What wallpaper options are suitable for a dark room. How to make a room brighter: tips, tricks, tricks If the apartment is dark, how to lighten
If the apartment is small and dark, then this is not a reason for making additional windows in the walls and destroying interior partitions. Exists simple ways expand the space and make the room brighter. Of course, after these events, the area will not increase, but the apartment will seem larger. Professional designers shared secrets and ways to make a room brighter and expand the space.
What can I do to brighten up a dark room?
The first step is to carefully consider the schemes artificial lighting and by all means to increase the amount of natural light. You should also consider and work out the color scheme of the room. Further, textiles and furniture are correctly selected to match the finish. As for the situation, only the most necessary items are left in the room.
To make a dark room bright, it is recommended to use glossy, as well as mirror surfaces of furniture facades. But it is desirable to refuse finishing with a relief. Let's consider each moment in more detail. With the help of these simple tips, everyone will be able to finalize their apartment or house.
Lighting
How to make a room brighter? In such a task, artificial lighting plays a very important role. If there is such an opportunity, it is very desirable to expand the window openings. But usually this is done during repairs, and it is not always possible to obtain all the necessary permits. If the apartment has a balcony, then it should be as bright as possible - window frames balconies should be as large as conditions permit.
As for artificial lighting, designers recommend developing and using multi-level and multi-point schemes. If there is light in each functional area of an apartment or room, then general lighting can be left only for decorative functions. The ceiling can be decorated around the perimeter of a sconce with horns looking up. Also suitable for modern led strip. If there are deep and dark cabinets, then an autonomous lighting system is made for them.
Working with colors
It is not necessary to make a completely white cube out of the room if it is poorly lit. The result is a gray and dull room. If there is an acceptable level of light in each of the functional areas, then pastel or neutral colors can be chosen. Cream, beige, blue, golden shades will help to make a small room lighter. But you need to work with shades correctly. Tones should be selected so that even with a lack of lighting they do not look dull, but lighter than originally decided. In white, it is recommended to leave only the surface of the ceiling.
Gender and shades
Play your part and flooring. You can choose laminate, parquet, linoleum. The shade of the material should be as light as possible. But the shade should be practical, and the surface of the flooring should be glossy. One way to brighten up a room is to lay light-colored carpets on a dark base floor (such as laminate). Carpets are best selected with a short pile.
A dark room will change dramatically if you choose light finishing materials with a glossy texture - this is true for ceilings, floors, walls. Designers also offer such a way of lightening - it is based on contrast. finishing materials. For example, a room will look large and airy if its bottom third is in dark color, and the rest is in bright colors.
If the quality of lighting in the room is not satisfactory, then using pastel colors will only make things worse - they will look very dull in such a situation. In this case, to solve the problem, the walls should be painted in very saturated natural colors - these are emerald green, blue, yellow, blue and others. This approach will add much-needed warmth and depth to the interior of the apartment. But from the peach color, the shade of brick, light blue, gray and olive, designers are advised to refuse.
Furniture and textiles
In such a task as making a room brighter and larger, any, even the most insignificant detail is important. With the help of furniture and textiles, you can get the desired effect very simply.
The room will become lighter if pastel or neutral shades are selected as the main range. This can be explained by the fact that dark-colored textiles and furniture with matte facades will absorb light very actively. In parallel, a feeling of overcrowding of the room, a big mess is created. Any extra furniture will make the room visually smaller.
Furnishings that remain in the room are best placed along the wall. If the pieces of furniture are of the same shade as the walls, then they will become invisible against the general background.
How to make a room brighter? As for curtains, it is best to choose translucent solutions for such a task or keep the curtains as open as possible. Due to this, the area of \u200b\u200bthe room will visually increase. If heating radiators do not look too aesthetically pleasing, then you can come up with some kind of original design or effectively hide them.
Whenever possible, it is worth abandoning carpets with a high pile. lambrequins, various decorative pillows, furniture with glossy facades - all this is completely superfluous in the interior. If it is not clear how to place furniture in a dark and cramped room, then you need to focus on the level of natural light and functional areas. So, working area it is better to place directly at the window. By the way, the dining area should be placed in the same place.
Plastic and glass furniture will help expand and brighten the room. glass top visually disappear, and the light will easily and freely pass through it.
Are curtains required?
