Opinion on natural light

[Ab_S]

Are you a "shades open at 8am" person, or a "blackout curtains all day" person?

[Sister Mercurial]

It depends on the best balance between letting light in and keeping heat out.  Unfortunately in summer, but fortunately in winter, the only room suitable for a desk faces west and therefore heats up easily in the afternoon.  

[Anomaly Q3Xr]

Prior to getting my puppy, I kept windows and curtains closed all day. Now I have them open throughout the day for Lys' benefit, so they only stay shut when she is at my partner's.

[illumi]

i dont open my curtains at all because im usually in my pajamas and i dont want others to see [nobody probably would but my mom kept insisting]

i only go outside if i want to but every evening ive got to go on a walk which often lasts for 45 minutes. its the minimal requirement 

[Kurokuma]

I tend to like when the blinds (we don't have curtains and I'm not sure if shades and blinds are the same thing or different) are open in the living room or kitchen, not completely but just a bit to let some more light in. Most of the time though it's someone else who opens them instead of me since I usually wake up last, but when it gets late I'm the one who usually closes them.

[Missing]

I used to keep them closed all the time, but I recently discovered that my mood is usually a little better if I keep the shades open, so I’ve made a habit of keeping them open as much as possible, even at night.

[Gloomy]

I used to keep my blinds and curtains closed all the time but I’ve realized a little sunlight is good for my mental health plus it saves on electricity, so I usually open them during the day.

[daveb]

Always closed. In the summer I spend a lot of time in my basement, which does have a sliding glass door, but I have curtains on that, too. 

 

I'm not into sunlight.  

[verily-forsooth-egads]

I wish this were a multiple selection question. My house isn't a cave because my parents open the blinds. My room is a cave, intentionally. My dorm is a cave except when I remember to open the curtains.

[Epitaph]

I live in the dark but I'm aware that one needs sunny D not to get scurvy and a few other wonderful D-deficient diseases, so I subject myself to the death rays outside all summer then become pasty cracker for eight months of fun.

[Starry Sky]

I keep them open as much as possible. I either open them after I turn the lights out so that the sunlight comes in right as the sun goes up even if I'm asleep, or I'll open them when I first wake up. It helps tell my body it's not bedtime anymore... usually. I also have plants I want to keep thriving so I try to make sure they get as many hours of sunlight as they would out in nature. 

[AspieAlly613]

For me, it's all about avoiding the direct glare of the Sun.  I keep the curtain near my desk where I tutor closed for that reason, but my other curtains are translucent.

[Destranix]

None of the above. I've my shutter opened most of the time, except if sun is disturbing for some reason, like when it's to bright and shining directly into my room (so half of the day in summer usually) or when I want to play a video game.

They are also opened at night.

[AavaMeri]

Depends heavily on the time of the year. My apartment heats up fast during summers, so I keep blinds shut tight to make things more tolerable. In autumns and springs, I often keep them open more to keep my apartment illuminated for free. In winters, it matters little, because it is dark most of the day.

I do keep my blinds closed when I'm sleeping, because I want to block street lights. I've also noticed that I tend to keep my blinds closed more than my parents for example.

[Lord Revan]

It's alright but extremely overrated

[J. van Deijck]

I'm outside most of the time, and even at night, our bedroom windows are open.

[JimmyJazz]

I open mine as soon as I wake up and close them only when I go to sleep. 

[Deltalorian]

I am a vampire and I don't go outside but I do appreciate sunlight. Gotta be thankful that our friendly neighbourhood self-sustained nuclear explosion doesn't wipe us out or cook us.

[Reindeer]

I actually have photophobia so really ANY light is bad. but as far as my bedroom go I tend to prefer soft but not bright light. Like a soft lamp 

 

[everywhere and nowhere]

It of course depends on the weather. If it's very cloudy outside, I usually open the shades and curtains as soon as I wake up and get dressed (so that no one sees me going out of my bathroom in underwear only). It there is a thin layer of clouds, I may open the curtains, but keep the shades closed. And if there is strong sunlight, I keep both shades and curtains closed. It's not that dark, my bedroom / computer room and living room (the room where I read, except when I'm reading an e-book, because I can only read e-books on my computer) have windows to the southwest, so the room is definitely shaded, but not dark. If I opened the curtains, my eyes would hurt from the amount of light penetrating through the shades.

