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Make dark room bright


How to Brighten a Dark Room in 10 Creative Ways

Figuring out how you can brighten a dark and gloomy room is always a principal challenge when moving into a new space. This is especially true if your new place is void of large windows to allow natural sunlight in. Fortunately, there are several easy ways to decorate your home or office to transform it into a brighter abode.

Figuring out how you can brighten a dark and gloomy room is always a challenge when moving into a new space. This is especially true if your new place is void of large windows to allow natural sunlight in. Fortunately, there are several easy ways to decorate your home or office to transform it into a brighter abode.

Finding the perfect level of lighting can be challenging but fun. It is also fundamental to almost every interior design style out there. Here are some awesome ideas to brighten any dark bedroom, kitchen or living room.

1.

Place mirrors near light sources

It’s an age old advice to use mirrors to expand visual space and brighten a dark room. However, to use your mirrors to its fullest potential, make sure to strategically place it near a light source. For example, a giant wall or floor mirror near a window can really amplify natural lighting. Placing table lamps or a floor lamp next to a mirror can also have a similar effect. For the best result, make sure that the lamp emits ambient lighting so it’s not too bright when reflected off the mirror.

2. Fairy lights, candles, and other ambient light sources

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If you’re looking to add just a touch more light without overdoing the luminosity of your room, you should try to decorate with some long fairy light strings, a group of large candles, orb lights, or other ambient lights. Not only will they offer just the right touch of luminosity, but also add tremendous charm and therapeutic feel. So long as they have a warm, yellow light, they will be perfect for your home. They create an intimate, hygge-like atmosphere that can effortlessly make even the most rugged industrial decor feel chic.

3. Pick lighter color or transparent furniture

We usually choose our sofas, chairs and tables based on our personal style and what we think goes best together. That said, always consider how your furniture decisions impact the lighting level of your home. A small, dim room? A large, gray or navy sofa is probably not the best idea! A stylish, compact sofa in a lighter color like white, beige, or ivory will make your room look and feel a lot bigger and more spacious. More importantly, avoid walnut wood tables, bed frames or TV stands. Instead, consider something like a transparent acrylic coffee table.

4. Cover floors with large, bright area rug

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Brighten your room by treating your bare floors to a lightly colored rug. Not only will this add some softness and texture to your floors, but it will also make your floor glow. This is especially applicable if your dim space features dark floor boards. When selecting a color for your rug, you can opt for white/ivory, yellow, or some warmer hue combinations. To help expand visual space, make sure the rug is of larger size.

5. Embrace white walls

Every decor guide you read probably mentions this, but it’s true – white really is the best solution to brighten a dark room. White sends light bouncing around your space, reflecting back onto other surfaces and making the space look much bigger than it is. Feel that white is just too boring? Consider adding ornamental trims on the ceilings for added texture, or paint one side with a refreshing color for some diversity.

6. Deep clean your windows

This is such an obvious but oft-ignored tip. Like wearing glasses with smudges on it, a room with stained windows will feel dirty and limit visibility. Get a proper glass cleaning agent and wipe down your windows – inside and out. You will immediately enjoy the feeling of freshness that comes along with it, and be surprised by how much natural light your room was able to invite.

The most beautiful rooms are often bursting with natural light. Not only can this make the space seem even bigger than it is, it adds complex and dynamic ambience as the day gradually shifts from day to night. So take advantage of whatever windows you are provided, and make sure to deep clean them at least once a year.

7. Opt for light beige/gray curtains

Simplify your window treatments by opting for light curtains on both sides of your windows. You can choose either blackout curtains or light drapes – either way, just make sure the color is some shade of beige or light gray. For blackout curtains, a very light gray like IKEA’s MAJGULL is a great investment (no real blackout curtain will be truly ivory or beige).

8. Pick minimalist, low-to-ground furniture

Stuffing an already-dim room with oversized furniture will cast more shadows, leading to an even darker feeling room. To avoid this, make sure to buy minimalist furniture that lie low to the ground. Set a maximum height for your furniture and make sure that each piece falls below the set height. That means omitting that bookcase, no matter how nice it looks. Leave ample space between furniture pieces – the empty areas will offer itself up to lighting opportunities. This philosophy is core to mid-century modern design and is likely why the style became so popular – it plays so well with lighting!

