Would you pay an extra £4,786 for this when buying a home?

When buying a house, your ‘must have’ checklist for essential house features might be longer than your arm. Naturally, a downstairs loo, a reasonably sized garden or an extra room for office space might be top of the agenda.

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But surprisingly, these were not viewed as important as… natural light!

In a survey conducted by Express Bi-folding Doors, 84 per cent viewed it as being the most important factor when buying a home. And on average, homebuyers will spend an extra £4,786 to ensure there’s plenty of light to go around in a new house.

But would you go above and beyond the asking price to pay for the luxury of a home with good natural light? Apparently, 7 per cent of us would! Those respondents would be willing to fork out up to £20,000 to tie down a property bathed in sunshine throughout.

Celebrity interior designer Linda Barker has some handy tips for those of us who want to make the most of the light in our homes. ‘A simple trick to cheat extra daylight into a room, is to position a mirror opposite a window,' she says. 'This will have the benefit of doubling the light effect.’

But if you’d rather take it one step further, Linda suggests upgrading your windows. ‘Sliding windows are my favourite style,' she reveals. 'They're so effective at connecting the inside with the outside, allowing light to flood a room and making us feel all the better for it!

'A large window that opens-up onto a garden space serves to enhance our sense of wellbeing,' Linda continues. 'In fact, there are scientific studies to show that looking out onto greenspace can improve our mental health.'

She's a style queen: Linda Barker's Yorkshire home is on the market for £475,000 and it's BEAUTIFUL!

And it seems those surveyed agree. 70 per cent of us think that natural light improves our mood and wellbeing all year round. And 12 per cent said they relied on it in the dark winter months. Homeowners in Edinburgh find natural light the most vital, with 91 per cent citing it as important. However, the people of Liverpool and Bristol weren't far behind  – 89 per cent of residents in both cities said it was a key factor.

So there you have it! Go grab yourself some natural light as a handy little wellbeing boost! You know you want to…

Written by Lauren Goody.