Top Tips for Brightening Up a Dark Room

With summer now in full force, many of us will be enjoying longer, lighter days.

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But if you live in a house with little natural light, you might feel as if you grappling in the dark when you get home. Natural light is important for our health – both mental and physical. Seasonal Affective Disorder (otherwise known as SAD) is a recognised condition that affects mental health during the colder, darker months, and an article in The Daily Herald suggests that living in a dark house can be ‘mood altering’.

There are many tricks – some deceptively simple – that you can try out to brighten up a darker room, thus enhancing your living space and improving your mood.

Brilliant Bulbs

Artificial light is advanced and adaptable these days. You can choose from a range of light bulbs designed to offer different effects and ambience in different areas of the home. Warm yellow lighting creates a cosy tone in chill-out areas such as the bedroom, while stark white light will enhance brightness in darker, well-used living spaces.

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Pale Woods

Pale and blond woods are a great flooring choice to reflect light. Wide-plank flooring also makes narrow spaces like corridors and hallways look less cluttered and gives the impression of more space and light.

All White

People often use mirrors as a method of reflecting light around a room and giving the illusion of more space. But white decor can have an even more powerful effect, as the non-hue shade quite literally bounces light from every surface. Walls, ceilings and floors are all a good start, but you could also consider using white furniture, frames and soft furnishings. Maintaining them to keep them bright and crisp is also important – use a Cheltenham carpet cleaning company such as http://gnccontractservices.com/ to ensure your white carpet stays in tip-top condition.

Black Linear Touches

Introducing stark touches of dark colour into an otherwise white room will make the white even more dramatic. The contrast between the two – particularly in long, linear shapes such as chair legs, long mirrors and floor lamps – will add just enough darkness to make your bright colours stand out. It also offers a timeless and classy monochrome effect that is as effortless as it is chic.