How to Make Rooms in Your Home Look Larger with Lighting

A bright and well-lit home can dramatically change the mood of your home and help you feel relaxed and comfortable all year long. Here are some tips to lighten up your home and make the rooms look big and inviting:

• Choose different types of lighting to avoid the expense of installing windows or skylights. Lamps or other accent lighting can make a dull room appear elegant or small rooms seem larger.

• If you have a room with a dark wall or a narrow, dark hallway, hang a group of pictures and light them with adjustable halogen track lighting to create the effect of a photo gallery.

• Paint ceilings a light color to avoid making them seem lower than they are and give the room a cramped feel.

• Use color to add cheer to a room. Pink and green tones have a calming effect while darker colors, such as red, tend to cause agitation. Neutral wall tones create a harmonious environment. Bright colors should be used as accents in pillows, artwork or flowers.

• When selecting paint, tape large color chips together on a wall to get a better idea of the shades you like. When you’ve narrowed your choices down, buy a quart of 2 or 3 colors and paint 1 or 2 foot squares next to each other on both shaded and brightly lit walls. Choose the color that looks best in both kinds of light.