Bring in the Brightness: Tips For A Brighter Home

It’s hard enough to muster up the energy to do things when it’s freezing cold and gloomy outside, and even more so when my home is all dark and gloomy! This is why people buy those sunrise lamps, I’m sure. But is that really the only way to brighten up a dark space? Well, of course not. If you’re suffering from a lack of light, you may not even have the energy to do anything about it.

However, living in a light-filled place makes for more energetic and happy humans, and plants if you have some. If you don’t, then your plants won’t survive in such a gloomy place as your home (sorry!). If you haven’t found a way to bring more light inside, take some advice from me. Do at least one thing to make your house (or gloomy rooms) brighter. Here are some ideas…

Brighter lights

Have you considered how many lumens you need to light your room? What even are lumens you ask? This is how we measure light output. So for a bedside table lamp, you don’t need as many lumens as you do in a kitchen. You can calculate the output of lumens according to the type of bulb you choose and the voltage of the bulbs. Incandescent light bulbs have a higher lumen output per wattage when compared to halogen, CFL or LED bulbs.

So you want to search carefully for the right kind of bulbs, and make sure that their wattage output will give you the amount of lumens you need. For side lamps you want around 200 lumens, while larger spaces will need 5,000 lumens. A desk or dining table will require 500 lumens of light output. So it’s really not about how many or what kind of lights, more about the bulbs and their lumen output, so do your research!

More windows

Getting new, larger and brighter windows is pretty much an ideal scenario for someone who wants more light within the home. We generally think it’s going to cost multiple thousands of pounds to replace them, but isn’t always true. Yep, you can get one window replaced for 2-300 pounds these days. Websites like these allow you to compare window prices and make the right decision for you.

If you have very thick and old double glazing, it could be keeping the nice light from entering your home. Also, older window frames made out of materials like uPVC are often far too thick for their own good. Nowadays you can get newer thinner frames that let in more light – go for these options whenever possible.

Photo by Mike Wilson on Unsplash

Add mirrors

Adding depth to a room means adding light and airiness. These days mirrors are popular for gardens as they do a good job of opening spaces up, and they can do the same for interiors too, when they are strategically placed! When I was putting up mirrors, I walked around holding a big mirror to different walls to see where it would reflect the most light.

I also really like the idea of trying out different mirror placements over a day or two to see where the light catches the glass, so you can maximise the amount of light you get.

A new paint job

Painting a room (or just a wall) takes a day or two but adds tons of light to your interior design. Choose bright colours. White is not a necessity! You can go for yellows, blues, greens and pinks. Just as accent walls, these colours add a ton of energy and light that will revitalise your home. Also try using high gloss paint to reflect light back into the room!

A deep clean

Last but not least, give your home a nice deep clean! Sometimes we don’t even realise how much encrusted gunk is on our carpets, walls, ceilings, appliances, etc. Giving your home a deep clean could reveal a level of cleanliness and brightness that you haven’t seen before. This is especially useful if you’re looking to sell your home!

*This is a collaborative post.