We need light, and more than just needing light to see well in our own homes, we also need it to set the mood. If your home doesn’t get a lot of natural light, it can feel dreary or even cold, no matter what temperature your thermostat is.
The good news is that there are multiple ways that you can boost the light in your home, and you can get started today with this mixture of decorating and home improvement tips.
Remove Obstructions Near Your Windows
The first step to brightening your home is, of course, to maximize the amount of light physically getting into your home. There is, of course, a balance to be achieved here. If you have trees that are “blocking” your light, you may want to keep these for the beauty and privacy. On the other hand, if a blocky railing is cutting into your light, you can easily replace it with new, beautiful glass fence panels that let the light and the view right on in.
Reflect Light
Inside, you can reflect light in multiple ways.
Use Light-Toned Shades
While you may think the only way to brighten your home is to paint everything inside white, know that it isn’t. You can not only brighten a space with a light pastel or light-toned color, but you can also control the warmth of the light in your room as well.
If you feel like your living room is “cold”, for example, even when the heating is on, this can be because the lighting tone is cool. If you have a lot of grey and blue furniture and then pure white walls, this is normal. If you want to warm up the space, try painting the room a warmer color, like pink or yellow.
Reflective Surfaces
Another way to brighten a space is by bouncing the light around a room. For example, you can put a large mirror on the wall opposite a window to bounce light around naturally with minimal investment or structural changes.
Add Skylights
If you have a large extension or other dark spaces inside the center of your home, consider adding a skylight. This won’t always be an option, of course, but when it’s available to you, it’s an easy way to instantly brighten the darker corners of your home. In some cases, you may be able to create sky tunnels, which bounce light from your roof down into your home.
The Ultimate Hack: Adding Fake Windows
Another great way to brighten dark spaces like your basement is to visually “extend” the small windows into full-sized ones. You can do this by creating a false window setting, adding some curtains or even shutters, and adding lighting behind them.
The total effect is an elongated window. With the shutters or curtains closed and the lights on behind them, you can see the light trailing in through and, of course, have the natural real windows above.