In the winter I also may close the curtains if there is strong sunlight during the day, but I usually don't close them for the night, only the shades. In the summer I always do, because otherwise the room is completely bright at 4 or 5 a.m. I have trouble sleeping and I'm very averse to sleeping medication - I consider it very harmful and don't want to take any sleeping medication stronger than herbs with a slightly sedative effect, such as lavender, hops or lemon balm - so I at least try to prevent sunlight from waking me up.

By the way, I have very beautiful shades in the living room. I have roller shades in other rooms, but pleated shades in the living room. It was hard to find non-monochromatic ones which wouldn't be prohibitively expensive, but I managed to. They have a beige colour and a delicate (looks like embroidered and it's actually almost the same colour, so it looks both non-modern / non-minimalistic and elegant) Indian pattern. My mom had doubts because the sample indeed didn't look good, the edges would tug a little - the company said that samples are cut with scissors, but actual shades with a professional cutting tool. I have had these shades for almost a year (earlier I had blinds and cleaning them was horrible, a lot of light would fall through the little holes through which the string goes...) and they don't tug, they are very good. They were only slightly more expensive than monochromatic shades from a Warsaw company, because that company doesn't offer installation, only the shades. When I already had the shades delivered, my mom and her husband came, we removed the old blinds and assembled the shades.

[SpaceDustbin]

The curtains in my bedroom and little office are always closed, because they face south, and don't really need much natural light. The curtains in my living room (north-facing, and 4 floors up) are virtually always open, but I only close them when the sun hits my face when I try to watch TV

[Milque Toast]

My blinds are default to open unless I have reason to close them; and the main time that happens is when the sun gets so bright that I struggle to see, since my desk is by the same wall my windows are on. 

They're up high, and a wide rectangular shape, so they're not very easy to see into, which is why I don't bother closing them at night often.

But, there is something comforting about closing them sometimes, even when it's not bright, to sit in my little den and do whatever. Especially since I doodled on them with a sharpie and it looks pretty cute

[estherann]

In summer I leave them open 24 hours, as I often go to sleep before it gets dark (no trouble falling asleep) and wake up around the time it gets light. I like reading in bed as the light gradually dims in the evening. I'm on the third floor so while I can see people on the street below I doubt I'm particularly noticeable to them. In winter I close blinds when it gets dark and turn on the electric lights. Since I swapped out the warm yellowish bulbs for cool white ones I find it easier to stay up to a decent time (at least 7pm) in the evening.

[Guest]

It's 5:30 am to 9:30 pm for me. I have to have a consistent scheduel. 

[Ceebs]

I literally never close them, they're open 24/7.

[LeChat]

I have sheer curtains in my bedroom, which always let in some sunlight, year-round (even when 'closed') and, also, gives some privacy, so I don't need to open or close them.

[ElloryJaye]

There are people who actually take the time to open and close curtains on a regular basis?

[daveb]

I can't avoid sunlight entirely, since I sometimes have to go out during the day because that's when things like certain stores, doctor's offices, etc., are open. I do my utmost to avoid much direct sunlight though, since skin cancer seems to be common in my family. I avoid it enough that my old doctor recommended I take vitamin D supplements. I'd rather do that than have to deal with skin cancer.

[everywhere and nowhere]

54 minutes ago, daveb said:

I avoid it enough that my old doctor recommended I take vitamin D supplements. I'd rather do that than have to deal with skin cancer.

This reminds me that I should probably take vitamin D supplements too... because with my nudity aversion I just have very little exposed skin. But I can't do anything about it, I couldn't wear skimpy clothes. My cycling clothes in this part of the year - and I admit that it's too hot, but I can't give any part up - consist of a polo T-shirt, cotton fingerless gloves (I have a very visible tan line a little above my wrist), long leggins and knee-length pants. Plus a knee brace. I can't wear leggins only because they are too tight and I can't wear short pants only because I just can't show that much skin. I have varicose veins and it's one of the reasons why I at most show the bottom 1/4 of my legs, and even that actually only to shock people with the sight of unshaved female legs.

I even uploaded a photo. Taken in my dentist's office.

[The Abhorred]

My apt is tiny and now that is summer gets easily hot cause there's no airflow and, and during the most hot hours of the day the sun is getting in. I keep the roller shutters down during noons and up the rest of the day. The rest of the year I only close them at night. 

My shutters are electric and I cannot use them in case of a blackout which is stupid.