How to brighten a dark room: enlightening tips

Daylight is the best source of light for any room. Natural light doesn't just brighten your room; it adds atmosphere and impacts your mood and well-being¹.

So, the first step, when it comes to lightening a dark room, is to maximise the flow of natural light coming in. The best way to achieve this is through windows and glazed doors. You can either work with what you have or install new windows and doors, perhaps with a larger glazed area to bring in more light.

Windows and glazed doors to the outside are the primary source of natural light in most rooms. If your existing windows are small or poorly positioned, however, they will not illuminate your room as much as they could.

If the structure of your home and planning and building regulations will allow, think about replacing your windows with larger panes. If the room is on the ground floor and looks over your garden, you could even consider swapping your windows for patio or bi-folding doors, which will flood your room with light and bring the outside in.

If your room is directly below a roof, roof windows are a fantastic option. They capture light directly from the sky and often bring in more light than traditional, facade windows.

VELUX side-by-side roof windows and 3in1 roof windows will fill your room with sunlight from dawn and moonlight from dusk and make your space feel much larger and brighter.

Maximising the light coming in from your windows is another way to bring more natural light into a dark room. You can do this by fixing your blind a bit higher above the window, so that the blind doesn’t overhang the window as much when it’s folded up. If you have curtains, opt for a wider curtain pole, so that your curtains overhang the walls on either side of your window and don’t cover much of the window itself when they are pulled back.

If you want to screen your windows from prying eyes during the day, go for sheer or lace curtains or window shutters that will let in light and obscure the view in. Venetian blinds, which can be adjusted according to the angle of the sun, are another excellent choice for controlling the intensity of light without blocking it out.

Finally, if you plan to install roof windows, think about which accessories you want to add to have better control of the natural light entering your room. All of these are easy to install:

• External Anti-heat blackout shutters - Ideal for bedrooms as they block out light and help to keep your room cool in summer and warm winter.
• External Anti-heat blackout blinds- Particularly effective for loft rooms, these block out all light when required and help to reflect the heat of the sun. They operate using solar energy.
• External anti-heat blinds - Great for living areas and home offices, where you don’t want to block out daylight entirely, these blinds let in light and help to screen your room from the heat of the sun.

When daylight is limited or even completely absent, carefully placed artificial lighting can turn a dark and dingy room into a bright and beautiful one.

Artificial light can really help to brighten a dark room, but if you don’t position your lights correctly, you could create too much glare in your room or create jarring patches of dark and light. Here’s how to layer lighting types for a natural, balanced effect.

1. Start with ambient lighting

Mood lighting is the foundation of any well-lit room; it’s used to create a welcoming atmosphere.

A central ceiling light that softly diffuses light across your room is a good place to start. Go for a chandelier with several LED bulbs or a simple pendant light.

If your ceiling is low or you want to avoid shadows, opt for recessed lighting or strips of LED lighting.

If possible, install a dimmer switch so that you can adjust the brightness of your lighting to suit your mood. You can dim the lighting over the table for an intimate dinner, for example, and put it on full beam when you’re working.

2. Add task lighting where it’s needed

Identify the areas of your room that could benefit from additional lighting. Place a table lamp on your desk where you work and a floor light alongside an armchair where you like to sit and read, for example.

In a dark kitchen, LED strip lighting under the wall units will help to brighten up your worktops.

In the bathroom, a wall light above your mirror can provide just the right amount of light for applying makeup.

3. Light up a dark room with accent lighting

Use accent lighting to add depth and highlight key features in your room. Showcase artwork with adjustable frame lights. Place strings of fairy lights along shelves for a touch of sparkle.

Run colour-changing LED strips along the line where your walls meet the ceiling, this adds a particularly fun vibe to teenage bedrooms and games rooms.

The type of light bulbs you opt for is also important when you want to optimise the light in a dark room.

• Around 2,700–3,000 K for warm light
• Up to 5,000 K for a cooler, more energising light

LED bulbs are particularly good for energy efficiency and have a long lifespan.

With some LED lights you can change the intensity and colour of the light from an app, so you can instantly change the atmosphere in your room to suit your needs.

The colours you choose to decorate and furnish your room with affect how bright it feels.

To brighten a dark space, opt for shades that reflect light, rather than absorb it and go for contrasting colours to add depth and energy to your room.

When it comes to lighting up a dark room, light colours are your best friends. White, cream, soft grey and pastel shades reflect light and help to push your walls out, making your room feel brighter and bigger.

So that your room doesn’t feel too clinical, opt for off whites, rather than pure white.

If you want to add a pop of colour, choose soft tones, like baby blue or mint green, which will make your room feel fresh.

You can add character, without compromising the brightness of your room, by creating a feature wall painted in a bright colour or covered in a bold patterned wallpaper.

Accessories can play a key role in brightening a dark room.

Accessories made of reflective materials, such as glass, chrome or lacquer, and glossy materials, like satin and silk, are also great for spreading light around your room.

The furniture you choose for your room and how you position it, also impacts the flow of light into your space.

A well-organised room with appropriately sized furniture, will maximise the flow of light coming into the room and create a more inviting atmosphere.

When selecting furniture for a dark room, choose pieces that add lightness through both their colour and structure.

Light-coloured furniture and pieces made from glass or with glossy finishes will reflect light instead of absorbing it. All these little touches come together to make your room a little brighter.

Avoid dark or heavy furniture that can weigh down your space and reduce the feeling of brightness. A dining table supported by a slim pedestal, for instance, will block much less light than a table with four chunky legs.

Clean-lined, elevated furniture, such as sofas on legs, allow light to flow more freely into the room and create an open, airy feeling.

The arrangement of your furniture must allow light to circulate freely. Position furniture carefully, ensuring that it does not block sources of natural light. Choose a low-backed sofa, for example, that can be placed in front of a window without obstructing it.

If your room is particularly small, only go for furniture that has a practical use and is not purely decorative, such as a console table. Go for a minimalist layout that maximises open space.

Try to keep your room clutter free too to keep it clearer and brighter. Multifunctional furniture, such as a sofa with internal storage, will help with this.

Mirrors and reflective surfaces allow you to multiply light sources by reflecting them around your room, making it feel instantly brighter. Anything with a glossy finish will capture and diffuse light,

Glass, acrylic or crystal vases, ornaments or photo frames are perfect for adding light to a dark room.

To get the best effect with mirrors, position them facing a light source, such as a window, to bring more daylight in or an artificial light to double the light from the bulb. Even a small window or lamp can appear larger and brighter with this trick.

In a bedroom or bathroom, place a full-length mirror in a corner to help light up its two meeting walls.

You can also play with multiple mirrors in different shapes and sizes to create interesting light effects and add decorative flair.

Finally, once you have successfully lit your dark room, it’s important to maintain that brightness.

Regularly clean windows, mirrors and light fixtures to maximise the penetration and diffusion of light in your room.