Moving into a new space can be exciting — now you can finally organize your clothes the way you want, purge unused kitchen appliances and maybe even splurge on a new area rug for your living room! While it’s exciting to be in a new space, the excitement can wear off when you realize space isn’t as big or as bright with all of your things moved in. Your living room is too dark and your master bedroom is nowhere near as large as it was in the pictures!
So, what can you do?
Whether your space feels too small or too dark (or both!), we have a few simple tried-and-true DIY home projects you can do to help make your home feel brighter and more spacious! You don’t have to settle for a dark, dingy and cramped space — just a couple easy adjustments will transform your dark, small space into a bright and airy home! Though there isn’t much you can do about the square footage (unless, of course, you tackle home renovation projects), there are a few DIY home projects that you can do to create a brighter and more spacious home without breaking the bank!
#1 Use Mirrors
Not sure how to brighten a dark room? Adding mirrors is one of the simplest DIY home projects you can do! While this seems like a simple idea — one that’s been suggested a fair number of times — it really does work! When you add mirrors to your home decor, you contribute to the amount of light that is reflected in your home, adding depth and dimension to your space. The more mirrors you have, the more light is reflected. However, be careful with this tip: try not to place mirrors directly across from one another, as this can make your space feel confusing.
So, where should you place your mirrors?
To add depth and expand a room, place mirrors across from windows or glass doors facing the outside. This will allow more light to be reflected around the house. Large, stand-alone mirrors are best to amplify the light in a space and make a room feel more spacious. However, if you’re looking for how to make a living room look bigger and brighter without breaking the bank, then consider a collection of smaller mirrors hung up in gallery design. However, you choose to display mirrors, keep in mind that they are one of the easiest DIY home projects for how to lighten a dark room!
#2 Strategic Furniture Arrangement
Need home improvement ideas to amplify your home’s natural light? Organizing your furniture is one of the simplest DIY home projects you could do and it doesn’t require any extra purchasing! Sometimes, all you need to do is organize the furniture in your home in a way that amplifies the natural light, rather than hinders its flow.
How do you do this?
First, check and see if your furniture is in the way of natural light coming in through your windows. Place your furniture between windows, rather than directly in front of them. Next, for how to brighten a dark room, follow these simple steps:
1) Consider the function of the space. Knowing the purpose of the room and approximately how many people will be using it regularly will help you prioritize which furniture pieces will be used.
2) Prioritize the largest furniture pieces first. Begin organizing your room by placing your couches and beds in first. Let the smaller items fill out space. Be cognizant of whether the room begins to feel cluttered — if it does, take out the smaller furniture pieces until the room functions better.
3) Find a focal point. Television sets, mirrors, and fireplaces are all common focal points for family rooms, living rooms, and master bedrooms. When you have a focal point to center the room, there will be a natural flow to your furniture layout. Place your focal point adjacent to windows.
If you follow these three simple pointers when organizing your furniture, your home will feel bigger and brighter in no time!
#3 Declutter Your Home
Not sure how to lighten a dark room with no natural light? If you’re trying to determine how to make a small home look bigger, consider decluttering your home as one of the DIY home projects you can do! Go around the room and touch each home decor item: is this necessary? What is its purpose in this room? Is there a better place for it in a less cluttered room?
As mentioned in tip #2 strategic furniture arrangement, you can take out smaller items of furniture until the room begins to look and feel more airy and spacious. With fewer objects in the room, your living room will look and feel bigger and brighter! In smaller rooms, opt against adding lots of home decor items; instead, save the bulk of your home accessories for larger rooms with more natural light.
In general, place all excess and unnecessary items in storage (tip #7!) and out of sight. If you’re struggling with how to make a small home look bigger, consider how much space you have and how much space your home decor items take up, and organize the room accordingly.
#4 Light Color Palette
Looking for DIY home projects for home improvements? Want to know how to make a living room look bigger and brighter? Not sure of paint colors to make a room look bigger?
Go with light colors!
One of the simplest DIY home projects you can do to make your space feel brighter and larger is to paint your walls a light color! Additionally, incorporate furniture in light tones and lighten up your floor color!
Why does this help?
When you choose light and airy colors for your DIY home projects, you are contributing to increased openness in your home. When you keep all of your furniture, home decor, floor color and wall color close to the same light, monochromatic color, you create a space that feels brighter and more spacious. Opt for white tile flooring, a cream wall color and off-white fabrics for your couch or bedding.
(Pro Tip: In addition to choosing lighter colors for your walls and fabrics, also consider the materials you choose for your furniture. For instance, opt for cotton, linen, and lace — rather than fur, velvet or wool — which draw less attention to themselves and help to make a room feel bigger and brighter.)
#5 Trim Foliage
Looking for DIY home projects to make your home feel brighter and more spacious?
You’re in luck!
One of the all-time best DIY home projects you can do to increase the brightness inside your home is to cut back on the foliage outside your home! While it might feel nice to live in a green jungle, you will be surprised by how much more natural light your home receives when you cut back on the external foliage.
First things first: look out your window.
What do you see?
Lots of plants, weeds, shrubs or even trees?
Take a weekend to trim back the external foliage so that they are not blocking light from entering your windows at any time of day. If you’re not sure how to brighten a dark room, consider first DIY home projects such as this.
(Pro Tip: When you change up your exterior landscaping before you begin planting, consider how the plants will look when they are fully grown: will they block your windows? How much maintenance will you have to do to ensure your external plants don’t interfere with your internal light?)
#6 Shiny & Metallic Decor
This is one of those DIY home projects that is a little less obvious: if you’re not sure how to brighten a dark room, go for metallic or shiny home decor items! Adding shimmery material or metallic home decor items is a simple, but effective way to transform a dark space into a brighter and more luxurious room.
How does this work?
Shimmery, metallic and shiny materials work similarly to mirrors: the semi-reflective surfaces contribute to a higher amount of light reflected in the room, which makes the overall space appear brighter and more spacious than before.
#7 Built-ins & Storage
Going hand in hand with tip #3 declutter your home, this is one of the best DIY home projects you can do to lighten and brighten your home! Unfortunately, this might be the most expensive of the DIY home projects listed, but it is well worth it! If you already have built-ins, that is an added bonus to help you create a brighter and more spacious home.
Include bookshelves or built-ins that allow you to store all of your home decor items in a neat and orderly fashion. When everything is organized and stored, your home will look and feel brighter and more spacious!
Additionally, consider purchasing furniture items that do double-duty: an ottoman that doubles as a storage container for your extra couch blankets or cushions will help you save space!
(Pro Tip: Don’t overcrowd your viewable storage space or built-ins. Leave some empty space on your built-in shelves, if you can. When you overcrowd your viewable storage space, the room will look and feel cluttered, as though your home is starved for storage space!)
And there you have it!
All the best and simplest DIY home projects to make your home feel brighter and more spacious.
This post was written by Kara Roberts, blogger and content writer for Canvas Vows. We specialize in creating custom made canvas prints and have been featured in a number of publications, including Brides. For more interior design tips, gift ideas, anniversary celebrations, and personalized canvas creations check out our blog!