We moved into our current place about a year ago, and honestly, I love it. But there's one thing that's been bugging me since day one...the living room always feels kinda gloomy. It has windows, but they're oddly placed and not very big, so the natural light just doesn't seem to get in properly. I've tried rearranging furniture, hanging mirrors opposite the windows (someone told me that helps bounce the light around?), and even swapped out heavy curtains for sheer ones. It helped a bit, but still feels dimmer than I'd like.
I visited a friend's house recently and their place felt so bright and airy, even though they don't have huge windows either. They mentioned something about painting walls lighter colors or trimming back bushes outside to let more sun in. I'm thinking of trying those next.
Has anyone else dealt with rooms that just refuse to brighten up? Any clever tricks or simple fixes you've stumbled upon? I'm open to pretty much anything at this point...
"They mentioned something about painting walls lighter colors or trimming back bushes outside to let more sun in."
Painting definitely helped in our place—went from a medium beige to a soft off-white, and it made a surprising difference. Have you considered changing your bulbs too? Warmer LEDs can mimic daylight pretty well...
We tried the lighter paint thing too, and honestly, it didn't do much for us. Ended up swapping out heavy curtains for sheer ones instead, and that made a bigger difference. Guess it depends on your windows and layout though...
We had a similar issue in our living room—tried the sheer curtains too, and they helped a bit, but honestly, the biggest difference came from adding mirrors opposite the windows. Sounds kinda basic, I know, but it genuinely bounced the light around way more than I expected. We found a couple of cheap vintage mirrors at a thrift store and hung them strategically across from our main window. Suddenly the whole room felt brighter and bigger. Might not work for every layout, but if you've got wall space opposite your windows, it's worth giving it a shot...
Tried mirrors myself, but honestly didn't notice much difference. Painting the walls a lighter shade did help a bit though—nothing dramatic, but it's less cave-like now. Might be worth considering if you're up for painting.