If your home feels dark and heavy, you can lighten and brighten your home by simply adding extra lighting.
After you have added extra lighting, if your home still feels dark, the next option is to change the colors in your room.
Here are a few ideas for how to brighten your home using color.
Color Scheme
The first thing to decide on is your color scheme.
You can select one large item, such as an area rug or large piece of art, to set your color scheme.
Choose 3-5 colors in that large item and repeat each of those colors in at least 3 places in your room. Make sure all of those colors are light and bright.
Also select lighter and darker versions of those colors and sprinkle items in those colors around your room to create more depth of color.
For example, if one of your colors is aqua, then you can use aqua decor in 3 places, then white with a drop of aqua decor in 2 places, and turquoise decor in 1 place throughout your room. The variety of aqua colors makes the room look more interesting than just aqua.
Feel free to add a touch of black or other dark color if you want to add contrast to your room for more drama.
Walls
Your wall color typically provides the most color impact in a room and often is the cheapest to change, especially if you paint your walls yourself.
If your walls are painted a dark color, such as red, brown, or green, consider changing the wall color to brighten your home.
You can select a lighter version of the color you already have or you may even want to paint your walls a bright white since white reflects light and brightens a room.
If painting your room a bright white, make sure to consider how that color will look with your baseboards, crown molding, and other wood trim that might have been painted bright white but yellowed a bit over the years.
You might want to select the exact color of your trim as your wall color, and you might want to also paint your trim when you paint your walls. If you paint your trim the same color as your wall color, you should use a glossier paint on your trim than you do on your walls. For example, you might want to use semi-gloss paint on your trim and flat paint on your walls.
For more information on paint sheen, see the article How to Select a Paint Sheen.
Artwork & Mirrors
If you can't change the wall color, or the task of painting seems overwhelming to you, you can add large pieces of light colored artwork to brighten your home.
Another option is to add a large mirror to add light reflection to your room.
Learn how to brighten a room with dark wall in the article Lighten Up Your Space: Easy Tips for Brightening Rooms with Dark Walls.
Curtains
Heavy dark colored curtains used to be in style, however they are not as popular currently.
Replace your heavy dark colored curtains with lighter ones that will not only make the room feel lighter but allow more light into your room making it actually brighter.
If you need blackout curtains in your bedroom, they do not have to be a dark color. Blackout curtains have a liner on the inside that block out the light, so blackout curtains come in any color including white.
For a designer look, and to maximize the light entering your room, hang your curtains much wider than the window so that 99% of them cover the wall and only 1% of them cover the window when fully opened. Also hang your curtains near the ceiling to make your room feel taller. Designers love curtains that are 2-3 times as wide as the window to get a full and lush look, so if you have a window that is 50 inches wide, you should use 2 curtain panels that are 50 inches wide or wider per window. Luckily, many curtain manufacturers have started creating curtains with a 100 inch wide width that should work for most large windows.
Floors
Many people love wood floors, but when they rip out their old builder beige carpet and install dark wood floors, their room instantly feels dark and heavy.
Consider adding a light colored rug to cover some of the dark floors to brighten your home.
Accessories
Home accessories can set the overall feel & style of a room and have a great impact on its brightness.
A light colored decorative tray on a dark wood coffee table reduces the darkness of the coffee table and adds a great deal of brightness to the room.
Adding bright or light colored books to a dark bookcase instantly lightens and brightens the entire room.
Mixing bright white accessories into a dark room not only lightens it but also provides contrast to make it more interesting.
Use accessories that not only complement your color scheme, but are also interesting. Avoid using too many accessories that are mass produced that everyone has seen before. Consider finding some interesting vintage and/or antique items that are conversation starters as accessories.
Furniture
Dark furniture, such as a brown leather sofa, can make a room feel dark.
Consider adding light colored pillows to dark furniture in order to brighten it.
Plants and Flowers
The addition of live plants and flowers to a room add life that can brighten a dark room instantly.
Other Articles You Might Like.....
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Master Color Harmony: A Guide to Decorating Color Schemes for Your Home