In most cases, curtains are a necessary accessory. But if the window in the room is very small, then it is better to have no curtains at all. If the apartment is on the first floor, then you can pick up something light, for example, organza. The fabric will scatter light around the room. The cornice must be hung as high as possible.
Glossy and mirror surfaces
How to make a dark room brighter? In this case, there are a lot of secrets and nuances. A simple life hack - if you install a mirror opposite the window, then the entire light flux will be reflected in it. In all other cases, the wall opposite should be free and light. This will make the room not only brighter, but also more spacious. Any glossy, smooth surfaces with reflective properties can enhance the illumination - this is glass, crystal, different kinds metals, mirrored walls or any type of surface with texture, on the contrary, will absorb natural and artificial light. 'Cause it's better to stop at stretch ceilings from a glossy film than to make classic stucco around the perimeter of the ceiling.
Here's how to lighten up a room with trim - designers recommend not using partitions made of any kind of brick, decorative plaster, wallpaper with complex and large-sized drawings.
Sometimes there may not be enough heat in the rooms. It can be obtained by adding various accessories of a golden hue to the interior. This will interrupt the associative series - the room is dark, lifeless and uncomfortable. A golden color will add joy and happiness. If earlier gold was the prerogative only classic interiors, then today all the colors of this group can be effectively applied in modern interiors. You can not limit yourself to anything - frames, various figurines, rugs, panels, accessories and much more can be golden.
Big from small
With the help of the tips discussed above, you can make a room without a window bright. And now we need to talk about expanding the premises. This is a real problem for many.
There are no new tips here. No need to overload small rooms with furniture. The main rule is to leave at least one wall empty. And no dark colors. It is advisable to place the lowest pieces of furniture near front door. Tall furniture will reduce the perspective, and the space will immediately shrink. Following these rules, you can easily expand the space in the room visually and make the room more comfortable.
Conclusion
Using these simple tips professional designers, you can easily decide difficult task and brighten up the room. Photos are illustrations of what effects can be achieved by playing only with color and light. Good luck with your design experiments!
north facing roomIf the windows of the room face north.
my preferences in photos are light green with light furniture or peach with dark furniture
and expert advice
In such a room, most likely, a cool twilight always reigns. “Warm” it with warm tones. To remove the shortcomings of the northern room and visually make the space larger and lighter, it is advisable to decorate the walls in light and warm colors.
This is done, firstly, in order to
better and more reflect the sunlight falling from the window. Secondly, shades of warm colors will create a sunny atmosphere in the room.
Golden, peach, orange, yellow, yellow-green, delicate light green, light beige and similar colors of low and medium saturation will be preferable.
colors should be dull, slightly muted or as if bleached. As the main color, all shades of chocolate are especially good.
You can not be afraid to oversaturate such a room with color, it will only benefit from this, it will become more comfortable.
Choosing the same color scheme for different rooms, you will not feel the mood of the apartment, so each room should be decided in its own color.
In painting walls, there are several interesting tricks that you can easily put into practice. So, for the wall opposite the window, choose a tone or two darker paint, then the light will spread evenly around the room, the rest of the walls will not seem dark.
Walls can be painted different colors, but it is important not to break the space. Let's say you painted one wall green and the other blue. If this is not supported by anything, the room will fall apart. A sofa, which is placed in a corner where differently colored walls converge, will help to connect the walls, its upholstery should repeat their colors.
you need to decide on the base color - the color of the walls, which will be in harmony with your favorite things and serve as a background for the floor, furniture upholstery, lighting, plants, accessories and curtains. Here it is best to choose one neutral tone: each color has such a very functional shade. It is usually located in the center of the palette of shades of the same color.
you should not make a purchase during the first visit to stores. It is better to take home samples of all the paints you like or, for a fee, a fan-shaped palette of paints produced by the manufacturer.
The selected neutral mini-palette (of 7 shades of the same color) contains two light shades, two dark shades and two shades of medium saturation. Shades of medium saturation are suitable for walls - of the two, designers recommend choosing the one that is darker. When applied to the walls, it will match the lighter version. If the color of the walls is saturated, then with a white ceiling it seems lower than in reality, and there is an illusion of a "stretched giant sheet" in the room. If the height of the walls is less than three meters or equal to three, then the paint for the ceiling should be two shades lighter than the "wall". If more than three meters, then you can paint the ceiling two tones darker than the walls. " different shades of the same color, applied to the walls and ceiling, will evenly reflect the color throughout the room, as a result, the space will visually expand,” says designer Ekaterina Antonova.
