Budget Living: 10 Budget Ways To Brighten A Dark Space

While you may not realize it, if you have been feeling tired, cranky, stressed or just not in a great mood, look to your home and its the kind of decoration you have in your space or  it’s just sources of natural light. It’s a proven fact that humans respond, act and feel better in a home that has plenty of natural light but also has light inspired decor. In the world of interior design, whether you are looking to add more physical daylight or you’re trying to choose finishes that will brighten up your space and mood, there are always budget ways to dceorate your space in order to accomodate more lighting. Thus, here are 10 budget ways that you can use to brighten your space.

1. Paint the Ceiling White
This goes without saying that light colours help to make a space look brighter. Thus, the king of light colours is white. Likewise, a dark ceiling can loom above a room and make it feel small. To immediately brighten the space, give the ceiling a fresh coat of white paint.The best way to scatter light is by using lots of white, because the non-hue doesn’t absorb any color. Instead, white sends as much light as possible bouncing indirectly back to other surface

2. Use Glass Doors

If you can make more permanent changes to your space, replace a solid door with a glass one. Whether its an interior or exterior door, glass doors help to make a space look more open and bright as well as allowing for greater flow of natural light into a space.

3. Use Brighter Bulbs

Overtime, so many folks have erroneously used wattage of a bulb to determine brightness of the bulb. FYI…Thats so super wrong. To determine the brightness of a bulb you should check for lumens and not watts. Wattage of a bulb is most likely reflective how much power the bulb would take. LED are most likely to give you a higher light output for the amount of energy they consume, so you can be more energy efficient at the same time.

4. Avoid Heavy Window Treatment

Make the most of the natural light that you have. Avoid heavy draperies and window treatments that block natural light. Instead, choose minimal options, like blinds and roman shades that don’t take up space on your wall. An opaque treatment will give you privacy while still letting light into the room.

5. Hang Mirrors At Strategic Points

Strategically place a mirror or two in a dark space to double the amount of sunlight in the room, as it would the light to bounce off reflective surfaces. Hanging a large mirror or a plethora of smaller mirrors across your space, would help you to brighten up that space.Although, large mirrors with slimmer frames are best because they bring in light while feeling less clunky and intrusive.

6. Carry Out Some Window Cleaning Exercise

This seems a bit plain and obvious but you can never know how much light dirt can prevent from coming in, until you clean that window. Simply cleaning your windows can have a major effect on how much sunlight streams into the room. The less dirt, dust and splatters on your windows, the more sunshine can peek into your room. This is a really useful and cheap option if you are not able to install new windows.

7. Diffuse Lighting

Carefully think about where you place light fixtures throughout your space. The New York Times reports that indirect lighting placed upwards can make up for lack of light on the ceiling as daylight dwindles. Your walls and ceilings can be used as reflectors to make light shine onto other surfaces, thereby maximising the use of light in a space. Also, accessories  can be used to diffuse light. For example, for a room with limited sunlight, glistening items like acrylic accents, translucent furniture, metallic finishes and mirrored surfaces such as reflective coffee tables can help to diffuse light and positively influence the general ambience of your space.

8. Carefully Select and Arrange Your Furniture 

Heavy, cumbersome furniture overwhelms a room and makes it feel dark. Opt for furniture pieces with smooth, sleek lines and light legs. Also, bookshelves or partitions should never be parallel to a window, or they’ll obstruct the light.

9. Lighten Up Dark Floors 

If you can’t refinish or replace a dark floor, cover it with a light-toned area rug, and you’ll bring instant brightness to the area. Runner rugs in a lighter tone will help to give you the best mix of richness and airiness. A traditional patterned rug also helps to incorporate off-whites for lightness without showing every speck of dirt.

10. Balance is King

Ultimately, it’s important for a room to have some natural interplay between light and shadow, as the highlights and lowlights are appealing to the eye. Nobody likes the look of a super-bright big-box store with perfectly even lighting in harsh fluorescents. Add lights to brighten up dark corners, but don’t go overboard. A few shadows just mean your space has depth, and a sense of life, that makes it feel like a home .