Whether you have walls that are painted a dark color or are a dark wood tone, you can lighten the feeling of the room using furniture and furnishings so it doesn't feel like a dark cave.
You might be wondering how to make a dark room feel brighter on a budget.
Whether you love your dark walls but they are feeling overwhelming, or perhaps you are renting and are not allowed to change the walls, here are several ways to lighten and brighten a room with dark walls.
Floors
In order for your home to not feel like you are living in constant darkness with dark walls, make sure that the floor is not also dark.
If you have dark wood floors or dark tile floors in your room, consider adding a white or light colored rug on top of those floors to break up all of the darkness and add brightness to the dark room.
If you have dark carpet in your room, you can also add a rug on top of the carpet to lighten the room, but make sure that the rug is not a trip hazard.
Make sure that the furniture sitting on top of your dark floors is also a light color in order to break up the sea of darkness created by your dark floors and walls.
If your room has a bed, use white or light colored linens to add brightness to your dark bedroom.
If your living room has a sofa, select a light colored sofa for your dark room, or consider getting a light colored slip cover for the sofa to lighten the room.
Basically, try to reduce the amount of dark flooring that is showing to make your dark room feel lighter.
Walls
In order to lighten a room with dark walls, you can add light and/or bright colored artwork or light colored furniture.
Tall furniture, such as a white storage cabinet or a bookcase filled with colorful or light colored books, is especially helpful in covering large portions of dark walls.
Adding light colored furniture, decor, and accessories will cover some of the darkness on your walls and lighten your room a bit.
Also consider adding bright white crown molding and other millwork (like a fireplace surround and tall baseboards) to lighten your dark room.
Basically, cover your dark walls with as much lighter colored stuff as possible to reduce the amount of wall that is showing.
Ceiling
To add lightness to your room with dark walls, consider painting your ceiling a bright white color to contrast with your dark walls.
Ceilings are typically painted with a paint that has a flat paint sheen to reduce the visibility of texture imperfections, but consider using a more glossy paint sheen to bounce light around (assuming your ceiling texture is not too ugly).
Consider making your ceiling a focal point to draw attention to the ceiling instead of the walls. To create a focal point, you can use an amazing chandelier, a unique pendant light, or interesting wallpaper on your ceiling.
Also consider adding a ceiling medallion to your chandelier or maybe paint your ceiling an unusual light color for added drama.
Lighting
In rooms with dark walls, make sure to use plenty of lighting, in addition to natural light, to brighten your space.
To make a dark room feel less like a cave, use multiple light sources scattered around the room.
You can have a central light fixture in the ceiling (such as a chandelier or pendant light), several table lamps at seated eye level for most of the areas where someone might sit, an uplight that shines light on the ceiling in corners that feel a bit dark, accent lighting that shines light on a particular object or art in order to showcase its beauty, and under cabinet lighting to light work surfaces.
A room will often feel dark, even if it is not, if there are visible shadows. Look around your room and hunt for shadows. Either eliminate the item causing the shadow or add lighting to that area to eliminate the shadow and make your room feel lighter.
The best lighting for rooms with dark walls is to have more lighting than you think you will need coming from multiple different fixtures that are all on dimmers so you can change the lighting to many different configurations depending on the time of day or your activity in your room.
Metallics and Mirrors
Incorporating metallic items and mirrors into your dark room can decrease the amount of dark wall that is visible while adding glamour and sophistication.
Shiny metallic items will bring sparkle and glimmer to your room.
Metallic items will add life and bounce around light to make your dark room feel more light.
Choose furniture and decor pieces with metallic finishes (such as silver, gold, or chrome) to add shimmer and sparkle to your space while reflecting light.
Metallic decor elements (such as metallic vases, or chrome table lamps) brighten your space by breaking up all of the darkness from your walls.
Windows
One of the most effective ways to lighten a room with dark walls is to use as much natural light as possible.
Avoid using heavy curtains and keep other things away from your window that might be blocking the light, especially if you have small windows.
Consider installing sheer or lightweight curtains that diffuse natural light while still providing privacy and softening the harshness of direct sunlight.
If curtains are necessary for privacy, select white or light colored ones that do not block out all of the light, however you might need blackout curtains (blackout refers to the thick lining inside the curtain that blocks out the light, not the color of the actual curtain) to block out all of the light in your bedrooms.
Whatever curtains you are using, but especially blackout curtains, make sure to hang them so they mostly cover the wall and barely cover the window when opened all the way so that the sunlight can flood the dark room during the daytime.
In addition to curtains covering windows, they also partially cover the dark walls, adding softness and lessening the darkness of the wall color.
Additionally, trim back any foliage or landscaping outside your windows that may be blocking sunlight from entering the room. Make sure to keep your windows clean, inside and out, to maximize the light inside your home.
Accent Colors
Accent colors can make or break your entire room's decor style, especially if your room has dark walls.
