5 Home Improvement Ideas to Brighten Up Your Home

Looking for home improvement ideas?

Most homeowners with an eye to sprucing things up often forget one important question: how bright is your home? A well-lit space makes all the difference when it comes to creating a cheerful and beautiful home. And brightness is not just about changing the kind of light bulbs you use — you need to look at the big picture.

Here are a few ways to shed a little light on the subject.

1. Take a walk outside. Overgrown trees or shrubs near your windows could be blocking some of the natural sunlight trying to illuminate your favorite rooms. Take a walk around your house and notice where you could do some pruning to clear foliage. The results can be quite dramatic.

2. Refresh the walls and ceilings. A fresh coat of paint in a lighter, brighter hue makes a huge difference when it comes to reflecting both the natural and the artificial lighting in any room. This is also an inexpensive DIY fix that can make a tremendous impact on the look of any room.

3. Add a mirror. The more shiny surfaces you can add to your home, the lighter it will appear. Spruce up the walls by hanging a large mirror. This easy fix is so simple and cheap, anyone can do it. The mirror will not only bounce light across the room, but also adds depth that breaks up claustrophobic wall planes. Try adding mirrors opposite from your windows to reflect light (both natural and artificial) all around the room. This can make even the smallest room seem large and a dark space instantly brighter.

4. Brighten up your flooring. Do your dingy old carpets or dark-colored floors seem to suck up all the light, making your rooms appear less welcoming? Consider installing new flooring. Recent trends in flooring include natural-looking surfaces that may appear to be wood or stone, but are actually easy to clean and maintain. Flooring installation can be a fairly easy DIY project once you’ve cleared the furniture out of the room. The latest flooring options also feature many lighter and brighter tones which can really lift the mood, even in your darkest rooms.

5. Evaluate your lighting. Assess the lighting in each room, with an eye toward improvement. There are many lighting options available, but there’s no denying that the best light is natural light. Sunlight causes your brain to produce serotonin, so you feel more energized, happier and less stressed. More advanced and less pricey than traditional skylights, Tubular Daylighting Devices (TDDs) are the modern way to let the light in. With our Solatube TDDs, captured light moves through tubing made of highly reflective material, maintaining brightness even around corners. Gorgeous, diffused natural light is delivered through stylish fixtures for maximum visual comfort and aesthetics, with options for brightening, dimming and even intelligent nighttime lighting. Transforming your space with a daylighting system only takes two hours and requires no structural changes to your home.

With some careful strategizing and a few DIY fixes, you can transform the darkest corners of your home into much brighter, more cheerful and welcoming spaces. Take the time to evaluate each room and design solutions that will bring more sunshine into your life.