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Brighten Your Home - 5 Interior Design Ideas

Your home is dark. Furniture is either dark leather, suede, or other dark upholstered fabric, with dark wood or metal bases. Your window treatments are heavy, dense fabric that allows little, if any, light to shine through. Your carpets are a dark color, of, if your floor is hardwood, it is stained in a dark color, or the wood was naturally dark to begin with.

But, what can you do?

If for some reason, you cannot (or do not want to) replace your existing dark furniture, window treatments, and flooring, but know that you have got to do SOMETHING to brighten your home, you still have some options besides art. And, you may be surprised to learn that the changes you make may seem very small, but will make a whole lot of difference.

If your window treatments (curtains, drapes, sheers, blinds, and/or whatever) must serve the dual purpose of keeping your home warmer during the winter, and taking them down during the summer and putting them back up during the winter is just too much of a hassle, you can still lighten up your windows. Interior design can be very inexpensive. Check to see if there are shades or other window coverings that are a lighter color, but still retain their heat-absorbing properties. If so, replacing just one window covering will help brighten your home considerably.

If you cant (or dont want to) re-upholster your furniture, then simply buy some light-colored throw pillows, blankets (lightweight material, of course), or slipcovers to set on the couches and chairs. The light-on-dark effect will make a nice contrast, which will brighten your home up even more.

Buy some area rugs that incorporate the dark colors of your carpeting or floors with other, lighter colors. Or, buy off-white or very light beige rugs. Either of these will work with dark colors, and will add home-brightening qualities while complimenting your art.

Replace frosted or completely enclosed light coverings or globes with either clear coverings or globes (you can always use lower-wattage bulbs if they let in too much light), or buy covers that surround the bulb but are open on the bottom.

Look at how your home is decorated. Does the artwork have dark colors, enclosed in a heavy, dark frame? Consider replacing it, or reframing the existing artwork in a lighter-colored frame.

Last, but not least, consider replacing heavy, dark vases and/or other knick-knacks with lighter-colored items.

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