Skylight Design Considerations

Before choosing a niche for your home, you need to determine what type of skylight will work best and where to improve energy efficiency in your home. Energy performance First, it’s a good idea to understand the energy performance assessments of skylights if you do not already. You can then determine what energy performance assessments you need for your skylight based on your climate and home design. For labeling energy-efficient skylights, ENERGY STAR standards established minimum energy performance rating by climate. However, these standards do not account for the design of a house. Therefore, if you are building a new home or doing some remodeling large, you should also take advantage of this opportunity to insert your own design and choosing a niche as an integral part of your complete home design approach for the construction of energy- efficient home. The size and position The actual size of the skylight greatly affects the illumination level and temperature of the space below. As a general rule of thumb, should be the size of an aperture never be more than 5 per cent of the floor area in rooms with many windows and no more than 15 percent of the total floor space of the room spaces with few windows. You should also consider the position of niche if you want to maximize daylight and I or the potential negative solar heating. Skylights on the roofs of buildings facing the north provide lighting fairly constant but cool. Those facing east and on the roofs to provide light and solar maximum heat gain in the morning. Western facing skylights provide afternoon sunlight and heat gain. South- facing skylights provide the greatest potential for winter negative unwanted solar heat gain more than anywhere else, but often allow unwanted heat gain in the summer. You can prevent unwanted solar heat gain by installing the skylight in the shade of the leaves of trees or add shedding movable window covering on the inside or the outside of the skylight. Some private glass units that can help in controlling the heat of the sun. Skylight glazing When choosing a niche for your home, it is important to consider what type of glass should be used to improve energy efficiency in your home. Depends on the design niche various factors, such as orientation and your climate you. May even want different types of glass skylights in all different parts of your home Skylight glass usually consists of metal or plastic, either. Other glass technologies that are used to control the heat of the sun. Plastic glazing Glass, plastic is usually expensive and less likely to break than most other materials glass. However, these plastic surfaces scratch easily, and they may become brittle and discolored with the passage of time. Plastic also allow many more of ultraviolet (UV) rays in (unless coated glass with a special film), which increases the damage of furniture fading. Acrylic and polycarbonate are the most widely used plastic glass. Acrylic is weaker than polycarbonate, but less expensive. Although the offer high polycarbonate impact resistance, some yellow with age. Glass Usually found on more expensive glass skylights. Glass is more durable than plastic and staining. And must make every glass used for skylights of “safety glass”, a general term for Glass Tempered and laminated on both. Tempered glass is the greatest impact resistant. And fabricated glass coated with a thin layer of plastic embedded near the center of the glass. Both keep the glass from breaking into pieces, large sharp. Often made skylights with tempered glass on the outer side and part coated on the inner side. This arrangement gives the maximum impact resistance while protecting passengers from glass shards from falling.

Foyer Decoration: Tips to Beautify the Entryway

Most homeowners are so caught up in designing and decorating the bedroom and living room of their home, that they overlook the foyer altogether. Most often, foyers are neglected areas of a home and are decorated as an afterthought. But as the entryway is the first space that your guests will notice as they enter your abode, it makes sense to decorate the foyer in such a way that it looks welcoming and inviting. As foyers are generally small and narrow spaces, it is best to decorate it in a minimalistic decor. Another thing that you should keep in mind while decorating a foyer is that it should match seamlessly with the rest of the home decor, particularly the living room.

How to Decorate a Foyer 

Choose the Right Wall Color

            To give your foyer a dramatic look, it is best that you paint the walls in a different color from the living room. If you have a small and narrow foyer and the layout is not well-defined, then choose a bright and warm paint color to liven up this space. If, on the other hand, you have a larger entryway, you can stick to warm neutrals like slate gray, tape and wheat. These colors give the entryway a sophisticated and elegant look and works well as a backdrop for hanging various wall art.

Decorate with Furniture

            To decorate the entryway and make it more functional, you need to choose the right furniture. If you have a small foyer, then it is best to pick furniture pieces that are long and narrow in scale, like a console table or a long wooden bench. For a larger foyer, a round hail table, a round pedestal table, an antique chair or an ornate dresser will help in giving the foyer a chic look. You can group together accessories like vases, quirky table lamps and small art work on the console table.

Lighting for the Foyer

            It is imperative that the foyer be well-lit so that guests can navigate to the living room without any problem. One of the best ways to illuminate the foyer is to install recessed lighting on the ceiling of the entryway. You can also opt for decorative wall sconces and pendant lighting that will match the decor of the foyer. A modern and minimalistic chandelier suspended from the ceiling will create a focal point in the entryway.

Creating a Wall Display

            Wall art can make your foyer look warm, inviting and elegant. But you need to choose the right wall art to achieve this. You can create an eye-catching wall display by hanging a single piece of modern art on one of the walls of the foyer. Alternatively, you can group together smaller pieces of art work and hang them in an asymmetrical manner.

Mirror as Wall Art         

            To create a dramatic look, you can group together a number of ornamental mirrors in various shapes and sizes on one of the walls of the foyer. This foyer decorating idea works well in a small entryway, and mirrors as wall art look stunning against a dark wall. You can also hang a single, large wall mirror with an antique frame on the wall of the foyer. Such a mirror will create the illusion of extra space by visually expanding the narrow area of the foyer.

Dress Up the Flooring

            To add some warmth to the foyer and to keep dirt

out from your home, an area rug or runner is an absolute must-have in the foyer. Make sure the runner or area rug is placed in such a way that it does not interfere in the opening and closing of the front door. A patterned area rug in a color scheme that complements the wall paint colors looks very fetching.

Opt for an Accent Wall

            For decorating a foyer with a staircase, the best idea would be to paint the wall opposite to the stairs in a bold and dramatic hue. Choose a wall color like aubergine, sunny yellow, brick-red or chocolate to enhance the look of the foyer. You can also choose to install a modern wallpaper on one of the walls of the foyer. Architectural details like wainscoting and chair rail molding installed on the wall opposite to that of the stairs, will give the foyer an elegant appeal.

Tips for Decorating a Foyer

For the foyer to shine and look as elegant as the rest of the house, here are some foyer decorating tips.

•  If you have a large foyer, then you can consider placing a small sofa or loveseat in one corner. A beautifully upholstered sofa or loveseat is not only stylish, but it is also functional.

• A tall sculpture placed on the floor, next to the console or dresser, will add a beautiful touch to the foyer.

•You can also decorate the entryway by placing a few decorative houseplants on either side of the console or bench.

• In case you have opted for a long bench as furniture for the foyer, you can dress it up by adding some fancy and colorful throw cushions.

•If you would like to highlight a particular piece of art work or wall display in your foyer,        then you can install track lighting. Creative foyer lighting ideas like track lighting is also      great for illuminating a long and narrow entryway.

• If you are unsure about what type of wall art or painting to hang on the walls of the foyer, a good idea would be to stencil or faux paint one of the walls to create an accent.

• One of the most important tips to remember while   decorating   a foyer   is not  to  over  accessorize it by placing too many decorative elements and knickknacks. Over decorating     the foyer will make it look cluttered and disorderly.

           

 Always remember that the decor that you choose for the foyer should be cohesive with the decor style of the rest of the house. By using these ideas for decorating your entryway, you can create a memorable first impression on your guests.