And another tip, having painted the walls, it is convenient and correct - to take the selected palette with paint samples with you on a shopping trip. It will help you navigate when buying furniture, curtains, carpets, etc.
As for the choice of curtains, they can be combined with wallpaper. They don’t have to repeat the pattern or copy the color of the walls, but the curtains still look the most harmonious, designed in the same color scheme that and wallpaper. To beige wallpaper all shades of beige, gold and yellow are suitable, blue - blue, turquoise - green, etc. To prevent walls and windows from merging with each other, it is worth experimenting with shades (one is more saturated, the other is calmer) and with a combination of patterns. If the wallpaper is plain, then it is better to choose curtains with a pattern, and vice versa. It is always difficult to find curtains whose pattern would be a repetition or a successful continuation of the colors of the wallpaper. In addition, there is a risk of turning the room into a motley mess of patterns, from which the eyes will suffer in the first place. The main thing here is not to overdo it.
A dark room- it's like Tolstoy's unhappy family - all bright rooms are equally good, each dark room is bad in its own way. If you got a room with a window facing north, with a window shaded by trees, with a small window, with a shaded balcony block, a long narrow room, an asymmetrical room - in general, if you got a dark room and need to make it lighter, then this article For you.
Here I will tell you how to make a dark room brighter in the daytime, with natural light, and I will not touch the electric light.
You don't have to use all the design techniques that I'll cover - choose the ones that suit you best and you like.
The first way to make a dark room brighter is the “white box”- white walls, white ceiling and white floor. In the photo on the right, you see a kitchen that is configured in such a way that only part of the space gets daylight, and the main part of the room is in the shade. The "white box" reflects more light.
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In the photo on the left, you see a room that may seem bright - no, it's just that when photographed, a window with daylight always seems dazzlingly bright because the rest of the room is shaded. In fact, this room is very dark, if it were not a white box, then it would receive almost no daylight, since the window is north and the room is asymmetrical. Due to the white color of the “box” (floor, walls, ceiling), it becomes much lighter.
The white ceiling in dark rooms has absolutely no alternative, the Russian consumer is gradually getting used to the white walls. But the white floor causes protest, because white is the most rarely used color for the floor in Russia.
But a dark room with a white floor becomes noticeably more lit, the difference is very noticeable. And besides, the "white box" is not only a way to reflect maximum daylight into the room. This is also a way to make a narrow room visually more spacious, especially if the furniture is also white, as in the photo above. Sounds terrible (all white), but it works!
The photo on the right is a very dark narrow room, which in any color other than white would be just a crypt. The white floor, ceiling and furniture make it brighter during the day and smarter in the evening when the electric light is on.
If a white floor is combined with white walls and white furniture, then the room becomes both lighter and visually more spacious. Then the lack of contrast and transition between background surfaces (floor, walls, ceiling) and furniture makes the space more homogeneous (the boundaries of the room seem to blur), and, in turn, because of this, the space seems wider.
The room in the photo on the left seems large and bright. In fact, it is small and not very well lit - there is one high narrow window and two very small ones, the total area of windows is small. But due to the white walls, floor and white furniture, a completely different impression is created.
Mentally paint the walls, floor, and furniture and you'll see the difference.
In dark apartments, they make white floors, white doors and white walls in all rooms. Everyone immediately thought about the soiling in the hallway and corridor. But modern materials(tiles, linoleum, veneer, washable wallpaper and resistant paint) are very easy to clean and do not lose their appearance for a long time. Yes, you need to wash more often. But it will be clean and bright
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Many people are afraid of the “white box” solution, and even more so the “white box with white furniture” solution, because it seems very sterile, boring and “hospital”. But avoiding “white silence” in the interior is easy - add bright accessories and medium-sized furniture. bright colors as in the photo on the left and below.
If you don't like bright colors, just use more details:
Dark rooms with low ceilings show a “white box” very much - among other things, such a design of the background surfaces still creates the feeling that it is easy to breathe in the room, this is very important in small spaces. To avoid boredom, use a variety of decor, from which white lace is especially shown - lace, carving, macramé, patterns on glass, etc.
