How to Brighten a Dark Room

Decorating your space to brighten and lighten it will make it more welcoming to you and your guests. Choose your decorating elements carefully to make the most of the light your room does get, and make the space less oppressive.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Paint your walls and ceiling a light, cheerful color that reflects what little light comes into the room.
2. Use a monochromatic color scheme when you decorate a dark space. Choosing one color, such as beige, cream or pale yellow adds light and provides a calm feeling in your space.
3. Hang a large mirror opposite of the window opening or light source, such as a doorway or even a fire place. The mirror will double the amount of light that comes into the space, making it feel lighter and brighter.
4. Use uplighting to illuminate corners and highlight plants. Add wall sconces instead of candles to accent your artwork.
5. Place plenty of lamps and other electric light sources around the room. Make sure your lamps have high-wattage light bulbs to chase away the shadows and light up the dark areas.
6. Remove heavy drapes and instead use a valance that hangs above the windows and only comes down as far as the top of the windows, allowing as much natural light as possible to enter the room.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep your windows clean to allow as much light to enter as possible.
• Avoid clutter when decorating a dark room. Too much stuff, even if it's decorative stuff, creates shadows and makes a space seem smaller. Keep your decorating to a minimum to allow light to reach corners.

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