My Top 8 Tips To Make Your Home Brighter

From dark & dingy to bright & airy. Transforming your home into a brighter space can do wonders to the overall feel as well as bringing life to your surroundings.

Here are my top tips to make your home feel brighter –

1. Give your walls a lick of paint – repainting your walls, either the same colour (you’ll be surprised how paint gently fades over time as well as leaving marks & grubby hand prints if you have littles) or switching to something a bit different. If light is your issue then I’d recommend the lighter the paint, the better. Using pale colours will drastically lighten the space as well as making it feel bigger compared to darker shades. It may be tempting to use your favourite deep, dark & rich colour but if light is of a virtue it may be better to stick to pale pastels.

2. Go for lighter furniture – choosing lighter furniture will also make everything look bigger. Changing a look from dark wood to white will instantly give a room a facelift but you don’t have to spend a fortune or get rid of your existing furniture. I’m a huge fan of upcycling so you can have a read of my guide on how to Annie Sloan furniture for an instant makeover here. If you’re lacking in time & money then just change the pieces that dominate the room, such as a table & chairs in a dining room.

3. Let in natural light – it sounds like an obvious one but make sure to pull your curtains all the way back so they don’t cover your windows & pull your blinds all the way up. I personally don’t have curtains in the downstairs area of my home as I want to let in as much light as possible & don’t feel the need to add privacy.

4. Lighting – lighting will obviously play a huge part in the brightness of your home. If you have main lighting that still sets a gloomy shadow then invest in something a bit perkier which will add more light or try spot lights. You can also add lighting in the form of table or floor lamps which also come in handy for adding ambiance, especially when main lighting isn’t needed on a cosy winters evening.

5. Mirrors – mirrors are an absolutely amazing magician. They have the ability to reflect & bounce light around a room as well as looking beautiful & adding to the look of a room. Place a mirror opposite a window in a small or dark room for an instant ray of sunshine.

6. Accessorise – using accessories can also help to lighten a space. Think pale or even metallic cushions on an otherwise dark sofa, swapping black out curtains for sheer voile curtains (not recommended for bedrooms for obvious reasons!) plus using fresh blooms or living plants can help bring nature in.

7. Declutter – the less ‘stuff’ you have, the less crowded & ultimately the bigger a room will look. Blocking windows & doors with objects will just prevent natural light from entering. Remove anything you don’t LOVE or NEED. Go by my favourite interior quote which I’ve used about 2917163x on the blog by William Morris below to free up space.

8. Building works – if you fancy something a bit more drastic then adding natural light in without any visual trickery is guaranteed to work. Add windows, glass doors & so on to allow the sun through previous brick walls.

Love, Charlotte x