In the photo on the right, you see the most beautiful headboard, which greatly decorates a small dark room (pay attention to the height of the ceiling) and at the same time does not absorb light at all. That is, the room remains white, it does not even use additional colors, but at the same time you definitely cannot call it boring.
So, the first way to maximize the daylight in a dark room is with a white box. If the room is small, then the furniture and part of the decor can also be made white. For decor, you can use a few bright accessories or accessories in soothing colors, but in large quantities.
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If this method is completely unacceptable for you, modify it: use the lightest colors that you can bear for background spaces, curtains and large furniture. Add white elements and accessories in rich colors to them, as in the photo on the right. This will help reflect the maximum amount of incoming daylight. Contrasting bright elements are needed to give the interior clarity, as in the photo below, but there should not be too many of them - literally two or three.
What colors are suitable for walls in dark rooms?
From cold: light blue, light green and mint, light turquoise, light light pink - these colors reflect a lot of light.
But light lilac, light blue and light gray are not recommended in dark rooms - with a lack of daylight, these colors acquire a dirty gray tint and look dreary.
The color turquoise, as in the photo below, is used so often in bathroom design for a reason - it reflects a lot of light and makes the whole design very light.
From warm colors dark rooms are suitable: milky white, cream, the lightest beige and ivory, light warm pink, very light pistachio, vanilla and all light yellow shades (they are especially indicated for northern rooms, since the yellow color of the walls partly compensates for the lack of sunlight) .
Peach, terracotta (they absorb a lot of light and in cloudy weather also get a dirty shade), olive and orange (they absorb a LOT of light) are not recommended. In the photo on the right, you can see how the bright orange color darkens the room.
In general, in dark rooms, experiments with bright background surfaces (floor, walls, ceiling) almost always fail - especially in the northern and eastern rooms. The photo below is an eloquent example. The top walls of the bathroom were painted with umber, a beautiful and rich color, and then they were repainted in blue. Feel the difference:
So, the second way to make a dark room lighter is “light + white + bright”: light walls and floor, snow-white ceiling, white elements (doors and at least a couple of pieces of furniture) plus a couple of bright accessories for contrast.
Third way somehow almost forgotten, I don't even have good illustrations. This is a horizontal combination of wallpaper according to the principle “bottom darker + top very light”. Approximately as in the photo on the right, only the colors do not have to be contrasting. But the furniture against the background of the lower part of the walls should, of course, be light.
This combination of wallpaper is well suited for dark rooms. The lower third of the walls are pasted over with darker wallpaper, the upper third with lighter ones, the joint is usually covered with molding or wooden platband- white or in the color of the floor or doors.
Now for some small tricks that will help you lighten up the interior.
Make some surfaces white glossy. If there is a built-in wardrobe in your room opposite the window, make the doors glossy and at least one of them mirrored. If there is no closet, but there is furniture on the side of the window, make it glossy white. In the photo on the left, you can see how well the white gloss reflects light.
A similar role can be played by a mirror placed in the same way - on the side or opposite the window. But do not abuse mirrors - contrary to popular belief, an excess of mirrors is not so positively perceived in the interior - read more about this here. In short, white gloss reflects only light, while a mirror reflects everything.
Use in a dark room pastel shades . The pastel contains a lot of white/whitish undertones and reflects daylight very well. Plus, all pastel colors are perfectly combined with each other and allow you to create very light, visually light, but not boring color combinations, as in the photo on the left or in the photo in the article at the link.
Pastel is especially indicated if the room is dark because the window is shaded by trees.
Hang only snow-white tulle and, if possible, white curtains .
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If it is possible to do without curtains at all, closing only the lower part of the window so that the room is not visible from the street, great.
For example, if your room is shaded by dense foliage of trees growing in the yard, as in the photo on the right, or opens onto a non-residential space from where no one can look into your room, you can simply close the lower half of the windows with a transparent film or muslin, or light white tulle - and thus win some more daylight. This method, of course, is not suitable for everyone.
Make the most of your window. In the photo on the right, you can see that dinner table placed in such a way that people do not receive daylight at all - there is nothing near the window, and the table is pushed into the most shaded place in the room. Consider arranging the furniture in your room so that you spend maximum time in its most lit place.
Wall decor is important in a dark room. Use paintings or posters in light, light colors. If you want more brightness, let them have bright colors too, but let the background and overall color be light and be sure that the top of the picture or poster is lighter than the bottom. Light flowers are very good: orchids, jasmine, white peonies, white lilacs, sakura, lilies, etc.
