Natural light can play a huge role when it comes to the look and feel of your home. It doesn’t matter if you have a small apartment, townhouse or even a house in the middle of the city, you want your property to appear open and spacious.
Lighter equals more spacious, so here are a few ways to brighten up your home...
Lighter Colours
It’s so important that you use lighter colours where possible. If you have dark colours, statement wallpapers or anything else similar, rooms feel smaller than they are. It also stops the light from being bounced around the room as well. If you want to get around this then try and use a soft shade of white instead. This will reflect the natural light that comes into your home rather than absorbing it, and this can work wonders for the look and feel of your property. Avoid using pure white paint if possible, as this can make the rooms feel icy cold and this is the last thing you need. Instead, opt for paint that is a few shades lighter. This will create the illusion of space and height, and this is ideal for smaller rooms. It may also help to choose paint that has a satin finish rather than matte as this can really boost the reflectivity level.
Go Gloss
You should always try and use a gloss finish where possible, especially in your kitchen and bathroom. This will help to filter the light that comes into the room and make the space appear much bigger and brighter. It’s completely understandable that you can’t use gloss everywhere in the home, so instead add furniture that has a reflective surface instead. This can diffuse light and it can also really have an impact on how bright the room feels. When choosing furniture, try and opt for glass, mirrored accessories and even metal finishes.
Flooring
Did you know that you can completely transform the brightness of a room by just changing your floor? Wood, ceramic and stone floors are very reflective. This is especially the case if you opt for laminate flooring or even polished stone. If you don’t feel it’s possible for you to change from carpet, just make sure that you are choosing a light colour. This won’t be reflective but the brighter look of the carpet will really help to make the room feel less dull.
Greenery
The greenery that you have outside your home can have a huge impact on the amount of light that comes through. Trim your trees, bushes, longer shrubs and even climbing plants.
By doing this you let more light through the windows. You'll find that your home feels immediately brighter!
Cleaning your Glass
It's so important that you're able to give your glass a good clean. This will help you to filter way more light into your home. Dirty windows can really lower the level of light penetration and this is especially the case if you have huge bay windows, sliding glass doors or anything else similar. If you have big doors at the back of the house then this won’t be doing you any favours, so consider looking into getting some glass doors installed instead. If you do have glass doors but they need some TLC then consider looking into glass repair and maintenance.
Artificial Light
Look around the room, can you see any areas where the natural light can’t reach? This can include awkward corners, alcoves and corridors. If this is the case then you need to try and substitute this by having some artificial light. Lamps are a great touch, you can even have a dimmer switch installed as well. This will give you a much higher level of control over your light and you can also adjust it throughout the day.
Eliminate Dark Furniture
Dark furniture absorbs light. This is especially the case if you have it in front of the window or even by the doors. Pay particular attention to your curtains and your blinds, this is the first thing that the light hits when it enters the room. Replacing your curtains is super easy to do, you can even do it yourself! When choosing your curtains, opt for a light colour as this will reflect the light into the room rather than stopping it in its tracks. You can even try and add some fresh flowers by the window as well, as this will also give the appearance of light.