A poorly-lit room can be boring, but life becomes more interesting once you know how to brighten up a dark apartment. Most homeowners think about massive renovations, like creating extra windows for extra light, but you can brighten the room on a budget.
Adding light bulbs to a dark room makes it brighter. You can also brighten the space using colorful paints and removing the window screens. Next, get two or three home plants, and buy big décor pieces. Lastly, create space in the home by decluttering unused items.
Learn How to Brighten a Dark Apartment
Besides breaking walls to create larger window spaces, there are less expensive tips to brighten your apartment. Check them out.
1. Declutter
The first step to bringing light into a dark room is creating space. You cannot brighten a stuffed room, so start by decluttering. Give the unused items to your friends or family, or throw the worn-out things away.
Some people get attached to their belongings and find it hard to donate them. You can rent an extra self-storage space at Vaultra Storage to keep your machinery, kitchenware, and unused furniture. Once you rent a room, you can access it at any time.
You can also store your winter clothes like boots, gloves, and jackets in the extra room. Other items to keep in the storage space are winter or summer tires because you only use them during the seasons.
2. Get More Light Bulbs
If decluttering does not solve your dark room problem, you can add artificial light. When buying bulbs, consider the colors. You can choose cool white or warm colors depending on the feel you want the space to have.
When buying bulbs, consider their light consumption. Purchase energy-efficient bulbs to avoid spending too much on electricity. Alternatively, you can buy solar bulbs to completely avoid using electricity for light.
3. Open the Window Screens and Clean the Windows
Your house might have huge enough windows to allow enough light in the room, but if the screens are attached, the light won’t enter the room. Removing the screens enhances light flow in the space.
However, ensure you communicate with the building’s management to remove the screens to not get into trouble with them. Check if the windows are dirty and clean any dust on the panes. Although dust particles are tiny, they accumulate and block light entry into the house.
Besides increasing light flow into the room, clean windows make the apartment more comfortable. They also eliminate some causes of respiratory problems like pollen grains and allergens, improving your family’s comfort.
4. Get More Mirrors
Mirrors make a room look bigger and brighter, so consider getting more for your condo. You can hang mirrors opposite the windows or glass doors to reflect sunlight to the entire house. But don’t stuff your living room with mirrors. Instead, you can place one or two in different corners.
Also, be picky with the mirror frames you buy. You can go for gold and other bright colors. These colors create the illusion of a bigger and well-lit room. Besides, the colors are beautiful and can be a perfect choice for a theme.
5. Choose Bright Couches and Rugs
Avoid using dark colors in a dark room. Dark blues, greens, and blacks make the house look duller. Instead, go for brightly colored couches like pale shades of grey, blue, yellow, or pink. White is also a good option if you can maintain the seats. Ensure the sofas leave a space between them and the tiles to allow light to flow under the furniture.
When choosing the couch, also buy a brightly colored rug. Seats and rugs are culprits of a dark room. You can buy tans, greys or creams, or patterns of bright colors. However, ensure you consider your room’s theme when choosing the colors.
6. The Walls Matter Too
Are your walls dark, with black tiles? That could be the reason your room is dark. You can make it brighter by painting a different color on the walls, like white. Use water and dirt-resistant paint to keep your white walls clean.
If you live in an apartment, inform the house management before painting the walls. Some landlords don’t allow tenants to change anything in the apartment, and they could penalize you for repainting the walls.
7. Get Plants
You can brighten up your apartment with plants. They also bring the outdoors into the room. Get low-maintenance green plants like monstera, snake plants, and succulents. Ensure you expose them to the optimal growth conditions to survive.
You can place the plants in a corner that receives natural light or on shelves. Besides green, you can choose other plants with different foliage to add beauty and match your home’s theme. The plants will also purify the room’s air.
8. Get Big Art Pieces
Art brings life to a dark room. However, for maximum light, get light-colored art. You can also buy bigger ones and hang them on the walls to make the rooms look bigger. Some frames to choose from for your artwork are white or gold.
Besides art, you can get other colored décor pieces like throw blankets, pillows, candles, and picture frames. Instead of buying new décor pieces, look for those in less-used rooms like bedrooms and transfer them to the living room. Ensure the décor pieces match your aesthetics.
9. Buy Other Curtains
Curtains play a huge role in brightening your room. When buying new curtains, consider sheer materials and brighter colors. Too heavy curtains block light from entering the room, making it dark.
Ensure you also choose curtains that match your walls and furniture. Using many colors in the house can reduce beauty. Ensure you keep the curtains open during the day and leave the sheers hanging for more natural light.
Final Words
You can learn to brighten up a dark apartment by playing with colors. For example, buy brightly colored couches and rugs, and paint the walls white. You should also bring plants into the room and clean the windows. Lastly, if your room is cluttered, it will always look dark, so consider decluttering it.
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