Well, if you use paintings or posters behind glass - glass reflects daylight, although its disadvantage is that then the picture becomes less visible:
Use light bedspreads in dark bedrooms especially if you use the bedroom during the day. Few people think about it, but a bedspread is a big object, and the larger your bed, the more important the bedspread plays in the overall color of the bedroom. Therefore, if your bedroom is dark, choose not only the curtains as light as possible, but also a bedspread. Light bedspreads are very beautiful, as you can see in the photo on the left. In general, bedspreads of the “light background + beautiful exquisite pattern” type are an excellent choice for any bedroom, but especially for a dark one.
Now a little about what is NOT suitable for dark rooms.
All dull, faded, muted colors are contraindicated in dark rooms..
Neither for furniture, nor for carpets, nor for curtains, nor for decor - do not use the colors in the photo on the right for anything. In bright yellow electric light, they can be quite ok, but in daylight, as you can see, they get such an unpleasant “worn out”, especially in cloudy weather. Nothing makes a dark room look as gloomy as these colors. Moreover, there are very beautiful muted shades of green, lilac, burgundy - no matter how sorry, but you simply will not see their beauty.
Grey colour not suitable for dark rooms. Gray color, even light shades, is in a very difficult relationship with daylight and especially with its lack. Gray during the day often takes on an unpleasant deathly hue, especially in rooms facing north and northeast. In the photo on the left you see an example - an elegant gray shade would be very beautiful if it was better lit, otherwise it became flat and cold. At the same time, pay attention to this photo, how well the light floor works as a reflector.
Mother-of-pearl wallpapers are not suitable for dark rooms. Many people confuse gloss and mother-of-pearl, or think that anything that glitters and reflects light is good for a dark room. This is not true. Gloss reflects light without distortion, while mother-of-pearl distorts and darkens it. Silk-screen printing and metallography are not suitable for dark rooms - they darken the walls even more. In the photo on the right, you can see how strongly the intaglio absorbs light - about two meters from the window, the wall is already completely dark. Imagine this wall just light, without mother-of-pearl, and you will understand the difference.
So, if you got a dark room - do not despair. Think carefully about its design and, in particular, the layout, discard dark and dull colors in favor of white, pastels and pure bright colors; ask in stores for samples of materials to look at them at home in daylight (or buy with a subsequent return if they don’t fit), approach the issue as meticulously as possible - and you will succeed.
Apr 3, 2017 Sergey
There are many ways to make a dark and sad room brighter. Small changes in lighting and color palette will transform any dark corner. Add bright colors of the facade of furniture and decorative elements to the lighting, and the room will not only become lighter, but also visually increase in volume. If funds allow, try expanding the windows and replacing the flooring, and get a cozy corner instead of a gloomy den. Learn more about how to brighten up a room different ways read the following tips.
Steps
Color and lighting - get creative
- If you don't like pure white, use a light yellow or cream shade.
- Even if the walls remain the same color, the white ceiling will make the room much lighter.
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Limit colorful accents. You may want to paint everything in your favorite color, but try to refrain from deep and rich tones. Let the main surfaces be light, and color accents are used only for individual decorative elements on the walls and ceiling. Remember that a saturated color will not reveal all its richness in a dark room, and the overall atmosphere will darken even more. If the design of the room cannot do without dark shades of blue, green or another saturated color, you can paint only one wall in one color, and use a lighter shade for the rest.
- Use a patterned stencil. Decorate the ceiling around the perimeter, so the room will be lighter and the color accents will match your favorite palette. Use your favorite color to spice up your ceiling with leaves, florals, geometric abstractions, or other patterns. You can use ready-made stencils or create your own pattern.
- You can paint with a more saturated color only ceiling plinth and door frames.
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Make the most of natural lighting. If access to natural light is limited, it is necessary to carefully treat every ray of the sun. If dark curtains block light, you can use the following methods:
- Hang light, airy curtains on the windows that can let in light. For example, cream curtains or tulle will provide a sense of comfort and privacy without blocking the sunlight from flooding the room.
- If you prefer blinds, do not use blank options. Plastic or wooden blinds completely block the access of light. Look for a fabric product made of light-colored fabric that can let light through.
