While the holidays are now behind us, the winter season is here to stay for several more months, and so are the short days that come with it.
With the cheerful holiday lights and décor now packed away, these short days of less sunlight mean your home might be feeling a bit dark and cavernous. Thankfully, there are some things you can do to enhance the level of brightness in your home, to keep it as light as possible despite the early sunsets.
Having a bright home can also make it appear more spacious and fresher, which will help a lot when it comes to reselling your home with the best real estate agent in Toronto.
If you’re looking to bring warmth into your home and lighten up the place, here are some transformative tips for keeping your interiors bright.
Remove the Screens
Window screens help prevent insects, animals, leaves, and other debris from entering your home during the warmer seasons. Since the windows in your home are generally left closed during the winter, leaving this mesh on isn’t necessary, and these screens usually block out light. Removing this layer for the winter season will help bring in a surprising amount of natural light.
As you approach your home, returning from work each evening, you might find dismay over the dark windows and lack of light surrounding your home. A simple way to enhance the brightness of your home? Remove the screens from your windows.
Switch Out Your Light Bulbs
With less light available from the outdoors, it’s important to utilize the light you have indoors. Switching out any older, dull, or burned-out lights in the house for fresher and brighter bulbs can make a great difference in the brightness of your home.
The best bulb and brightness will vary depending on your home, so it’s a good idea to test out a few types of wattage, as well as experimenting between warmer and cooler tone lights. While some warmer lights may create a cozier feel, they may not be as bright as cooler white LEDs. However, overly cool lights may make a room feel a bit sterile. Find what works best for you and your home!
Reflective Surfaces
Reflective surfaces can help maximize the potential of both indoor and outdoor light in a room. Having décor like wall mirrors can help make a room seem more spacious and double the effects of any light reflected into it. Other décor items with reflective materials such as crystal, glass, metal, and mirror pieces can all help. If you have shiny hardwood floors, try not to cover them too much with rugs, as these surfaces can help bounce off light as well.
Keep a Light Colour Palette
Bright colours such as whites, creams, beiges, light greys, and yellows can all help your home feel brighter.
While refreshing any paint on your walls to one of these colours will certainly help lighten a room, this effect can also be achieved with accessories in the room.
Switching out the pillowcases, couch slips, and throw blankets in the living room can help with this.
When it comes to the dining room and kitchen, table runners and placemats in these light colours can help the dining room and kitchen.