Cheap ways to invite more light into your home from interior design expert
The good news is that you don't need to break the bank in order to brighten up your living environment. Many effective strategies for inviting more natural light into your home are either completely free or incredibly budget-friendly. By understanding how light behaves and making smart, simple adjustments, you can significantly enhance the brightness of every room of your home.
Below, interior design expert Ryan McDonough at MyJobQuote goes over some great cost-effective ways to maximise natural light in your home, helping to turn even the gloomiest of rooms into bright and airy spaces.
Choose light and bright interior paints
Painting your walls and ceilings in light and bright colours is a very simple way to invite more light into the home. Your interior wall colour is the main way that you can reflect natural light back into a room. The Light Reflectance Value (LRV) can range from 100 per cent for a pure, bright white all the way down to zero for jet black. All of the colours in between will have various LRV levels depending on their brightness and shade.
White is the brightest colour that you can choose. If you're not a big fan of bright white, but you still want to invite more light into your home, try opting for whites that include some other colour tones within them. White comes in a wide range of different shades.
Ceilings are also important. You've probably noticed that most ceilings in homes are white. There's a good reason for this: white reflects light. Ceilings tend to go unnoticed in a room, so there's really no reason to paint them any other colour than white. A flat white is better than glossy white for the ceiling, as matte finishes can help to reduce glare.
Choose gloss paints for walls
The higher the gloss level for your wall paints, the more light will reflect off the walls and into the room. More light will bounce off a wall painted with a high-gloss paint than a wall painted with matte paint, even if it's the same shade. Using glossy paints for your walls will give them a mirror-like effect, and everyone knows that mirrors reflect light.
Some people don't like the appearance of glossy walls. However, gloss paints can be very helpful in reflecting more light into the room. Consider the colours that you like, and then see if a glossier version of that shade would work well in the room. If you have a particularly dark room in your home, gloss paints would be the best option. When choosing glossy paints, the only thing to consider is that there will be more glare bouncing off the wall from strong light, especially when it comes to artificial lighting.
Paint your eaves white
Eaves or soffits are the parts of the roof that overhang the rest of the property. They are either left as open eaves or they're covered up using a horizontal soffit. Regardless of which type you have on your home, these roof sections reflect natural light into your home.
Painting your eaves white is a simple yet effective way to boost the amount of natural light that pours into your home, helping to light up every room in the house. Even if the colour of the outside of your house is different, you can still paint your eaves white. Since eaves are angled towards the house, painting them won't affect your home's kerb appeal. You will usually only see them from the inside of the house through a window.
Add some glass or reflective tiles
Glass tiles are a great option for bathrooms and the kitchen as they're the next best thing to installing mirrors. In the right lighting, glass tiles will reflect almost 100 per cent of the light that hits them back into the room.
If you're not a fan of glass tiles, highly glossy ceramic tiles produce a similar kind of effect. Another option with great reflecting properties is a metallic splashback in the kitchen. Not only does this type of splashback reflect a lot of light into the room, but it's also super trendy. While major renovations like adding skylights or larger windows can certainly transform a dark space, they come with a hefty price tag
Make use of mirrors
Mirrors are one of the most effective ways to reflect more light into a room. Mirrors are not only great for adding light, but they're also highly decorative, very functional, and can help to make a room appear much larger.
Using mirrors in the right places can help to disperse and scatter any existing natural light that's flowing into your home into other areas within the space around it. The perfect mirror in a good spot can help to illuminate an otherwise dark and gloomy space. If you have a room with some natural light but a dark corner, a well-placed mirror can help to ensure that the whole room is flooded with that natural light you crave.
The best place to hang a mirror in any room is the wall perpendicular to the window. Oversized mirrors are the best option for providing the maximum amount of light. Plus, these are also very appealing.
Choose reflective room features
When natural sunlight reflects on things such as a chandelier, this amplifies the amount of light that fills the room. Plus, the chandelier doesn't even need to be switched on for this effect to happen.
When considering decorative elements for your room, try to consider shiny, glossy, or reflective things. That way, you can reflect as much light as possible, instantly brightening the room.
Work the windows
Since your windows are the main source of natural light within a home, it's important to ensure that they bring in as much light as possible. Avoid allowing your windowsills to be taken over by clutter. You should avoid placing furniture, plants, or other accessories in front of the windows. This will help to ensure as much light as possible can get into the home without being blocked.
Also, consider your blinds and shutters. If you want a lot of light to come in through the windows, these should remain open or be completely removed for the optimal effect. You should carefully consider curtains as well. When choosing curtains, go for ones made up of light materials that will allow light to flow in freely. Hang your curtains above the window and ensure they can be opened fully so that there is no overlap over the window.
Another option you may want to consider is sheer curtains. These will provide you with a degree of privacy but will also allow natural light to pass through into the room, creating a soft, filtered kind of lighting. In rooms where privacy isn't needed, it's always best to go for a naked window.
Dirty windows can also reduce the amount of light that can enter the home. Dust, grime, pollen, and water spots can build up on the glass, which can then act as a filter and dull the light. Make it a habit to clean your windows regularly, inside and outside. This simple, free task can make a surprising difference to the overall brightness of your rooms. Use a good glass cleaner and a microfibre cloth or squeegee for streak-free results. By understanding how light behaves and making smart, simple adjustments, you can significantly enhance the brightness of every room of your home
Consider furniture shapes
When you're considering adding some new furniture to your home, it's important to consider whether or not this new piece will enhance the flow of light within that particular room. Bulky furniture can often block light and may cause shadows or dark patches within the room.
Choose pieces of furniture with exposed legs rather than bulky pieces, as this will allow more natural light to flow freely. Similarly, choosing furniture with lighter colours or reflective surfaces such as glass or polished metal can also help bounce light around the room.
Declutter for brighter spaces
This is perhaps the cheapest and easiest way to instantly make a room feel much lighter and more spacious. Clutter, whether it is stacks of papers, too many decorative items, or overflowing shelves, absorbs light and creates visual noise. A cluttered room feels smaller, heavier, and darker.
Take some time out every now and again to declutter. Donate, sell or discard the items that you no longer need or use on a regular basis. Organise the items that remain into smart, concealed storage solutions. A clean, organised and minimalist space allows light to travel more freely and makes the room feel much brighter and more open.
Trim outdoor foliage
Sometimes, the culprit for a dark room isn't inside the home – it could be outside. Overgrown trees, shrubs, or dense vines directly outside the windows can act as significant light blockers.
If it is safe to do so, prune back any overgrown foliage that is casting shadows or directly obscuring your windows. This can instantly open up your view and allow a flood of natural light to pour into your rooms. Be mindful of local regulations and consider enlisting professional help if you are dealing with large trees.
Final thoughts
Inviting more natural light into your home doesn't have to be a very expensive endeavour. As you can see, there are many cheap and even free strategies that you can use to dramatically transform the brightness and atmosphere of your living spaces. From the strategic choice of light-reflecting paints and the clever placement of mirrors to the simple act of decluttering and keeping windows clean, every small adjustment contributes to a brighter and more inviting environment.
By consciously working with light – reflecting it, maximising its entry, and ensuring unobstructed flow – you can create a home that feels more spacious, more energetic, and truly a joy to inhabit, without straining your budget. Embrace these tips and watch your home glow!
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