Good lighting is crucial for us to feel at ease inside our home. But many times, this aspect is affected by not having the possibility of receiving natural light. Playing properly with the decorative elements of your home can make you gain a good amount of extra light. Natural light is the most precious asset when choosing a home, especially in cities. A dark floor can be a problem in the cold months when there are fewer hours of sunlight.
Here’s how you can turn your dark apartment into a brighter space.
1. Do not obstruct the passage of light.
Keep in mind which are the points of entry of light in the house and which path it follows, and try to avoid bulky furniture, doors, fabrics or decorative objects that may be impeding the arrival of light to other points.
The way furniture is placed plays a very important role in the feeling of spaciousness and brightness of the house. If the living room is small, we can opt for sofas that are not too big and simple. If we use large pieces of furniture we will make the room look too heavy and create the opposite effect to the desired one. We can also resort to dual-functional furniture, which apart from saving space, will bring you comfort.
The same goes for the curtains, avoid them on a dark floor, replace them with thinner and lighter materials that allow more light to pass through.
2. Use light colors
To avoid a dark floor, you should opt for light colors in your decoration. White reflects up to 80% of the light it receives (especially if it is glossy, not matte). Both the painting of furniture and surfaces such as walls, even kitchen coatings, have to be white if you want this effect to illuminate your entire house. You can also use pink or light gray tones, you must take into account the use of colors both on the walls and in the elements of each room. From linens, to cabinets, to desks, to decorative details, etc.
3. Use as many mirrors as you can
A mirror visually enlarges the space of any area, doubles the spatial perception of your entry hallway and can help illuminate and highlight special pieces in your living room. You can put mirrors on the walls, large or covering the entire surface, not just hang one in your room or bathroom, use mirrors properly and strategically to go from a dark floor to a fully illuminated one. You can also opt for shiny or chrome surfaces to enhance the reflection and disperse it to other environments.
4. Glass walls
If one room does not receive light, but the adjoining room does, consider installing a glass wall between them. This works especially well for hallways or kitchens, and some glass walls even function as screens, folding to create an open space. If you don’t want to demolish walls or start a major renovation, you can try adding glass doors. These allow the light to spread much better, creating brighter rooms.
5. Create windows
A decorative element that can add to dark floors is to create a false window. This works very well in bathrooms or other rooms that are quite enclosed. The idea is to use a recessed frame with LED lighting and a vinyl image. Simple and effective.
6. Lamps and lights
If after trying all of the above you find that your apartment is still dark, you can opt to include LED lamps and lights. These will help you to illuminate specific areas isolated from outside light. In the living room, for example, you can place a floor lamp and make it illuminate the area and at the same time add style. On the other hand, recessed lighting is a good option for the bathroom. With them, you can discreetly illuminate the areas you want.
