Most homes have at least one room that doesn’t receive enough natural light. For homes in North America, rooms on the north side are typically the darkest since the sun never passes on that side of the house. Check out these tips for brightening a dark north-facing room.
Well-Placed Mirrors
Mirrors are a fantastic way to get the most out of your light sources. A mirror opposite a window can help reflect more light into the room, making it seem larger and brighter. Even if your north-facing room doesn’t have any natural light, you can still use mirrors to reflect lamps and other light sources for a similar effect.
Decorate With Silver
If you have a bunch of antique silver dishes, consider moving them into your darkest room. Like mirrors, they will reflect light and help expand it visually. If you don’t own any silver, you can find some at an antique store to use in your decorating.
Add More Light Sources
If reflecting light isn’t doing the trick, you might want to install additional lighting. Older homes often have outdated light fixtures that don’t provide as much light as modern ones. If renovating your north-facing room’s lighting sounds like too much work, you can try replacing the bulbs with brighter ones first.
If you try replacing your bulbs, be careful about changing the overall warmth or coolness of the room’s color. Light can affect your paint job by making it look like you have a different color on your walls.
Knock Out an Interior Wall
This tip for brightening your dark north-facing room is by far the most drastic, but it might be the best solution for your home. Some homes, especially those built in earlier architectural periods, have rooms that are closed off from each other. Today, many people prefer open floor plans that allow a lot of natural light.
You can achieve a more open floor plan by knocking out unnecessary walls that divide up your home and block light. You can also change full walls into half walls.
Don’t settle for a dark room on the north side of your house. Even if you can’t change the direction it faces, there are plenty of actions you can take to make it brighter.
