travel deeper into your interior.

SketchUp model 1 by Diane M. Lilly.

SketchUp model 2 by Diane M. Lilly.

Spend some time in your space studying the light

Spend some quiet time in the space at different times of day and at various times of year. Observe when sunlight shines into your space. Is it direct sunlight or just bright indirect light? How far into your space does the direct light penetrate? Does it seem like the indirect light is bright enough, or do you observe shadows? 

​Direct light is the sun beating down on the windowsill, as opposed to bright, indirect light that is less direct and more ambient. Indirect light would be a little further away but still getting some light. This may be already in the medium light spectrum for your home. The low light is away from the direct light (probably across the room) but still gets a little light. This changes as the day progresses and according to the seasons.

SketchUp floor plan by Diane M. Lilly.

​One tip that I learned as an amateur photographer is to use your phone to take snapshots. You will see the difference in lightness and darkness just by how bright or dark your images look on your phone. Ironically, this is how I discovered just how dark my living room is and how quickly the light fades as you move through the space. The eye can lie to you, so it’s great to have a tool to help measure the light levels.


Identify the brightest and darkest areas of your space

After studying the general light levels, you should be ready to identify the brightest and the darkest areas in your space. This is especially important for live plants, delicate fabrics, or precious artwork. Many houseplants need at least some direct sunlight for proper photosynthesis, but that artwork you paid a pretty penny for has no tolerance for direct sunlight. Also, you wouldn’t want to put a live plant in a dark corner. Certain hardy plants like peace lilies might live, but most houseplants won’t forgive you for putting them in darkness! In other words, know how you intend to use the space for optimal use of light and dark areas.

Image by Pixel Shot on Adobe Stock.

​Identify light overlap and indirect light

In most larger rooms, there will be multiple windows and light sources. The combination will create an overlap in direct and indirect light, adding to the complexity of light and shadow levels in a space. 

But you also need to consider the indirect light filtering in from an adjacent space. That filtered light will overlap and enhance the light in a given room, but conversely, there may be times when that extra light will shine at a different angle and create weird shadows within your space.  You'll need to assess whether that light helps or hinders your natural light needs. 

Remember that trick with taking snapshots with your phone? This is where it comes in handy. Your eye can’t always make sense of complex light levels, but your camera lens will show you. Just take a series of shots moving along a line through the space and watch as the images get darker and brighter. It’s a fun and eye-opening experience! And it will help you better understand how to use the natural light in your home!

Front window iPhone shot 1. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2023.

Front window iPhone shot 2. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2023.

There are a variety of light meters on the market that measure light intensity through foot candles (or lux). These tools can help you precisely measure the amount of light in your space. However, the tips I have chosen work well for the layperson trying to sort out the general natural lighting situation in their space.



So those are my eight tips for assessing the natural light in your interior spaces. Whether you are growing plants, protecting furnishings and artwork, looking to save on electric bills, or just love that warm sunlight, taking the time to observe the way natural light enters your home pays off. 



If you have more tips, drop a line in the comments below!

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Let’s talk about houseplants

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