9. Don’t overdo it with wall art

A common mistake amongst new designers is trying to do too much. This is especially true when it comes to decorative accessories like art. Even if you live in a mansion, as long as a room struggles with lighting, its walls should be as bare as possible so that all the light can be reflected. A single large dark wall art or a collection of photographs can really impede your efforts in brightening the space. For a dimly lit room, pick a maximum of 3 pieces out of either a wall mirror, light tapestry/wall hanging, or a lightly-toned wall art that sets the mood.

10. Aim your lights at the walls or ceiling

Instead of simply aiming your lights every which way, try illuminating the walls or ceiling. This is opposed to a bright light focused on a narrow area on the floor or a soft ambient light that offers minimal luminosity.

You can do this with a wall sconce or torchiere floor lamp. When you wash the walls/ceiling with light, you infuse every corner of the room with a warm glow, making it feel cosy yet spacious. If you plan to install pot lights into your ceiling, always add a few at the very edges so that you can elegantly cast light down the walls.

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As you can see, learning how to brighten your dark room can be a challenge, but also fun and creative – you’re not just limited to adding mirrors and white paint to every surface! If you give any of these a try, we would love to see your photos and hear about your results. Join the conversation in the comment section below.

Jessica O'Neill

Museum Lover | Traveler | Historian 🇨🇦🍁

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How to Brighten a Dark Room

Remember what amateur photographer and Beetlejuice love interest Lydia Deetz told her father when he offered to build her a darkroom in the basement? “My whole life is a dark room. One. Big. Dark. Room.” Well, to each their own and all that, but for the majority of us, to have a light-filled home is preferable. It’s not always easy, however. In fact, brightening up a dark space is a common challenge when designing a room. Thankfully, there are foolproof tricks that interiors professionals like Jessica Schuster, Dan Mazzarini, and Gary McBournie use to add light through details. From painting the ceiling to layering in accessories, we asked them for some tips to help you let the light in.

1

Paint Your Floor White

Courtesy Dan Mazzarini

As if you needed a reason to cover those midcentury parquet floors that came with the apartment. “White painted floors reflect light around the space,” Mazzarini says. “I like Armorseal Rexthane by Sherwin-Williams.” Here, the designer juxtaposed snow-white floors with black furnishings and accents for an edgy, graphic look.

2

Choose a Bright Rug

Ricardo Labougle

A large, multicolored area rug, like this one in Juliana Lima Vasconcellos’s pied-à-terre, is not just a solution for defining a specific area in a home. “I love colorful carpets,” McBournie says. “They have the ability to both draw you in and create a distraction.”

3

Ditch the Heavy Curtains

Douglas Friedman

“I will opt out of using draperies and instead use a solar or Roman shade to give the appearance of less fabric while still finishing the windows,” Schuster says. To wit: Get rid of heavy, dark curtains that absorb light. Here in the designer’s own apartment, the curtain-less look accentuates the natural light that floods in.

4

Select Bright Art

Douglas Friedman

While dark rooms can be cozy, adding vibrant artwork will elevate the mood and look of the space. For added brightening properties, McBournie says: “Don’t forget to add some picture lights or spotlights.”

In this cozy den in San Francisco, designer Nicole Hollis made a bright artwork by Doug Aitken the mesmerizing focal point of the largely dark room.

5

Hang a Mirror

Stephen Kent Johnson

Double the amount of sunlight in your room by bouncing the light off reflective surfaces. “It helps to completely mirror a wall or to add a decorative mirror opposite the windows to bring in the light,” Schuster says—just as Gabriel Hendifar did in his sultry New York apartment, shown here.

6

Try a High-Gloss Ceiling

Roger Davies

One of the best ways to bring more light into a room is with a high-gloss paint color, and a ceiling is the perfect spot to experiment with this design choice. “High-gloss paint can add another reflective surface to a dark room,” McBournie says. Here in a Beverly Hills home, designer Oliver M. Furth painted the ceiling in Pratt & Lambert’s high-gloss lacquer in Gun Powder.

7

Take Your Room’s Temperature

Stephen Kent Johnson

When it comes to lighting, color temperature matters a lot! And according to Mazzarini, 2700K bulbs are recommended as you enter the world of LED lights. “If budget allows, use a warm-glow technology dimming bulb,” he adds.

Lighting designer Lindsey Adelman would know: Here in her Brooklyn townhouse, she selected her own Drop System chandelier to create just the right ambience.

8

Incorporate Metallics

Annie Schlechter

Using shimmery gold or silver accessories is an easy way to transform a dark and dreary space. “I have successfully used metallics on the walls, ceilings, light fixtures, and accents of furniture,” McBournie says. “Just be careful—too much of a good thing is too much of a good thing.” In a bedroom of a South Florida home, for example, designer Rodney Lawrence incorporated just the right amount of silvery accents in the lamps and de Gournay wallpaper.