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Replace the central overhead lighting with several lights around the perimeter. The harsh light of one chandelier further emphasizes the overall darkness of the room. Use soft sources of artificial light instead of hard lighting to make the room look as pleasant and natural as possible.
- Use track lighting. To fix track lights, not wiring is used, but a frame with an electrical conductor, which allows you to fix the light source anywhere. Thanks to track lighting, the room will become much brighter, and the atmosphere will remain soft.
- Place several floor lamps at strategic points. Use light-colored lampshades so that the whole room is saturated with soft light.
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Use diffused light. If it is impossible to install a lamp in a dark corner, install several spotlight lamps on the walls or ceiling, directing their rays in the right direction. Reflecting from the walls, soft diffused light will expel a gloomy atmosphere and gloomy shadows.
- Don't forget the candles. It is a noble and pleasant source of additional light, allowing you to create a warm and friendly atmosphere. Candles can be lit even without turning off the artificial lighting.
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Add functional lighting. If you often do a certain job, add some light to your work area. For example, you can separately illuminate the table top, sewing corner, library or piano.
Use brighter lamps. Replace your lamps with more powerful ones, such as compact fluorescent (CFL) lamps. Such lamps emit more light, and their energy consumption is less. If you simply use a higher wattage incandescent bulb, the overall atmosphere may remain dark.
- You can experiment with the color of the lighting. Daylight lamps differ in saturation. Depending on the power, they give light of different temperatures, and daylight can be cold or warm - closer to the yellow or blue part of the spectrum. The soft color of the low temperature lamp gives a warm, yellowish tint to the light.
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Sometimes it's better not to change anything. If you can't hide the overall shading, use that to your advantage. Drop the idea of brightening up the room, and try to create a cozy shaded corner. Use dark and thick colors to paint the walls, as well as massive interior elements in the style of an old-fashioned office. If you want to evoke a feeling of majestic atmosphere, steel and gray-blue shades are more often used for the interior.
Add gloss to furniture and decorative elements
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Evaluate all interior elements, including decorative details. Look at the wall paintings, the bookcase, and all the other objects in the room. Some details can overshadow the overall atmosphere. Perhaps the replacement of the black-and-white poster with something brighter will return vitality? Shelves crammed with books, the dark greenery of a greenhouse, a collection of dolls and other things can also bring dark notes to the overall atmosphere. If you really intend to make the room brighter, you need to be determined and say goodbye to old things, or rather, to their location in this room.
- Don't expose the entire library for display. Choose your top 10 favorite books and put them in the best light. Use art and bright design ideas to fill the empty space with something more cheerful.
- If you love plants, consider changing your range. Discard large plants with dark green leaves, replacing them with lighter representatives of the flora. A few succulent leaves or ferns make a beautiful accent, but an excess of greenery makes the room darker.
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Hang mirrors. The vacated space can become even lighter if you hang a few mirrors. They will reflect every ray of light that managed to get into your room. In this case, it is better to use light and airy mirrors with light frames, and the room will definitely become lighter.
- Another advantage of mirrors is the visual increase in the volume of the room.
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Replace dark furniture. Perhaps the feeling of darkness is caused by bookshelves that filled the walls from floor to ceiling? What about the dark mahogany pedestal on top of the TV? Do heavy canopies around a massive wooden bed burden the interior? Dark and massive furniture can overshadow even a bright room. If you need to add light, use light wood furniture.
- You don't have to buy new furniture. Think about whether it is possible to paint the usual elements of the interior with light paint?
- dark plating soft chairs and the sofa can be hidden by throwing a light coverlet on top.
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Hide all wires. Power cords are usually black, and letting them snake around the floor will make the room look darker (and messier). Hide appliance cords in the walls, or at least tie them together using Velcro tape. You can fix the reins near the plinth using construction tape or light-colored electrical winding. Such a tiny change can make a big difference appearance rooms.
Install wall shelving. By reducing the amount of furniture, you will make the room brighter. Try replacing the standard bookshelves and desk wall-mounted shelving. Use light colors and woods. Such shelves will get rid of heavy furniture, besides, they cast less shadow.
Major changes
- If there are boards on the floor, you can remove a layer of paint to reveal the color and texture of the wood. Another option is to repaint the boards in a lighter color, such as pearl grey.
- The concrete floor is durable and practical, while the dye of the desired color can be added to the solution. Polished concrete looks smooth and shiny.
