Do you have a dark room that feels like a cave? Then you definitely want to know how you can brighten it up. Here are advanced ideas and beginner tips for brightening up a dark room in a home.

Add White Color

Some people add mirrors to reflect light in dark rooms. However, this is a design myth. A better way to brighten up your dark room is adding white color. That’s because white is a non-hue that won’t absorb color. White color sends more light bouncing back on other surfaces. Therefore, if you need brightness, paint the ceiling and the walls of the room white. To aggressively brighten your room, add more white elements like frames, white art, white curtains, white beddings, and white furniture.

Light Walls

Adding light to the walls will brighten the edges. Therefore, even if your room has ceiling lights or pot lights, add scones whose light aims downward and upward. Powder room will feel bright even if it doesn’t have windows. When you add lights to the ceiling, place them closer to walls so that they can cast more light down while highlighting beautiful details like brick and cabinetry.

Update Your Light Bulbs

Apart from adding the actual blue, update light bulb to a cooler color tone and a brighter output. Yellow, warmer lights create an intimate, beautiful atmosphere. However, you can try true white lights if you prefer a fresher and brighter look.

Add Black

This may seem counterintuitive. However, adding hits of charcoal and stark black will bring in contrast and create an even pop of light areas. Some of the places to add black color include those with linear, thin elements like where there are long lamps, chairs, patterned fabrics and sharp frames of pictures. You can also add black and blue to your room to create an impressive beach vibe.

Use Blue to Cool the Room

Blue is a cool natural light. Adding this color to your dark room will introduce a pleasing crispness and remind you of the beautiful sky. Cool blue color is neutral and it works with almost any color accent that you like.

Introduce Blond Woods

Pale woods work great in lighting up living spaces. What’s more, wood will create a natural sunny feeling in a room even before you introduce new light.

Invest in Area Rugs

Laminate floors or dark hardwood floors are popular in contemporary homes. Although these floors are staple and beautiful, they drain light from some rooms in a home. To brighten a room that has any of these floors, add runner rugs with a lighter tone. This will break up the flooring and create a better mix of airiness and richness. A patterned, traditional rug incorporates lightness off-white without revealing every dirt speck.

Create a Balance

It is very important that a room has natural interplay of shadow and light. That’s because lowlights and highlights appeal to the human eye. Naturally, humans don’t like super-bright, big-box store look with even lighting of harsh fluorescents. Therefore, avoid going overboard when brightening dark corners with lights. Adding shadows will give the room depth and a life sense. This will make it feel more like a real home.

Follow these tips to brighten up any dark room in your home.