9

Choose Light-Wood Floors

Nick Glimenakis

When a space is in need of additional light, it’s best to choose light-wood flooring to brighten up the room. “A lighter floor contrasted with a colorful wall can help to ‘push the walls out’ and make the space feel larger,” McBournie says. Designer Delia Kenza did precisely that in her recent renovation of a Brooklyn townhouse, shown here.

10

Embrace a White Lampshade

Philippe Garcia

White paper wraps rock. ..and everything else when it comes to lightening a room. “White paper is your friend,” Mazzarini says. He suggests not holding back from bringing white paper lampshades, lanterns, and pendant lights into your dark space. Take this bright bedroom in a Belgian retreat designed by Olivier Dwek, for example.

11

Opt for a White or Neutral Color Scheme

Silvia Foz

A dark room isn’t the place to try out a moody, dark color palette. “Light hues on the walls and ceiling can really help lighten a naturally dark space,” Schuster says. If your walls are neutral, paint the ceiling a shade lighter to help light bounce around the room. That strategy helped this New York apartment designed by fashion veteran Carly Cushnie feel extra airy.

12

Supplement Your Daylight

Joshua McHugh

Indirect lighting aimed upward can make up for lack of light on the ceiling, especially toward the end of the day. “This is an opportunity to be creative,” McBournie says. “For the interior library of a New York apartment, I created and strategically placed a faux light shaft with an iron grate on a focal wall.”

Another excellent example? Here in a pint-sized kitchen designed by Cochineal, vintage sconces take the place of humdrum task lighting.

13

Clean Your Windows Regularly

Amy Neunsinger

Yes, we know. This one seems a tad obvious, but simply cleaning your windows will have a major effect on how much sunlight streams into the room. “It is amazing what clean windows can do for a room,” McBournie says. “I recommend doing this every spring and fall, or more often.” You can see how the strategy pays off in this light-filled living room designed by Nickey Kehoe.

14

Hire a Lighting Designer

Those sad fixtures your landlord likely pulled out of a Dumpster aren’t doing you—or that dark room—any favors. “Often, a lighting designer can trick the eye to make the light feel more voluminous in a darker space,” Schuster says. The lighting in this moody Richard Mishaan–designed powder room strikes just the right note.

Charles Curkin Articles Editor, ELLE Decor Charles Curkin is ELLE Decor's Articles Editor, covering everything related to the architecture, interior design, real estate, and travel industries, and has previously written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Paris Review.

How to make a room brighter: photos and tips on how to make a dark room with a small window lighter and more spacious

Simple tricks to multiply the amount of incoming light and even make a dark room with windows to the north more spacious and lighter

In a typical high-rise building, an extra window is not " cut through”, there is no way to add natural light. Therefore, techniques of visual correction of space come to the rescue. Here's how to make a dark room bright and effectively multiply the sunlight. nine0005

VVDesign

1. Lighten up the background
If the room is gloomy, there is no point in aggravating the situation by using dark tones in interior design that absorb natural light. The correct decoration of the walls, ceiling and floor will help to make a dark room lighter.

Architectural studio Astar project

Shades do not have to be snow-white: just choose any light option. Imagine that the built-in wardrobe in the photo was made of dark wood. nine0005

DSGN HUB

Important : be sure to make a light wall opposite the window. And do not try to hang dark pictures on it or move a dark rack to it - immediately ruin the main idea.

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IN YOUR CITY…
► Houzz can hire a designer or architect in any city or country. Start looking for a specialist
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Victoria Glaz

2. Use sunny shades
White walls certainly create a wonderful atmosphere on sunny days. But not in our latitudes, where half the days of the year you won’t even see the sun. If you do not want to enjoy the atmosphere of the gray sky in your own bedroom, choose the whole range of yellow and close tones for decoration. In a similar way, you can make a room lighter with wallpaper or paint - and then even on the dullest day it will seem to you that the sun has visited you.

Urazmetov Rustem

In the photo: the interior of this Moscow apartment is made in the colors of Mondrian's paintings, while the bedroom got yellow for a reason - it fills the owners with energy and optimism, even if the weather is cloudy outside the window

ECO CEILING INC

3. Let everything will be glossy - even the ceiling
A stretch ceiling will not fit into every interior, but it is guaranteed to bring the room, as in the photo, out of the status of a gloomy lair. By the way, to make the space of the room brighter, you can use paint with a metallic effect or foil hanging structures - the effect is comparable! nine0005

Well Done Interiors Olimpiada Arefieva

The same applies to semi-mirror and glossy furniture surfaces that distribute and multiply light. If possible, use as much gloss as possible in the setting - this will make the room more spacious and lighter.

