When it comes to lighting, many experts agree that natural light improves health, happiness, and quality of life. Natural light is especially helpful in areas that get lots of use, like the living room. While many focus on increasing electrical lights or changing bulbs to brighten a room, there are many ways to invite more natural light into your living space. Putting up more lights isn’t the only way to brighten your living room and create a more inviting environment. With a few simple changes, you will be able to bring soft and natural light into any room in your home. From replacing your drapes, to installing solar tubes, to adding a fresh coat of paint, to using reflective objects and adding skylights, there are plenty of ways to brighten your living room with natural light.
Replace Your Old Drapes
One way to brighten your living areas is to replace your old drapes with new ones that let in more light. While drapes will help insulate your home, that material is going to block quite a bit of light. If you are tired of a dark and dingy living room, then you might want to replace your old drapes with new shutters that can be rolled up or slid to the side to let in light. This simple upgrade should only take you a few minutes to carry out, and it is going to have a huge impact on the look and feel of your living room. Shutters are useful because they let you control how much light enters your living room, while also being durable enough to last a long time.
Install Solar Tubes
Something that many homeowners are turning to is solar tube installation. Solar tubes have become very popular in recent years because they are a relatively inexpensive home upgrade that can have some major benefits. As long as your home doesn’t have two stories, then a contractor should be able to install a few solar tubes within a matter of hours. During the day, those tubes are going to let in an incredible amount of light, and they should only have a very small impact on your heating and cooling bills. Solar tubes are useful as they provide a low energy source of natural light and can also help you save on your other lighting bills. They can be a perfect way to invite more light into your living room areas.
Add a Fresh Coat of Paint
While most conversations on natural light revolve around windows, adding a fresh coat of paint to the walls and ceiling is one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to brighten any room. If you want to make the room as bright as possible, then you should go with cream, eggshell, or some other shade of white. Those who aren’t interested in white interior paint might still benefit from painting the walls light blue, green, or yellow. You can also use high-gloss interior paint that is going to improve your natural lighting. Light colored paint increases natural light as it reflects the light coming in from the outside and bounces it around the room. This is also one of the most affordable options to increase the light in your living room, so it’s a great option for the budget-conscious.
Use Reflective Objects to Your Advantage
Just as light-colored paint spreads natural light around more, reflective objects can do the same. Mirrors can effectively double the amount of light that windows spread through a room. Many people are surprised to see just how big of an impact reflective objects can make. Putting up a few mirrors or polished metal objects will maximize the natural light by scattering the rays. Once those objects are up, you must be sure to clean them regularly so that they don’t become caked in dust and dander. Even a light film of dust could have a major impact on how much light they can reflect. This also illustrates another important consideration for living room light: cleanliness matters. Keeping the area clean will also keep it brighter and full of natural diffusion.
Install a Skylight
Finally, if you have more income at your disposal and a living room location that is able to receive more renovations, you could add a skylight or window. The benefits of one of these remodels is that it provides an instant source of added light. The downside is that naturally this is a more time- and money-intensive investment. However, if natural light matters a lot to you, it may be the perfect home improvement project.
In addition to these few options, you might also want to consider installing some softer LED light bulbs. Many home improvement stores now sell high-efficiency LED light bulbs that give off warm hues. Regardless of what you decide, know that there are plenty of ways to invite in more natural light into your living room, regardless of what your budget is.