- For the floor in the kitchen or in the bathroom, you can use light-colored tiles.
Lay a bright floor. Most fast way hide the dark floor - use a light carpet. But in the long run, it's better to invest in a complete floor replacement or repaint. If you are serious about brightening up your room, consider the following options:
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Install a glass door. Stained glass windows allow you to add more light to the room, and glass inserts are used for both internal and external doors. Even massive doors are perceived much easier if they are decorated with glass stained-glass windows. To further increase the flow of light, cut a window above the door. If replacing the doors isn't an option, try just painting them a lighter color.
Eliminate extra walls blocking light. See what objects or walls stand in the way of the light. Can they be removed? For example, there may be a small partition between a dark corridor and a living room. It can be removed (if it is not bearing wall, supporting the ceiling), and the room will become much lighter.
- Having decided to remove the wall, contact professional builders. Some houses even internal partitions have functional significance. It is also possible that the wall was built using asbestos or lead, and demolition work is hazardous to health.
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Cut through the big window. If you plan to live in this space for a long time, it is worth investing in window extensions. Such an ultimate solution will leave no room for darkness, and its implementation may be easier than you think. Check with a construction company. Only a specialist is able to determine the possibility of installing another window or expanding existing openings. In addition, builders will orient on the cost of materials and the amount of necessary work. At the same time, you can expand the doorway so that more light passes through the stained-glass windows.
- Modern models of fluorescent lamps are quite compact. They give a lot of light warm colors and consume half as much electricity as incandescent lamps of the same power.
- ! Light! Camera! Shooting! Make your room decor worthy of the best movie. The intriguing contrast of light and dark will create the impression of a special "chic" in the interior. Focused light focuses attention on individual elements, while the entire surrounding space seems brighter. Highlight some subjects with directional lighting. Use track or pendant type LED spotlights (LED MR16") with a beam angle of 10, 15, 25 or 60 degrees to correlate the beam width with the dimensions of the illuminated interior element. As a rule, the light source is installed at a distance of 2.5-3 m from Set the angle of the luminaire and the required lens.It is not necessary to illuminate the entire object, sometimes it is enough to highlight only the main details.
- Don't banish darkness completely. Reading, sewing and other activities require good lighting, but semi-darkness is sometimes helpful. For example, for a romantic mood, a few candles or accented lamps are enough.
- Wash your windows! Get rid of dust, and more light will enter the room.
- When planning the placement of lights, think about how you will use the room and where shadows (including your shadow) will fall. Use a portable lamp to experimentally determine the best place for placement of stationary lamps.
Paint the ceiling white. Wood of dark breeds and dark ceiling paint darkens the atmosphere. Buy 1-2 cans of white paint and apply it over the old finish. White color does not absorb, but reflects light, so you will immediately feel the difference.
Each room in an apartment or house, with the exception of a bathroom and wardrobe rooms, has at least one window. Insolation is one of the key factors in the microclimate of the apartment and is provided not only for the sake of beauty, but also taking into account the requirements of sanitary standards.
Rule 4: Choose the right lighting
Paradoxically, it is not advisable to use fluorescent lamps in lighting closed rooms, says Olga Kondratova. The fact is that they emit light that is too harsh for the eyes, which does not add home environment comfort.
Rule 5: Lighting Zoning
With a lack of light, it is better to organize several lighting scenarios: basic, additional and decorative. Chandelier on the ceiling, sconces on the walls and a floor lamp - with such a set, even in the darkest room it will be comfortable and cozy.
Rule 6: Light wall finishes and bright accents
For background wall decoration and furnishing of windowless rooms, the designer advises using white, as well as light shades of ivory and cream.
Bright colors will be appropriate in textiles and accessories. Well suited yellow, olive, blue and turquoise colors: they will fill the space with freshness and energy.
Rule 7: No need for aggressive tones
But the designer does not recommend using black and orange colors in closed rooms: they absorb light, which is already in short supply.
Rule 8: Hanging Mirrors
To visually expand the space, mirrors will come to the rescue. The room will seem larger if one of the walls or the ceiling is decorated with a mirror with a facet or sandblasted pattern.
Rule 9: Window Simulation
To simulate a window, in the absence of a real one, a stained-glass window with illumination is capable. And if you arrange it on the ceiling, you get the effect of a second light.