There are many reasons to want your home to be well lit. A well-lit home is alluring, functional, homey, and even gives its living spaces a brighter and cheerier atmosphere to boot So, for those whose homes are not lit to their satisfaction, increasing the amount of light a particular room has can be a pretty high priority. However, not everyone can just call up and electrician and have them wire up a brand new ceiling light, so we need to think more creatively. How can we brighten up our rooms without wiring up new fixtures? Well, today, that is what we are going to show you— here are 5 tips to maximize your home’s lighting without wiring up new lights
Tip 1: Buy brighter Bulbs
The bulbs you use in your home have a lot of sway in the amount of light you have in your home. Believe it or not, there are some bulbs that are downright dingy when it comes to lighting a room. So, take a moment to head down to the hardware store and talk with the great people that work there to find out what light bulbs will be the brightest and work the best in your home. There are thousands upon thousands of different light bulbs to choose from nowadays so you will almost always be able to find something that will work for you.
The great thing about buying new lightbulbs is the fact that most of them are a lot more efficient than they used to be and will last a whole lot longer too. This combination of longevity and efficiency make them better for your wallet and the planet. The may be a bit more expensive at first, but they will be worth it.
Another cool feature of buying new lightbulbs is that you can invest in some remotely controllable light bulbs. These things are pretty cool. They are connected to the WIFI so you can control them with your smartphone or mobile device making the control of your home’s lighting much more convenient.
Tip 2: Hang mirrors
After buying lightbulbs, the best thing you can do to make the room lighter is to hang mirrors. This is because they will help to extend the amount of light you already have. This works because the light bounces off the mirror instead of simply being dispersed and diffused by a wall. There won’t be any more light in your room, but it will spread the existing light out more to give it more reach.
One of the great things about this kind of lighting tactic is the fact that mirrors are actually fairly inexpensive, depending on where you buy them. You can find some online, at department stores, and even at dollar and thrift stores so there is quite a variety out there to choose from. Even if you find a mirror whose size would work, you can always build a new frame for it to match the existing décor in your home— or at the very least spray paint the existing one to match color schemes.
Once you buy your mirror you will want to place it on a wall that is opposite your windows or in direct line of sight from another light source. Then you will want to give them a slight tilt up or down. This will redirect the light to other parts of the room giving you more coverage with your existing light.
Tip 3: Paint your walls with light colored paint
One other option you have to brighten up your room is to repaint it. However, you can’t just repaint it any old color, you have to paint it a brighter or more opaque color than before. The colors that seem to work the best are eggshell, cream, white, yellows, and other opaque colors.
These lighter colors will brighten your room because they reflect more light than a darker color would. Now there isn’t enough time for us to get into the science behind it so let’s go with they are more reflective than darker colors. This is, in essence, making your walls a large and non-shiny mirror, spreading the light around in all directions.
This is an awesome weekend project for those who love DIY activities. Not to mention it is pretty inexpensive since you won’t need to pay for labor (if you do it yourself). We recommend that you talk to the people in the paint department of your local hardware store to see what they suggest for your home and budget.
Tip 4: Hang thin Curtains
In some cases, a room is dark because of the curtains or blinds that the homeowner has hung. While curtains, blinds, and other window coverings provide a nice amount of privacy, they also block natural light from brightening up your home. So, what are you supposed to do? Well, we suggest that you buy a set of thin curtains. They can be lace or just thin and opaque, it doesn’t matter. They will both do the trick. These kinds of curtains will help to give you privacy while still letting in a good amount of light.
If you still want the option to have complete privacy on some occasions you can always install some black-out curtains as well. These are really good for those who can’t have any light in their room when they try to sleep or when they just want to ensure no prying eyes are watching.
Curtains can be an inexpensive option when it comes to brightening up your room so don’t immediately dismiss it. While a lot of curtains can cost quite a bit of money, you can easily find some inexpensive ones here and there.
Now, there are obviously more ways to improve the lighting in your home, but these will definitely get you started. Stay tuned for more ways to better your home and if you want to learn more about houses in the Boise area, just give us a call. Our licensed real estate agents would be glad to field your questions. So, call today
