Maximise the Light in Your Home All Year Round
In the world of interior design, light is an essential element that can transform the look and feel of your home. When we put together our designs we work with natural light, making the most of the sense of space it brings. We also consider how to bring more light into the home, whether that’s in a smaller, darker room or lighting up your home in the winter months.
Lights and mirrors are our favourite ways to enhance light in a room, and we will of course be bringing you our favourite ways to do this, but let’s not forget that there are other ways to encourage brightness into the darkest of corners.
Décor
When it comes to decorating your walls, opting for lighter colours like whites, creams and pastels will lift the room. These shades have a high reflective value meaning they bounce more light around the room, making it feel brighter and lighter. You don’t want your room to be bland so use accent colours carefully on walls or pieces of furniture to add colour without sacrificing the overcall brightness of the space. A great way to add interest to a room is by adding a contrasting trim to the room. You can see here some ways that you can achieve this look here.
Furniture Placement
The benefit of a bright décor will be lost without mindful consideration of the furniture arrangement in the room. The placement of furniture can significantly impact the flow of overall brightness of your space. Keep pathways to windows clear and place sofas, chairs and table a little way from windows to allow light to penetrate the whole room.
Choose open or light weight furniture, for example sofas and chairs with high legs to allow a more airy feel, or transparent materials like glass or acrylics. These also work well in small spaces as they maintain a sense of space and don’t crowd a room. The Jonathan Adler Jacques Two Tier Table from Sweetpea & Willow is the perfect example of how this can work. The clear acrylic shelves let the light flow around, and the brass accents give contrast that doesn’t dominate the room.
Mirrors and Reflective Surfaces
Whatever your style, with such a wide variety of mirrors there will be something to suit your room and your taste. It could be a flamboyant statement mirrors; a piece of design art to be admired. Or it could be much simpler. If it’s reflective, it will add to the lightness and sense of space in a room. When placing your mirror, ensure that it is in a place where it is able to reflect light back into the room for maximum effect, and remember to pay attention to the opposite side of the room that will be reflected!
The Annadel Round Mirror from Dunelm is simple yet beautiful, and available in either a black or gold finish. This high end inspired design will add some luxe to your room.
If it’s a full length mirror you’re after, the Venus Full Length Wave Mirror from daals with make a stylish statement in any room with a variety of frame colours available.
Reflective mirrored and polished furniture not only will make the room feel bigger, they are also are an impactful design statement and will reflect light into your room. Whatever you budget you can really make a statement with reflective pieces.
The Eichholtz Sceptre Coffee Table from Sweetpea & Willow is a gorgeous example of contemporary design. Its stainless steel finish gives it the mirrored finish reflecting light.
The Pippard Cocktail Cabinet from Olivia’s has elegant simple lines, and he mirror maximises the light in the room, and the gold frame gives it a unique luxury feel; we love this!
The Sloane Chrome Sideboard from Nicky Cornell is an amazing piece of furniture. Its chrome finish is one to be admired, and it also means that it will blend into any room by reflecting the décor around it. It works brilliantly to provide storage space without detracting anything from the room.
General Tips
- Keeping a room decluttered and clear will avoid adding shadows to a room
- Keep your windows and light fixtures clean to maximise both natural and artificial light
- Sheer curtains will allow some light in even when drawn and make sure any heavier drapes are sat back off the window so that they don’t block any light
- Trim any trees or plants that are blocking natural light from the window.
For more interior design ideas remember to follow us on Facebook.
Tags: Interior Design, interior design bedford, interior lighting ideas, maximising light