Dark rooms put you in a bad mood? Nobody likes to be in a dark room. Too little light depresses the mood, makes you tired and, in the long run, lethargic. It is therefore all the more important to ensure sufficient light in your living room. In some cases, the darkness is structural, i.e. your room has no windows or they are very small. But even then, there are solutions.
It has been proven that bright and friendly rooms not only have a better effect on morale, but also on the body. It’s much easier to stay alert and active in bright rooms than in dark ones. Plus, your eyes are also happier in a brighter environment because they have less effort to put in. If you want to turn your living room into a friendly, light-filled room, you don’t have to do much. Sometimes a few little tricks make all the difference. Here are 10 tips to make your dark living room brighter.
1 – Multiply the light sources
The most important rule of thumb when designing a dark room: let in as much light as possible! If no natural light is available, artificial light sources are needed to visually expand the room. The lights must be arranged in a judicious and functional way. Do not just set a central light source, but play with different light intensities in the room. In dark rooms, consider different smaller light sources that can increase the brightness of the room. Light sources that emit warm light help to create a pleasant light atmosphere even on cloudy days. Light sources with colored lampshades can be very suitable.
2 – Paint your ceiling a light color
Nothing seems more oppressive than a dark ceiling. If your living room receives too little light, it needs a ceiling that is light and light in color so that the existing light is not absorbed. This ensures a brighter and friendlier basic ambience and also visually shifts the horizontal focus in the room upwards.
3 – Choose a fairly light-colored floor covering
Not only the ceiling, thus the upper end of the room, decisively determines the impression and well-being in your living room, but also the floor. Again, the lighter the floor, the more open the room appears. For those who do not plan to replace the floor, light-colored textiles in the form of carpets and rugs can help.
4 – Use mirrors
The use of mirrors is also part of the repertoire of tips for brightening up a living room: even minimal light in a dark room is reflected and therefore intensified. Several mirrors on different walls even guarantee a room that looks bigger.
5 – Don’t leave room for clutter
The confined character of a dark room is reinforced by the absence of order. Therefore, dimly lit rooms always need a certain order so as not to appear overloaded and oppressive. And like everywhere, even when it comes to dark rooms, less is more. Focus on a minimum of pieces in your decoration. If you create zones in your living room, that is, separate spaces, they will be visually marked. Your living room will therefore seem more open and welcoming. Because if the individual areas are distributed in a structured way, you can create blank areas of furniture that will expand your room.
6 – Choose handpicked light furniture
So that a room without light does not appear even darker and more oppressive, it is important to place only light furniture that you have chosen carefully. Too much furniture increases the feeling of overload, the room quickly seems full. On the other hand, consciously chosen white or very light furniture that reflects light rays and thus visually enlarges the room, is ideal.
7 – Create contrasts
Even though a dark room mainly requires a light ceiling, furniture and walls, it is still important to create contrast in the room in order to provide a path for the light and the eye of the person entering it. is holding. For example, it can be elements such as a separate wall painted in one color, special furniture or accessories. You can also have indoor plants. Because these are elements that make a dark room more welcoming. These not only serve as an eye-catcher, but also make the room look fresher and more lively. At this point, it’s important to select houseplants that are equally at home in darker rooms. They are mainly plants from tropical rainforests.
8 – Play with glass and transparency
Another element that visually breaks up a dark room is the use of glass. Whether in the form of glass showcases or glass vases. By using the transparent material, shelves or showcases can be integrated into the room without visually weighing it down.
9 – Opt for light textiles in a light color
If you do not want to do without textiles in your dark living room, you should make sure to use light fabrics that do not give the room and furniture unnecessary heaviness. Fine fabrics such as linen or silk bring something airy, while heavy fabrics such as velvet give the dark room a calmer appearance.
10 – White windows and door frames
A little trick with a big effect: paint window and door frames white! Wooden or metal inserts on windows and doors are no longer visible and the overall look of the room appears more uniform and therefore automatically larger.