A healthy dose of sunlight in a room will not only improve the room’s look and feel, but also the mood of any person staying in it. Not everyone is always aware of this, or even how to increase lighting in a room, because there are many little tidbits that can dramatically improve the lighting of the room. Light by itself is very important, so make sure to have as much of it as you can in any room.
Add more mirrors
A fantastic little trick to at least double the amount of sunlight in any given room is to add large reflective surface from which the sunlight can bounce off of. To do this, either add a larger mirror directly across from the largest window of the room or experiment a little with several smaller mirrors strategically placed around the room.
Use Matte
There are a lot of people that think glossy surfaces are ideal for reflecting sunlight in a room. Because such surfaces appear to be reflecting light it doesn’t mean that they’re doing a good job – glossy surfaces mostly create glare that can get annoying, and is very rarely practical. Instead of glossy surfaces opt for matte because these surfaces equally reflect light in every direction.
Carefully place fixtures
Direct and indirect lighting shouldn’t be placed randomly in a room. For example, a taller floor lamp should always be positioned upward because it’s meant to be indirect lighting, while direct lighting from multi arm ceiling lights should come from the middle of the room so it can cover it entirely when you turn it on.
Don’t overdo it with paintings and art
If you cover most of the room with photography and paintings, then you end up with a darker room because the art will absorb the natural light from the outside. Minimise the number of paintings in the room that you want to be brighter because you’ll end up with a room that feels darker even if sunlight is pouring through the windows.
Use a white or neutral colour scheme
This one comes down mostly to science. The lighter the colour of the walls the more they reflect light. Darker and moodier colour palettes will just absorb more of the light, and you want for it to bounce around illuminating more of the room. For an extra bouncing effect on light, make sure to paint the ceiling just a shade lighter, and the room will feel even fresher and illuminated.
Get rid of heavy curtains
There are many other options for privacy other than curtains. Darker and heavier curtains completely obstruct the light flow making you feel like you’re living in a cave. They absorb light, and once you’re rid of them, you can replace them with lighter, more translucent options that don’t absorb the light and enhance the illumination of the room.
Lighting is an important aspect of every room. Make sure to use good fixtures all the time, and consider checking out Lamp Wise for even more options on lighting.
