Brighten a dark room and you brighten your mood. After a year and a half of being in my home post pandemic, day in and day out, I realized my space no longer complemented my style. I spent time reading articles about finding your design style and watching videos on how to bring that style to life, and suddenly everything made sense. Every room in my home felt too dark, and the lack of light was affecting my mood more than I realized. I began to feel heavy, sad, and disconnected from the place that was supposed to comfort me. I even considered a major renovation, but after meeting with contractors and hearing the quotes, I knew I needed a different plan. Instead of starting over, I decided to take small steps, enhance what I already had, and focus on simple design details that add light. From updating my decor to bringing in modern accessories, these are the affordable changes that helped brighten my room and my mood.
Manipulating the lighting in a room is one of the best ways to brighten it up. Changing the color scheme to neutral colors, adding mirrors and décor will significantly increase the brightness in a room.
How to Brighten a Dark Room…
One of the easiest ways to brighten a dark room is to start with simple changes that add more light.
BEFORE…
My choice of furniture around my house turned out to be the perfect style and textured pieces that I’ll have for years to come. The majority of my house rugs are all neutrals, light grays, beige, white, and browns. I was already off to a good start but it was the combination of my accent colors that were the problem. My accent color on the lower level is turquoise. I loved this color combination for years, it felt very expensive and showed off my personal aesthetic. I realized it was this color bouncing off my dark mahogany wood floors, black trim and heather gray walls that was making my home extremely dark and somber.
Whenever I would come down the stairs and just stand at the bottom step looking across the room, I would just feel gloomy. I was stealing light where ever I could find it, just to keep a plant alive. Over on the other side of the main floor is my dining room, just as gloomy if not more darker than the other room. It was definitely time for a change. I had to make a change small enough that would be very affordable, but significant enough to give me the light I was yearning for.
Mirror, Mirror on The Wall
Double the amount of sunlight in a room by allowing it to bounce off reflective surfaces. Hang a large mirror across from the largest window in the room, or in a corner facing the window or source of light. I added this floor mirror to my dining room before I began the “brightening project”. It certainly helped with lighting as well as made my dining room look much larger than it is. I found this beautiful white floor mirror in Bob’s Furniture for under $100. I tend to find my best accent pieces on the furniture store show room floor. They are often marked down at prices lower than the manufacturer.
There are a few other mirrors I have my eyes on that will further enhance the design style I’m going for. I’ll be sure to share those with you in part two of my project. Ensure your investments bring forth long-term happiness and meaning, not what’s trending and in style now. Remember, take baby steps.
The Brighter the Curtains the Better
As you can see, I was already following the advice of many home decor professionals to invest in sheer curtains. Almost every window treatment in my home is sheer. My problem was the color choice. When I decided to start which changing up my color scheme, I opted for curtain layering in two different neutral colors and two types of curtain density: White Sheer curtains and Beige Thermal curtains. I have purchased my curtains from Brylane Home for over 15 years. Their selection of panel types and sizes, the multiple colors and affordable prices is what gets me every time. I prefer simplicity and frankly I don’t enjoy hanging curtains. Brylane made my life easier by introducing me to Grommet Panel curtains. They easily slide right onto a rod through metal rings as the top of each panel. I can place all the curtains on the rod at once, then simply hang them in place on the rod hooks. I like to hang my curtains very high, as close to the ceiling as possible to give my windows an expensive plush feel, while making my room look larger.
Don’t Invest in Pillows, Try Pillow Covers
Switching out my turquoise curtains for bright whites and beiges was not enough, I had to take it a step further. All my accent pillows were turquoise as well. The pillows I had were of great quality, I didn’t want to simply get rid of them because they no longer fit my color scheme. I figured the next best thing would be to try pillow covers. That way I can change the color while adding a little texture to make the room more comfy and luxe. Below are a few of my favorites I found on Amazon. Their pillow covers come in all sizes, colors, textures, designs and fabrics. I opted for square shaped Beige Velvet and Beige Burlap Linen trimmed pillow covers to brighten my space. To my surprise, I also found a 36″ lumbar pillow case to cover my over sized fluffy turquoise pillow. Pillow covers are a great way to change your décor, whenever you feel like it without having to spend extra money replacing pillows.
Bright Flowers and Decor
When my rooms were darker, bright white roses and orchids were my flowers of choice. They seemed to add a little brightness to the rooms and to my life. I knew I wanted more flowers strategically placed around the main floor, to add those subtle hints of light. Every weekend I invest in small bouquets of white roses, lilies and wild flowers. I have a mixture of real flowers and artificial flowers spread out so the fakes ones won’t be so obvious.
It’s amazing what a simple throw blanket will do for a room. Not only do they add an extra layer of class but they are also functional for you and your guests. I purchased this lovely affordable Beige Tassel Knitted Throw Blanket to adorn my dull gray couch. I’m well on my way to buying a few more.
For now, take a look at what these few simple changes did in my home. I’ve never felt better. I absolutely love the light airy feeling my main floor now has.
AFTER…
Although I switched out my turquoise colored window treatments and décor with bright white and beige neutrals, I was still able to inject personality into each room by keeping my accent color limited to floor and wall décor. I’m getting closer to that luxe hotel feel that I aim for. I hope these small affordable tips will help you on your journey to brightening up a room. These small updates can brighten a dark room without the cost or stress of a full renovation.
If you enjoyed this transformation, you may also love my post on The Black Suit Edit.
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