Bright Ideas: How to Brighten a Dark Room

It’s not uncommon to have a dark room or two in your home. Some rooms are simply always angled away from sunlight. You may also have basement rooms or attics that naturally are out of the way of sunlight. That doesn’t mean, though, that these rooms must stay dark.

There are some strategies, both large and small-scale, that can help you lighten up a dark room. Some of these will require a lot of time and effort, others are simple changes you can make right now! Here are a few ideas on how to brighten a dark room.

1. Mirrors

There’s no way to create natural light in a room, but there are ways to extend it. If you have a room that has minimal exposure to light, you need to capitalize! Mirrors are a way to do just that.

Mirrors have a reflective property that allows light to bounce around the room based on the angle that you use. If you can, buy a mirror that reflects light at an angle. This will make it so that your room gets light throughout all corners.

Make sure to hang mirrors opposite windows or other light sources for maximum exposure.

2. Move Furniture

An easy fix you can make right now is moving your furniture! If you have furniture in front of windows, you are at least partially blocking sunlight. If that’s the case, you need to move it so as to allow the sunlight to move through your room.

3. Pay Attention To Your Walls

If you truly want to get into the science of light, you’ll know that colors can impact how light is reflected or absorbed. If you want to capitalize and increase light in your room, you need this light to be reflected more than it is absorbed.

But which colors reflect light? Typically, lighter colors reflect light back out while darker colors absorb it. That’s why wearing dark shirts in the summer will heat you up faster. If you want to truly light up your room, paint with light colors like white, light blues, or yellows.

4. Be Smart With Lighting

If you need to use artificial lighting instead of natural sunlight, make sure to be smart with it! While a great lighting fixture can bring a lot of light, you need to capitalize on your space to figure out how to brighten a dark room.

This means that you’ll need to make sure your light fixtures are not obstructed. You also may want to consider using a floor light in order to light up the ceiling even better and create the illusion of light coming from all angles, rather than from the top.

How To Brighten a Dark Room

If you’re trying to find out how to brighten a dark room, you’ll need to use both large-scale and small-scale strategies. You may also need different approaches depending on what type of room you’re trying to light up.

For more tips on how to improve the look of your home, don’t hesitate to check out some other styling ideas.