5 Bright Ideas to Bring More Light to Your Home
Being in a dark room can weigh down on you after a while. Thankfully, there are quite a few ways you can brighten a room. Some of these ideas are similar to those of making a small space feel bigger. That makes sense because a brighter room eliminates shadows that encroach on the perceived size of a room.
Let’s take a look at these five bright ideas:
Natural light
The first step is to make sure you’re getting as much natural light as possible in the room. Expand existing windows or add in new large ones, especially on the south-facing side. If you cover them with window treatments, make sure they’re made with translucent fabrics. Don’t forget that you can also install skylights or solar tubes to maximize incoming daylight.
Most importantly, always clear away obstacles that will hinder sunlight from passing through the windows. That includes regularly cleaning the windows as well as trimming any trees that throw shade on the windows of a room you want more light in.
Light colours
Make sure you keep everything light-coloured when you finish and paint the room. The room will instantly brighten up if it has white ceilings and pale flooring. If you really want darker shades of a certain colour, do your best to relegate them to small areas like accents and trims.
Diffused lights
Always try to diffuse the lighting around the room. Put in multiple sources of lighting, whether it’s with lamps or wall sconces. It also helps when the light bulbs don’t emit harsh, white lights. Focus on getting bulbs with soft and warm lighting that’s diffused upwards by lamp shades.
Reflected light
Mounting a few mirrors throughout the room will bounce the light around and magnify the room’s brightness level. Take care though when you select the frames for wall-mounted mirrors that they’re not too dark in colour. For an additional reflected light effect, get fixtures and accessories with metallic finishes.
Minimalistic décor
Keep only the furniture and decorations that serve a useful or specific design function for the room. Move anything else that doesn’t fit that criteria to a different room where darkness isn’t an issue.
The colours of the chosen items should also be light – you can probably start recognizing a trend here! That goes for everything from furniture frames and upholstery to the artwork and knickknacks. To display the knickknacks, put up wall-mounted open shelving. They’re minimalistic and eliminate the need for an extra cabinet.
So you see, a perpetually dark room doesn’t have to be a lost cause!
