We don’t always have the good fortune of a bright living room in our apartment—sometimes because the sources of natural light aren’t very large, other times because the lighting we’ve chosen may not be suitable for the space. But let’s not lose heart: for every problem there’s a solution. In this article, we’ll look at some useful tips for lighting up our living room—whether it’s a small living area or a large lounge.
Dim living room? Brighten it in 5 steps
If you live in the city, you probably feel this issue more than someone who lives in the countryside because, as we know, being surrounded by buildings doesn’t leave much room for daylight to light up your apartment. That’s exactly why there are a few small tweaks we can put into practice right away to make our living room brighter—even in the city.
Bright living room with Andromeda sofa bed - divani.store
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Large windows and light curtains
No doubt about it: having large windows in the living room is definitely one of the best ways to let in as much natural light as possible to brighten the room. Of course, the advice is not to filter too much light, and to favor light, sheer curtains over dark, heavy ones.
Glass curtains are also an excellent solution: in this case too, let’s remember to choose lightweight curtains, perhaps with patterns that, in certain areas, allow more light to pass through thanks to the thinner material.
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Floors, walls, and artwork: light colors help
The floor is absolutely not an element to overlook when furnishing an apartment—especially if it’s a living room that receives little natural light. It’s easy to imagine that a light floor, such as fir or maple parquet, will reflect more light than a dark tile floor or mahogany. For this reason, the first tip is to favor these types of floors, to make the space feel brighter. On the other hand, we can’t ignore the walls either: here too, the paint color is decisive for the brightness of the surrounding environment.
White, beige, or pale yellow walls come highly recommended if our décor has warm tones and we want to keep as much light as possible inside the room.
Artwork also plays a key role: white frames, soft and pastel colors will give your living area a relaxing, calm atmosphere. The prints or photographs inside the frames shouldn’t be too dark either—especially if they’re large.
Linear sofas to furnish the living room – divani.store
In this article we talked about pictures and shelves above the sofa.
By trying out these small color-related tweaks, our living room will truly become a bright space.
There are also situations where dark colors are loved and pastel colors aren’t really appreciated—what can we do in that case to still have a bright living room? Play with materials, lamps, and reflections.
As we see in the next photo, we’re in exactly this situation: a dark wall that makes the room a bit moodier, but at the same time a side window that lets natural light in and allows it to reflect off the bright color of the armchair.
Cloe armchair - divani.store
As with everything, it’s all a matter of balance.
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Furnishings and the sofa
Now let’s move on to living room furnishings and choosing a comfortable sofa with a unique style. You might think: what does choosing a sofa have to do with the light in the room? Well, furnishings play a key role—especially if we have a living room that’s already furnished and we can change very little (think of the case where we’re renting). In that situation, we can certainly focus on choosing curtains, mirrors, and maybe lamps and chandeliers. But choosing a sofa could completely change the game.
Assuming we live in a space with dark furniture—perhaps in rustic style—to “lighten the room” and make everything brighter we could opt for a beige or even white sofa. Yes, a white sofa has many drawbacks, first and foremost maintenance, but it guarantees incredible brightness and could therefore balance out the heaviness created by the furnishings. Light yellow is also a great ally when choosing a sofa, making the room warmer and more comfortable.
Yellow sofa to brighten the room – divani.store
But let’s move on and propose another solution in terms of sofas: a pastel-colored sofa with wooden legs.
Danish: a light and bright sofa – divani.store
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Mirrors: a powerful ally
Sometimes, even after following all the advice listed above, we still can’t get enough light into the room. For this reason, we’ve decided to give you one last suggestion: to multiply the natural light coming in through the windows, we can place mirrors directly opposite them. A truly strategic position that will allow us to spread daylight throughout the living room, ensuring a bright space without artificial light (at least on sunny days).
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Chandeliers or lamps
Okay, we’ve shared interior design tips at length in this article, but we’re not done yet—give us room for one last pointer.
We know well that it’s easy to take advantage of natural light during long, sunny summer days, but what happens when things change? Well, in that case it will of course be necessary to rely on artificial light, but even here nothing should be left to chance. A large living room needs a light source that can illuminate every part of it, so often a single chandelier isn’t enough.
Depending on the size of the room, we recommend adding a second chandelier, one or more lamps in the corners, or—why not—spotlights in the cupboard units that might contain glassware on display. Yes, because these glass décor elements can, a bit like mirrors, enhance the perception of light.
As for bulbs, white light certainly has more illuminating power than yellow light, but it’s less atmospheric. So the choice is yours!
