How to Brighten Up Your Home

Moving into the colder months means cozy seasonal drinks, warm sweaters and less natural light. Less sunshine and earlier sunsets mean our homes can easily feel a little dark and gloomy. These 10 dark-room solutions offer easy ways to brighten a dark room through decorative changes.

Bright and colourful living room with a mirror over the fireplace

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Add Mirrors to Reflect Light

Adding mirrors to your space is a classic decor trick, and with good reason. Not only does a mirror make a small space feel bigger and airier, a strategically placed mirror can make a space feel brighter, too. Hanging a mirror near a window can reflect light back into your room, making the most of the natural light in your space.

Cozy living room with light coloured wood table and cream bench

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Light Furniture Opens up a Space

Choosing furniture in lighter colours can help keep your space bright and airy. For this Good Bones reno, Karen E. Laine and Mina Starsiak Hawk make a small dining room bright and cozy with cream-coloured seating and a light-wood dining table.

Cozy bedroom with dark walls and dark hardwood is brightened up with a light area rug.

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A Light Area Rug Reflects Light

Dark hardwood flooring is a sleek and classic look, but can make a space look darker in the cooler months. Adding a light-coloured area rug can make a space feel brighter, like in this chic Masters of Flip craftsman reno from Kortney and Dave Wilson. Swapping area rugs with the seasons – light colours for fall and winter, bright or dark colours for spring and summer – is a great way to keep your decor bright and fresh.

A living room with white walls, a beige couch, hexagonal shelves on the wall, and a fiddle leaf fig plant

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White Walls Aren’t Boring

White walls are a surefire way to brighten up your home, and they don’t have to be boring or sterile. Create interest with a bold gallery wall, chic geometric shelves or a mix indoor plants.

A bright front entrance with a blue and white geometric wallpaper.

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Colourful Wallpaper Brightens up a Small Space

If bold patterns and bright colours are more your speed, colourful wallpaper can help brighten a small or dark space. Try a geometric-print wallpaper with white negative space, like this cheerful blue wallpaper that Jonathan and Drew Scott used in this Property Brothers foyer.

A living room with a large window and numerous large house plants and trees, including fiddle leaf figs and palms.

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Leafy Green Plants for More Light

Plants

can add light and life to a space. To make your home into a light-filled urban jungle, choose plants with large shiny leaves – think fiddle-leaf figs and monstera deliciosas.

A small palm plant in a white patterned pot sits on a table beside a dog.

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Swap Dark Plant Pots for Light Ones

While we’re on the topic of indoor plants and greenery, the plant pots you choose can also add light and interest to your home. Swap out dark plant pots for light or brightly coloured ones. Leave your plant in its plastic nursery pot for optimal drainage, and place that pot in your stylish ceramic pot of choice.

A kids’ bedroom with mint green walls and pale blue furniture.

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Opt for a Pastel Colour Palette

If you love a bright and colourful space and are looking for bedroom colour ideas, you can keep your home light and airy with a pastel colour palette. For this kids’ bedroom featured on Sarah Off the Grid, Sarah Richardson’s mint-green and pale-blue paint and furniture choices keep things playful and bright.

Colourful living room with triangular coffeetable, beige walls, and modern floor lamp.

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Floor Lamps and Sconces Add More Light

This may seem self-evident, but additional lighting is a great way to brighten a dark space. A modern floor lamp, like in this colourful Save My Reno living room from Sebastian Clovis and Sabrina Smelko, adds style and light. Sconces – either the wired or battery-operated variety – are another great way to bring extra light to dark corners of your home.

A cozy bedroom with sheer curtains on a window.

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Sheer Curtains Maximize The Light You Have

Dark, heavy curtains can further darken a space and make it look smaller. Capitalize on the natural light you have in your space with some sheer curtains, which let in more light and create a bright and airy feel.