And other interior design dilemmas and found a particularly well illuminating passage on decorating a.
Best wallpaper to brighten a dark room.
Instead white sends as much light as possible bouncing indirectly back to other surfaces.
After all what makes a room look brighter and lighter more than stark white walls contrary to popular belief the best paint color for low light rooms is not actually white.
Your paint colors should reflect as much available light as possible.
Brightening up a dark space is a common challenge when designing a room.
Light blue walls will help showcase any artificial lighting that you have in your usually dark space as lighter colors absorb less light than dark colors.
Here are a few simple tips for decorating a small room with color.
Gold or silver ornaments or paintings work really well as does mirrored living room furniture giving light more surfaces to reflect off means that those once shadowy parts of the room are less noticeable and the room as a whole will feel lighter and warmer.
But there s another unsung and equally reflective design hero that deserves some credit.
Common sense would suggest that the best color to paint a room with little natural light would be white.
The best way to control this factor other than replacing your floors is to put down a light area rug.
In a dark room the wall color that you choose makes a big difference in how bright the room feels.
But that s actually a bit of a design myth.
Ok so we all know the age old trick of using mirrors to make a room feel bigger and brighter.
The best way to scatter light is by using lots of white because the non hue doesn t absorb any color.
Using bright reflective accessories or furniture to a room is a great way to brighten up the space.
It does not have to be a solid color but if you opt for a patterned rug make sure the overall color scheme is light and bright.
Stay away from dark or rich tones that only accentuate the lack of natural light.
The right lighting is essential in a small room to brighten up the dark corners.
In fact there are foolproof tricks that the pros use to add light through design details.
We recently stumbled upon a copy of joanna thornhill s brilliant new book my bedroom is an office.
When trying to brighten a dark space many people look to mirrors to reflect light around a room.
A dark ceiling can loom above a room and make it feel small.
A dark floor can make a room feel heavy.
Heavy wooden beams can darken a room.
However a light floor can brighten it.
Yes you might be tired of white but it can easily boost the brightness of any room.
To immediately brighten the space give the ceiling a fresh coat of white paint.