How to increase the natural light in the basement?
A basement room is often dark. Even with a window, daylight has a hard time getting in… Guillaume was in this situation. He wanted to create a bright and pleasant atmosphere for the 2 rooms in his basement to receive his friends and family. Discover how Espaciel helped Guillaume to make his basement naturally bright.
Context of William’s situation
Can you show us your home?
I live in a house composed of 3 levels: basement, ground floor and 1st floor. It is surrounded by a small garden with some trees. The only natural light openings in the basement are windows below ground level. They are located in deep skylights.
The lack of light in the basement is obvious. In spite of this, I decided to set up two festive rooms: one contains a billiard table and the other a bar and table football.
The natural light in these basement rooms was very dim. In addition, the sun never reached the windows. This made the living rooms not very pleasant. We were forced to always turn on lamps, even in the middle of the day.
How did you think about the light reflector?
Friends told us about the Espaciel reflectors and it clicked! That’s exactly what we needed. We watched all the Espaciel videos available on youtube. The examples and customer testimonials on the blog finally convinced us. We placed an order online for 2 large 35×120 window reflectors to equip each of the English courtyard windows.
What do you call an English court? It’s a small courtyard in the basement, nestled between the street and the front of a building. Originally it was used to light and ventilate this level, in addition to allowing direct access from the street. The term “leapfrog” is also often used.
Installation of Espaciel light reflectors
How was the delivery and installation of your light reflectors?
The light reflectors arrived in 2 packages, directly to us within 1 week. They were perfectly packed and protected in the box.
The installation is very quick thanks to the supplied instructions. I assembled them myself. Once the different components of the reflector are clearly identified, it’s as simple as installing a shower curtain. I was able to fit both parts of the reflector in less than an hour, including unpacking!
The changes seen thanks to light reflectors
What did the Espaciel reflectors in your basement rooms change?
The day I installed my Espaciel reflectors, the weather was clear. I had taken some pictures before fixing them to the windows. When I tilted the reflectors towards the inside of the room, I immediately saw a gain in brightness. It was a little light, but it was clearly visible. I then took new pictures to see the before/after effect: it was obvious, I was gaining a lot of light.
In the days that followed, it rained and it was sunny at times. I was able to see the gain in natural light under different weather conditions. I realized that I was no longer turning on the basement lights at all during the day.
Today thanks to my Espaciel reflector I can see the reflection of the sky while I am underground. It is so much more pleasant! And on days when it rains, the effect is really visible, the rooms are brighter, more cheerful.
What do you think after several months of use?
I have been using my light reflectors for 2 months now. I have noticed that Espaciel reflectors emit a light that evolves throughout the day: the amplification is more diffuse in the room when the light is low outside, whereas on a bright day, you notice more a demarcation on the walls.
They bring a significant gain in brightness and luminosity to our rooms. It’s still better to play billiards or table football with friends without having to turn on lights. Only in natural light!
Now that the rooms are more naturally illuminated, it’s much more pleasant to be there! We’re even planning new work in the basement to create a third living space: a workshop area for crafts.
Integration with your facade: do they blend in well with your facade?
In terms of exterior aesthetics, the light reflectors are discreet. You can hardly see them when you are in the garden because the reflective surface is very thin: it is barely 3 mm thick! And when you’re in the basement and look out the window, you don’t see the reflectors but the image of the sky reflected in them: you can see the weather, the passing clouds, the blue sky when it’s sunny… It’s really great.
Anything else to say about Espaciel?
I might add that the interview is simple. As far as I am concerned, the water runs off the reflector and its sides well. We haven’t had to clean them at all since we bought them, even though we’ve just come out of 2 months of winter.
Any last words?
A big thank you to Espaciel and his very friendly team for this natural lighting system which has transformed our “cellar” into two pleasant rooms to live in! Excellent continuation and bright natural light!
Discover our Youtube channel as fast as the light!
If you too would like to send us your before/after pictures and tell us about your experience with your light reflectors, write to us at info@espaciel.com.
Do you have a dark room and want to increase its natural light? Contact us and we will be happy to give you personal advice:
