While having a home with lots of natural light is ideal, not every room in your home may be designed that way. If your house is older, has few windows, or the windows face north, then you may not get as much light as you want and your rooms could be darker. Fortunately, there are several easy and low-cost ways to brighten your home’s interior.
Apply White Paint
If you have a darker room, painting it white will automatically brighten it. This is an inexpensive solution. A white room will not only make a room look brighter, but if it is a smaller room, white paint can also make it appear more open. If you don’t want stark white paint, use an off-white color such as eggshell or ecru to add a slight tinge of color.
Pick Pastels
Some people don’t want to paint a room white because it reminds them of being in a rented apartment. For people who need some color in their house but still want to brighten darker rooms, pastel colors can be a good compromise. Pastels like light pink, light blue, or soft yellow can brighten up a dark room while also adding color to it.
Use Feng Shui
Feng Shui is the art of arranging a room so that it provides harmony to your home, but it can also help with making a room appear lighter. An important element of Feng Shui is natural light, and you can introduce more of it into a room by choosing light window treatments. Alternatively, you can also use blinds to direct more light into a room without allowing people to able to see into the room. Heavy curtains or drapes will make a room appear darker, so get rid of them and opt for window sheers or blinds to allow more light into the room.
Declutter the Room
Another element of Feng Shui is creating harmony by getting rid of clutter so you don’t feel as stressed. For some people, clutter is confining and stressful, which can make a room feel darker and make you want to avoid going into it. However, if you take the time to get rid of anything you haven’t used, needed, or seen for two years or more, it can significantly lighten your load mentally and visually.
Add Art
After you have painted your walls, add splashes of color by putting art on your walls. Artwork can make a room more visually interesting, and you can also add accessories like throw pillows to match some of the colors in the artwork. Choose artwork in a style you like so you won’t grow tired of looking at it when you go into the room.
Put Up Mirrors
Adding mirrors to a room can also help lighten it without spending a lot of money. Mirrors reflect light, so they can brighten a room and make it appear larger. However, purchase mirrors to scale, as you don’t want a huge mirror overpowering a small room.
These tips provide several inexpensive ways to brighten a dark room or your entire home.
Save