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Sara Kate Styling

5 Decorating Tips to Brighten a Dark Room

By Miriam Bornstein of Zillow 
 
Say goodbye to those
dark and gloomy rooms in your home and transform them into masterpieces with a
few creative tweaks. Just because a room lacks windows or natural lighting
doesn’t mean that it’s a lost cause. Whether you’re in the market for a new apartment or new home, now is the time to look past the drab of a dark room and
tap into its unlimited potential.

 
Break through the
darkness this summer with five decorating tips to brighten up a dark room.

1) Go White, Go Bright

Source: Lukas Machnik of Zillow Digs™

The best
way to trick your eye into thinking you’re in a larger, brighter room, is by
painting it white. When the walls and the ceiling are both white, the edges
blur together creating an illusion of a taller space. Plus, white reflects light
instead of absorbing it, which inherently brightens the room.

Feeling
bored by that stark look? Imagine you’re a painter. You wouldn’t want to create
a work of art on anything but a blank canvas, and your interior walls should be
no exception. Treat your white walls as a gallery backdrop by adding artwork
and wall décor for a pop of color, texture and style. Other ways to complement
white walls is with colored furniture, printed area rugs and house plants for
nature-inspired accents. 

2) Trim It Up


Channel
your inner minimalist by painting the trim of a colored wall. Outlining your
walls in white will highlight points of architectural interest that may be overlooked.
Painting the trim also helps add depth to your space by making your walls look
longer. In order to increase the brightness of your room, paint your walls with
cool-toned hues to offer the best reflective qualities. If you’re feeling
inspired, why stop at painting the trim of a wall? Spray painting light
fixtures and knobs is an additional way to give your decor a hassle-free and
budget-friendly face lift.

3) Raise the Roof

 
Wow
guests by utilizing a fifth wall. The ceiling is an unexpected place to paint
or add texture, providing a simple solution to amplify your room’s luminosity. Painting
a ceiling with a high-gloss finish is one way to offer a radiant sheen which
can double the perceived height of a ceiling. Other ways to utilize the fifth
wall is by adding illuminating features, like a statement
chandelier.
Creating visual drama will draw your eye upward, taking the attention off the
dark environment and onto the unique details of your room.

4) Get Your Shine On

Source:
Bright designlab interior design of Zillow Digs™

 
Emit and
reflect light through mirrors. Placing a mirror opposite a light source creates
optimum light reflection. Showcase your sense of style by clustering a bunch of
mirrors together, or hanging one large mirror to heighten and brighten the
entire room. To further increase your light source, add some bling to your
mirrors. These shiny surfaces will create an even more lustrous illusion.

5) Let There Be Light

Dress any dark room with light
fixtures to create a bright, welcoming environment. If you’re renting a home
and are unable to paint your walls, incorporate artificial lighting to compensate
for a lack of natural lighting. Recessed fixtures are ideal because they
scatter light across the ceiling to distribute light more effectively, while track
lighting enables you to adjust individual lights to illuminate specific focal
points. For maximum lighting, find fixtures that cast light up and down, such
as wall sconces and floor and table lamps with shades that open at both the top
and bottom.

Adding
light-enhancing elements to a dark space allows you to make the most of your
environment. By incorporating white paint, a painted trim, a fifth wall,
mirrors and light fixtures, your room will transform, allowing you to look on
the brighter side of life.

This post was brought to you by Zillow.
I hope it helped *brighten* your day and gave you ideas for your own home!

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