Brighten up your home with better lighting
Lift your mood naturally by making your home a sunny, brighter and better-lit place.
Swap dark hallways and dingy bathrooms for welcoming, light spaces and make sure you never have to squint to read your book in the evening again with a few of our favourite suggestions for making your home a brighter place.
Choosing the right lighting for your rooms
Choosing the right lighting can really transform a space. Take a good look at your rooms so you can see which areas are in shadow when all of your lights are on and think about what you use the space for. Do you have a favourite reading spot? Is there table you like to work at? Those are the areas most in need of your attention and could most benefit from accent or task lighting. Choose from spotlights, anglepoise lamps or downlighters to create bright spots where you need them most.
As far as brightening up a whole room is concerned, a few lovely lamps on high areas like mantelpieces or shelves offer a warming glow in hard to reach areas while recessed lighting fixtures can turn low ceilings or cupboards into excellent sources of light. The needs of each room will be different, in the bedroom, cosy ambient lighting is perfect and will be nicely complemented by bedside lamps. In the bathroom, you’ll want a strong, bright light for shaving or applying makeup so think about adding to your ceiling lights with a downlighter above your mirror.
Maximising natural light
You can also give your home a brighter makeover by making a few changes that will maximise the benefit of any natural light you do get. For a start, if you have lots of dark heavy furniture and wallpaper, any sunlight is likely to be quickly swallowed up. Use bright, white tones to accentuate sunbeams and if you don’t want to change your furnishings or wall colours, consider painting your skirting board or adding a crisp white blind to your windows instead.
Another excellent way to make the most of what you’ve got is to place mirrors directly opposite light sources, whether it’s a window or a table lamp, and it will make them work harder for you. By the same token, glossy paint is far better at catching light than matte varieties and a little gloss can greatly increase the amount of light that’s bounced around the room.
How have you brightened your home?
Rachel - Silversurfers Assistant Editor
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