Tips to brighten dark living rooms
Is walking into your living room similar to walking into a cave? As one of the most frequented rooms in the home by guests and household members, the living room often sets the tone for a home. Making it bright and airy is key to creating a welcoming, fresh effect that rejuvenates its visitors. Read on to learn ways to brighten up dark living rooms – including choosing the right living room furniture.
Wall décor
The walls themselves play a significant role in impacting how much light gets reflected in a room. If you can use light-colored wallpaper or paint, doing so will make a world of difference.
However, if you’re unable to paint or change the wallpaper, you can still increase the ambient lighting in a room. Wherever you have outside windows, consider hanging a mirror on the opposite wall to catch and refract natural light across the room. If it’s a window that gets sun, hanging a crystal ornament in the window or setting one on the still will give added opportunities for light to play.
Alternatively, incorporate extra lighting into the room. Floor lamps in corners, bright wall- or ceiling-hung lights, and table lamps all serve this purpose well and generally work with any living room furniture. Be sure to choose a bright bulb, or you’ll only add to the sensation of dimness.
Choosing “bright” living room furniture
The type of furniture you pick for a room plays a major role in contributing to whether it feels open and bright or dark and claustrophobic. Heavy, wide furniture is both challenging to move around, and it tends to absorb light, mainly if it is made from dark material.
Instead, choose slim-profiled furniture that emphasizes clean lines. Modern furniture that incorporates steel or other reflective metals will give an additional bounce point for light. Nordic designs such as those offered by Ekornes bring style and minimalism to living room furniture sets.
Older styles of furniture with small footprints can bring a look of understated class to a living room. Polished wood is a high bounce point for light, making it an excellent choice for both earth-toned and bright rooms.
For bookcases and shelves, opt for white or light-colored wood, chrome, or brass to maximize light’s potential to carry upwards. Small framed-bookcases (such as ones with open frames rather than boards) will brighten rooms the best, while those with glass shelves increase light’s staying power even more.
However, you’d like to brighten your living room, visit our showroom in Saginaw, Michigan, to browse our selections and find the perfect furniture to do it. Alternatively, click here to browse our living room furniture online.
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