Alexandra Tkacheva

4. Hang a mirror on the wall… of any room
Use the ancient mirror trick. The best solution is to hang it directly on the wall opposite the window. This will not only make the room much brighter, but also visually enlarge the space. nine0005

TS Design | Taras Bezrukov and Stas Samkovich

Ideally, when the mirror is placed opposite the window, it multiplies the amount of light.

5. Make the walls transparent…
Did you get an open-plan apartment? Do not risk losing the last rays of the sun behind a deaf interior partition.

BY TOPIC…
I wish I could: Showcase dressing room

Yuliya Telnova

To preserve light in the interior of a dark room, we strongly recommend glass blocks and frosted glass instead of solid partitions. nine0005

REMONSTROOM

6. Dissolve furniture
Plastic tables and chairs, glass tops - transparent structures visually disappear, allowing light to freely pass through them.

Anne Chemineau - Decor Interieur

7. Get rid of dark furnishings
In general, there should not be dark and massive objects in the room: they prevent the penetration and distribution of light. Choose a bed, sofa or wardrobe in light colors. This does not mean that the room should look like a surgical department: build the interior on the nuances of warm pastel shades. In this case, inclusions of any bright colors are quite acceptable. nine0005

Bjurfors Göteborg

8. Remove curtains
If the window is small, it is better to do without any curtains. If you live on the first floor or your windows are well visible from neighboring apartments, choose a light organza. Through it, the light will be pleasantly scattered around the room. Let the fabric flow from the ceiling to the floor (this will create the visual illusion of a larger window), and hang the curtain rod as high as possible.

Roman Spiridonov

9. Let sunbeams into the room
Sparkling chandeliers, crystal vases, thread curtain with decorative beads - a well-known recipe for brightening up a room and making it sparkle and shimmer in the sun.

MAKEdesign

10. Clean your windows
Cleaning windows is hardly anyone's favorite activity. However, if you have not touched the glass and the frame for a long time, conduct an experiment - wash the windows clean. We promise: it will make the room at least a little, but brighter.

This is archival material. First published in 2015, updated in 2021

6 simple tricks - INMYROOM

Tips

It happens that for various reasons there is not enough light in the interior. What can be done in this case to make it light and comfortable? There are different techniques, which we will tell you more about

Living in a dark room is not very fun and comfortable. Besides experts believe that this has a bad effect on the mental and emotional state of a person. It often happens that, due to different causes light in your room is not enough. What can be done in this case to make it light and cozy? nine0005

There are various ways in which you can achieve a positive result.

Reception No. 1: color without borders

Of course, it is better to start with the repair of the premises. Because it gives the advantage of making the room brighter and more spacious.

Ideal if you want to paint the walls, ceiling and floor in light color. White color is wonderful! But pastel shades are nobody did not cancel. They are also relevant in this case.

The main thing is that all boundaries between planes are erased. Experts recommend choosing lighter paint or wallpaper options, as how in poor lighting they can appear a little darker. For such spaces dark and gray shades are not suitable. nine0005

Reception #2: windows

If you do not plan to make repairs, you can audit in room. Start with a window. Especially if it is on the north side and Nearby there are trees that create shade. Near it it is not advisable to put a dark furniture.

It is better that there is nothing superfluous on the window, not even flowers. If there is an opportunity to do without tulle - wonderful! If not, then use light tulle and light curtains (silk can be used).

Reception No. 3: furniture

Heavy and dark furniture should be abandoned, and indeed it's better when it's less. Choose a light, warm range. Glossy surface most suitable for furniture.

This way the light will be reflected and visually make the room lighter. A glass table, transparent plastic chairs. If there are lockers in the furniture, then it is better that they are also from glass.

Reception No. 4: mirrors

Mirrors serve as an additional source of light. It is better to place them across from the window. This will create the feeling of another window. You can also hang them against a light wall. nine0005

Reception No. 5: textiles

It is better to choose textiles to match the interior. Don't use dark bedspreads and curtains. On the floor it is better to lay a coating in light warm colors.

Reception No. 6: artificial lighting

Artificial lighting will be a real helper for dark room. Chandeliers, sconces, spotlights and LEDs make it possible distribute light throughout the room.

Furniture and even floors can now be illuminated.

Learn more