A Guide to Maximising Daylight in Home Design

Daylight is one of the most powerful tools in home design. It can transform a space, making it feel brighter, more spacious, and uplifting, while also reducing reliance on artificial lighting. At MW Architects, we believe that thoughtful daylighting is essential to creating homes that are not only beautiful but also functional and sustainable.

Orientation: Designing with the Sun

The orientation of your home or extension is fundamental to maximising daylight. South-facing rooms are ideal for living spaces, capturing bright, warm light throughout the day. However, this light can also be harsh, so incorporating shading elements like overhangs or planting is essential to manage glare and heat gain.

East-facing spaces, such as kitchens, benefit from soft morning light, creating a welcoming atmosphere to start the day. Bedrooms can also face east if you enjoy being woken by the morning sun. Alternatively, north-facing bedrooms provide consistent, cooler light, perfect for restful spaces.

Cosmo’s house kitchen is filled with morning light

Glazing: Size, Placement, and Purpose

Glazing is a key element in daylighting. Large south-facing windows and bi-fold doors flood spaces with light but must be balanced against potential overheating. Skylights are particularly effective in spaces lacking vertical glazing, such as mid-terrace homes or extensions. They allow sunlight to track across the room, bringing the changing colours of light throughout the day and creating a connection to the time of day.

For darker areas, clerestory windows or light wells can channel daylight into deeper parts of the home. High-performance glazing is essential to reduce heat loss in winter and prevent overheating in summer.

Interior Finishes: Enhancing and Controlling Light

Interior finishes significantly influence how daylight interacts with a space. Light-coloured walls and reflective surfaces amplify light, bouncing it deeper into the plan. However, in south-facing rooms, these finishes can cause glare, so it’s important to balance them with matte textures or softer hues.

In darker or north-facing spaces, don’t shy away from darker tones. Warm, rich colours like deep reds or earthy yellows can create a cosy, intimate atmosphere that feels inviting and comforting.

Other Considerations

Open-plan layouts allow light to travel further into the home, while thoughtful landscaping—such as avoiding tall trees directly in front of windows—ensures light isn’t obstructed. Skylights, light wells, and reflective materials can all enhance natural light, creating homes that feel alive with brightness and connected to the outdoors.

At MW Architects, we integrate these principles into every project, creating homes that are functional, sustainable, and uplifting. Daylighting isn’t just about light—it’s about creating spaces that connect people to their environment and enhance their daily lives.

Traditional vs D&B or Cost plus?

We are seeing an increase in clients looking for different approaches to a traditional procurement in their projects, so we thought we would talk you through the main procurement options in the market at the moment and the advantages and disadvantages that you may experience.

Let’s start with TRADITIONAL PROCUREMENT

The client hires an architect to design the project and then complete a tender package to allow multiple contractors to price the proposed works.  On selection, the client enters into a separate contract with the contractor to that of the architect.

Disadvantages

• Longer overall project duration due to sequential design and construction phases.

• Increased potential for disputes between designers and contractors if there are variations to the scope.

• Higher administrative burden for the client in managing multiple contracts and coordinating between designers and contractors if they self project manage.

Advantages

• Greater control for the client over the design process as everything is designed ahead of a contractor pricing it.

• Higher quality outcomes as clients can choose any architect and any contractor based on their previous projects.

• Competitive tendering process allowing the client to understand market value.

Then there is DESIGN AND BUILD (D&B)

In a design and build procurement, a single entity is responsible for both the design and construction of a project.  The client typically signs a single contract with one firm which effectively streamlines the communication and decision making process.

Advantages

• Single point of responsibility, reducing the potential for disputes between designers and contractors and streamlined project management in one place.

• Faster project delivery due to concurrent design and construction phases.

• Potential for cost savings as the contractor can optimise the design for constructibility and cost efficiency.

Disadvantages

• Limited flexibility for the client in choosing separate designers and contractors.

• Potential for conflicts of interest and cost increases if the selected company prioritises cost-cutting over quality or the expectation of quality is mismatched between client and contractor.

• Clients may have less control over the design process compared to traditional procurement.

Finally, let’s look at COST PLUS PROCUREMENT

In this route, the architectural appointment remains separate in a traditional route, but the difference comes in the contracting as the client agrees to pay the contractor the actual costs of the building work and labour etc plus an additional fee (normally a percentage) to cover overheads and profit.

Disadvantages

• Limited cost certainty for the client, as final project costs may exceed initial estimates.

• Potential for conflicts of interest if the contractor has an incentive to increase costs in order to maximise their fee.

• Requires a high level of trust between the client and contractor, as the client relies on the contractor's integrity in reporting costs accurately.

Advantages

• High degree of transparency, as the client has full visibility into project costs and is only responsible for reimbursing actual expenses plus agreed fee.

• Flexibility to accommodate changes and uncertainties during the project, as costs are not fixed.

• Potential for cost savings if the contractor is able to complete the project under budget.

As you can see, the choice between Traditional Procurement, Design & Build and Cost Plus procurement depends on a number of factors such as project complexity and timelines, client preferences with regards to quality, budget constraints, and risk tolerances.

Each method has its own set of advantages and disadvantages, and the most suitable approach will vary depending on the specific circumstances of the project.

There are also other more bespoke offerings around, but they are mainly variations on the above three listed methods.

Garden Rooms

Greenwich Garden Studio

Garden rooms are becoming more popular than ever. They offer a great opportunity to work from home in a dedicated space separated from your house. They are a great investment, less disruptive than a full house refurbishment, but still opportunity to commission a piece of life enriching architecture of your own.

As garden room architects, our garden rooms are unique buildings that respond to their surroundings and landscape. Unlike ‘off the shelf’ buildings, each of our designs makes the most of the possibilities in the context as well as providing exactly what our clients need internally.

Most are build on solid foundations as we believe that a garden building should provide the same quality of space as the main house. Solid foundations mean we can maximise the internal space by building flush with the external ground. It also allows us to build in brick or other heavy materials which sit well in the context but also provide high levels of fire resistance. This means we often build right up to the boundary on the property integrating the building into garden walls for example.

A solid construction garden building will have a lifespan as long at the host building, they will cost more then timber prefabricated options but will last many times longer, provide better quality space, and bring more joy.

Many garden buildings can be built under permitted development, meaning no planning permission is required.

Here are a few that we have designed over the years. Click the image for more information.

Yoga Dojo

Counselling cabin

South Downs Sitooterie

Maresfield Outbuilding

If you would like to understand the options you may have at your property please get in touch by filling in a few details on this form and we will arrange a call back.

Related articles:

Garden Rooms - the essential guide

Garden Rooms That Don't Require Planning Permission

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