Here are 8 home decor tricks to brighten a dark room. The initial three suggestions involve adding colors to it. The first thing anyone wanting a brighter room should do is to paint their ceiling and walls white. This will reflect light around the room, since white doesn’t absorb any light, and it works much better than using mirrors. You can even enhance the effect by using white curtains, furniture and decor. A second means of lightening up a room is to neutralize the yellowed hues of interior lighting with blue decor. Add crisp blue items and art, reminiscent of the tropical ocean and noontime sky, to make your white walls more distinct. Although seemingly contradictory, you can further enhance the radiance of a space by contrasting its whiteness with black elements. Place skinny black picture frames, black chairs or other dark fixtures in the room to draw attention to the all-encompassing whiteness of it.

The next two pieces of advice involve lighting. A fourth thing you could try is lighting up walls and ceilings. Put lights near walls and add sconces to direct light either up or down walls. You can lighten up wall sections under cabinetry, reducing large shadows, by installing LED or tap lights. You can brighten up your ceiling by installing lighting that hangs down a bit, thereby allowing light to spread further across your ceiling. Bright artwork can also be utilized to enliven a room with its radiance. The hourglass-shaped light emanating from traditional shaded table lamps works well in illuminating an entire wall, from top to bottom. Another bit of lighting advice is to update your light bulbs to more modern types, like “true white” bulbs or others imitating daylight. These will brighten your room considerably more than traditional incandescent “yellow light” bulbs.

Two other suggestions involve your use of furnishings and decorations. Light-colored area rugs can be used to break up the darkness of dark hardwood floors and other such flooring. You can utilize more cream-colored rugs to both mask dirt and brighten up rooms. Incorporate oak and other light-colored wood furnishings to make your space reflect even more light. Add in some natural life, in the form of light green plants with pastel-colored flowers, to make a room burst with even more life.

Last, but not least, don’t go overboard with your brightening efforts. The human eye enjoys variety and the variation between light and shadow. Don’t transform your living area into an overly bright clinic/corporate office-type space. Remember, you will be living there and want to make your area bright, but comfortable. If you use the right colors, effectively utilize your lighting resources, incorporate appropriate furnishings and don’t overdo it, this is quite possible. With all that said, we are sure these suggestions will help you create a brighter, more cozy living space.