You probably unconsciously follow the sun through your home – sitting in the brightest spot in the kitchen with your morning coffee or curling up in your favorite chair by the sunny window in the afternoon. But actively paying attention to when and where sunlight falls into each room has unexpected benefits – for your health, your lifestyle, and the look and feel of your interiors, whether it’s your living room ideas or your kitchen.
“Sun mapping is about studying the movement and angle of the sun over a specific space over time. It helps designers understand how sunlight interacts with architecture and interiors, affecting everything from lighting to temperature,” explains Sarah Wakefield, creative director of interior design firm Jolie.
Benefits of solar mapping your home
(Photo credit: Julia Currie)
Solar mapping allows us to bring more natural light into our homes – and this use of daylight has many benefits.
“By understanding the sun’s movement, we can maximize natural light, improve our wellbeing and reduce our dependence on artificial lighting,” explains Sarah Wakefield.
Around one in six adults in the UK have low vitamin D levels, a situation made worse by small working hours and even teleworking, where people spend most of the day indoors.
“Increased levels of daylight in homes are essential for physical health and mental wellbeing. By installing larger windows and bi-fold doors, we can ensure homes are brighter, healthier and improve our quality of life,” says Edward Stobart, technical sales manager at glazing company IDSystems.
“When we prioritize daylight in a project, it has a huge impact on the quality of the result. When I walk into a space designed for natural light, I literally feel like a breath of fresh air; it always lifts my mood.”
The message is loud and clear: when we embark on a project such as an extension or a loft conversion, we should consider how the light will enter the room. And even if we are just planning a renovation, taking the sun into account can make a huge difference to the success of our interior design.
How to create a sun map for your room
(Photo credit: Julia Currie)
The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. As it moves across the sky throughout the day, it sends its rays into different parts of our homes. So sun mapping is easy: just determine what time of day the sun, or most natural light, enters a room.
“If you follow the sun’s path over the course of a day, you can usually get a pretty good idea of which part of your property gets the most sun and which parts have a little more shade,” says Cathy Dean, CEO and founder of architecture and interior design firm Studio Dean.
“While the most important thing to consider in solar mapping is the orientation of the property, there are several other factors to consider – the shadow the property casts on the garden, neighboring properties, foliage and large trees in the area that could affect the amount of sunlight reaching the property.”
The angle and intensity of the sun changes throughout the year. While it may be possible to map the sun for just one day, it is worth investing a few weeks or even longer to understand the seasonal variations in sunlight.
Interior designer Cathy says she’s obsessed with how calm and thoughtful living spaces can transform people’s everyday lives. She believes that if a space looks incredible but doesn’t make life easier, it’s not working.
How solar mapping affects when and how we use a space
(Photo credit: Beth Davis)
We can take a leaf out of the book of interior designers and use the orientation of our home and its individual rooms as a guide for when and how we use these spaces.
“The orientation of a room and the timing of the sun can greatly influence design decisions,” agrees Sarah Wakefield. “For example, an east-facing room will receive morning sun, so is ideal for rooms where you want to start the day, such as kitchens or breakfast nooks. Conversely, a west-facing room will catch the warm afternoon light, which can be perfect for living areas or rooms designed for relaxation.
“North-facing rooms receive even, soft light throughout the day, making them suitable for studios or offices where even lighting is desired. South-facing rooms benefit from abundant sunlight, making them ideal for living areas. By taking orientation into account, we can optimise the use of natural light, which not only improves the aesthetics of a room, but also its functionality and energy efficiency.”
Sarah is Creative Director at interior design studio Jolie, which specialises in multi-sensory spaces that balance creativity and functionality. She was previously Senior Interior Designer at Soho House.
Sun mapping and your color palette
(Image credit: Future PLC/Mary Wadsworth)
The quality and intensity of natural light in a room can change the colour effect, so it’s worth putting up colour testers or wallpaper samples in both the lightest and darkest parts of a room to see how sunlight changes the colour effect. You should also consider different tints and shades depending on whether the room gets a lot of sun or not.
“In the rooms that get the most sun, we usually consider light and warm tones to enhance the feeling of being flooded with sunlight – warm, neutral or soft browns, basically any color with a yellow or red undertone,” says Cathy Dean.
“In shady rooms, such as those facing north, we might choose darker tones – a deep blue or a bold green to emphasise coziness, and then combine this with soft ambient lighting.”
Move rooms to make the most of the sun
(Image credit: Future/Darren Chung)
As you begin sun mapping, you may want to change the function of some of your rooms – for example, move the living room to a sunny location and move the bedroom to the shadier side of the house.
“While traditional room layouts have their advantages, we believe in designing spaces based on how light interacts with them,” explains Sarah Wakefield. “For example, placing a dining area in a sunny spot rather than a traditional dining room seat can transform mealtimes into a cheerful, light-filled experience. By understanding and responding to natural light patterns, we can create environments that are not only functional, but also inspiring and uplifting.”
Cathy Dean agrees. “While you may not be able to change the orientation of the property, you can change the function of a room. Why work in the north-facing home office on the ground floor when you have a spare guest room on the first floor in the sunniest spot in your home? Simply switching the use of these rooms can add a lot of value (and sunshine) to your daily life.”
Regulate lighting conditions through window treatments
(Image credit: Studio Dean)
If you cannot or do not want to adapt the function of a room to the amount of sunlight coming through the windows, you can control the light intensity with blinds, curtains and shutters to provide flexibility and comfort.
“Sheer curtains can diffuse harsh sunlight and create a soft, moody glow, while blackout blinds are perfect for rooms that require total darkness,” suggests Sarah Wakefield. “Outdoors, landscape features such as strategically placed trees or hedges can provide shade and control the intensity of sunlight entering a home.”
There are also ways to maximize the amount of light that comes in. Reflective surfaces, skylights and light wells can redirect sunlight into darker areas, improving the natural lighting of a room.
Successful strategies for sun mapping
(Photo credit: Adam Carter)
Take some time to create a sun map for your home and you will be amazed by the results.
“When we consider the interior design of a project to plan the function of each individual room, room orientation plays a big part in our decision-making process. The feel and use of a room is often determined by the type and amount of sunlight it receives,” says Cathy Dean.
“We try to plan the day rooms – open spaces, kitchens, living rooms and offices – in the sunniest parts of the property; usually these are the east and south facing parts of the house.”
“We usually place all living and functional spaces such as bedrooms, snugs and utility rooms in parts of the property that get less sun – in the north or west. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule as every single property is different. So the key is to get to know the client and how they use the property in order to plan the best room layout for their lifestyle.”
We can all do that too. We just have to follow the sun.
