Designing Homes for Natural Light is Green Design

As a certified green builder, Hanlon Design Build is on the leading edge of making sure that our custom home remodeling or custom build projects in Washington, DC are environmentally friendly, reduce energy use and costs, and ensure a healthy and comfortable home.

Clients are driving the green remodeling trends for the design and build industry in Washington DC area with more and more people making environmentally conscious decisions for their homes. Building options go well beyond energy efficient appliances, solar panels, windows and green insulation. Green lighting options and architectural features that bring in more natural light are getting more traction.

Sky Lights and Sun Tunnels

There are many ways to bring natural light into your home. The use of skylights, tubular lights and sun tunnels have been around for a while, but with improvements in the design their popularity is increasing. These energy-saving lighting sources bring daylight into interior areas of a home that wouldn’t normally get sun, such as hallways, bathrooms, and other in between spaces.

Translucent and Movable Walls

Commercial design has used translucent walls to create a more open feeling in what would otherwise be a divided and windowless space. Now homeowners – like those living in deep Washington, DC row houses – are finding that translucent walls and dividers between rooms allow light to spill over from one room to another. These see-through walls also open up the space for rooms where absolute privacy and sound proofing are not required.

Transoms, which are internal windows above doorways and even along the tops of walls, are coming back into vogue to help bring more natural light into the house and expand room ventilation as well. Movable walls and sections can create additional privacy and provide a flexible solution to opening the flow of space, light and air, including the distribution of heat and air conditioning.

There are so many opportunities for greener design, build plans and residential construction in North West Washington DC, Palisades DC, Bethesda MD and Chevy Chase MD. Homes with green upgrades, including materials, appliances, energy efficient heating, and cooling, usually see a return on the investment within a few years and also command a higher price at resell. And many of these upgrades may qualify for tax credits. Not only are these features green but they can also be architecturally interesting and unique to your home and your lifestyle.