3 Simple Solutions to Perk Up a Naturally Dark Room
Dark rooms can be good for sleeping in during the day and they might just be a little cooler than other rooms in the house during the hot summer months, but that’s about it when it comes to listing the pros of a room which doesn’t get enough sun.
They can get particularly chilly during the colder months and it doesn’t help that dark rooms look and feel gloomy, even on a perfectly sunny day. So, how is one supposed to perk up a room that’s naturally dark all throughout the year without expensive renovations such as installing new windows and skylights? Let’s find out the answer with the help of the following three simple solutions to the problem.
Use Mirrors to Your Advantage
Wall mirrors reflect light and, therefore, they are going to come in very handy here. Hang a particularly big mirror opposite the largest or brightest window in the room and it will inevitably make the room a lot brighter by reflecting the sunlight that’s coming in through that window. In fact, a properly placed giant mirror can actually be the next best thing to installing a new window.
Alternately, you can choose to use multiple mirrors of different sizes in the room for both decorative purposes and for reflecting the little natural light that is available. It’s an age-old trick to light up dark staircases by using small mirrors along the staircase and it holds just as strong today, as it did back then.
The Colour and the Finish
A paint job may not be the cheapest option, but if you do it yourself, it definitely can be. In any case, a fresh coat of paint will still be a lot cheaper than restructuring the entire room and, by connection, your house. The general idea is to colour your walls with a light palette and to then paint the ceiling a shade lighter. This will help the available light in the room to reflect off the walls and will make the room shine brightly. However, make sure that you go with matt finish and definitely not a glossy finish. Glossy walls only help to cause glare, while matt walls are perfect for reflecting light equally.
Artificial Light Augmentation
Every room has ceiling lights, but you should not have to turn them on during the day unless the room in question doesn’t even have a single window. You will have to augment the naturally available light in the room just enough so that the room looks well-lit, elegant, and you don’t get an unnecessary bump on your next electricity bill.
It is possible for you to dot a few standard lamps around the room, in order to make up for the darker areas in the room, and on websites such as Pagazzi you can select what power of bulb you want for your light, and therefore find an appropriate strength for your room. You could put a floor lamp or two in the corners of the room and use a dimmer to keep the light as soft and unnoticeable as possible during the day.
Ambient lighting works great too but may not be enough in very dark rooms. Nevertheless, ambient lighting should be used in addition to other forms of lighting, to create a nice welcoming, homely atmosphere.
Keep in mind that one cannot really replace having a new window installed with any of these tricks, but until and unless it seems absolutely necessary, the three methods mentioned here should be able to light up most light-deprived rooms in no time. However, if we are talking about something like a closet or a windowless basement or attic, you will just have to rely on artificial lighting systems to perk up those spaces.
