No matter what room in your home you spend the most amount of time in, lighting plays a huge role in the overall ambiance of the room. And believe it or not, lighting also affects your mood as well.
For instance, if you’ve ever walked into a poorly lit room, or if you’ve visited a friend who doesn’t have adequate lighting, you’ve likely felt uncomfortable, or perhaps it was even difficult to see. But the fact is, with just a few simple modifications, you can bring light into any room and make it feel welcoming.
While newer homes often have a more open and inviting feel, older homes are often darker and could use a bit of lighting. But regardless of when a home was built, lighting can be adjusted in many ways in order to make the home brighter and more uplifting.
If you’re looking to make your home more inviting, the following offers a few ideas to refresh your space and let a bit of light in.
Bedroom Lighting
Whether it’s a master bedroom or if you have children and want to brighten up your nursery, lighting is where you should always begin. And you’ll have several options to consider.
A bedroom is supposed to be inviting and relaxing. After all, this is where you, your family, or your guests will be sleeping. And in order to facilitate a better night’s sleep, enabling the proper amount of light to enter is essential.
For example, the following methods can be used to modify the lighting in a bedroom:
- Remove dark or heavy curtains
- Install sheers
- Use adjustable floor lamps
- Utilize soft glowing lamps
- Placing mirrors by sources of light
- Installing new windows
The idea is to remove any impediment that can alter your lighting. And dark curtains can restrict the flow of light within any room. So if you’re looking to make a room inviting, lightening up your window treatments and installing reflective surfaces can amplify the light in any bedroom.
Color Plays a Role
No matter how many windows or light sources you have, the colors of your walls will play a huge role in just how bright your rooms will be. And if you have dark walls or wallpaper that exudes a subdued hue, you’ll have issues with refreshing any space.
If you’re wanting to maximize the lighting or the glow in any room, consider using the following colors:
- Bright white
- Canary yellow
- Soft green
- Powder blue
- Sky blue
- Pale lavender
Basically, you want to choose colors that have a muted quality if you want to assist any available light source. As such, if you’re looking to enhance natural light, softer colors have a more reflective quality that allows the room to glow softly when the light enters.
Additionally, contrasting loud colors with brighter backgrounds, such as pale blue with white trim can add radiance to any room, and allow for a more relaxed and brighter feel to enter the room.
Furniture Colors
Believe it or not, the color (and the texture) of your furniture can have a huge impact on the ambiance of any room. And if you have a room full of dark furniture, this will only subtract from the amount of light that enters the room.
Now, you might be thinking that you need to go out and buy all new brightly colored furniture. But this isn’t the case at all.
For example, even with dark-colored furniture, you can utilize lighter-colored furniture covers to help brighten the room. Additionally, you can also use brightly colored throw blankets to offer a bit of glow to a room.
Further, with darker furniture, you can use accent pieces to offer contrast which will balance the amount of light and dark within any space. In this case, using brightly colored floor pillows will offer a bit of contrast. Or if you have dark furniture, using translucent blinds or soft sheers over your windows can brighten up your space as well.
The idea is to complement dark with light. And if at all possible, keep your dark colors to a minimum when arranging or selecting furniture.
Refreshing your room with a splash of light is the best way to elevate your mood and create an open and inviting ambiance within any space. And you don’t need to spend a fortune on new windows or expensive interior lighting to achieve this goal when you implement the design principles outlined here.
