Ways to Help Brighten a Room in The Winter Months

Winter often brings shorter days, colder temperatures, and a noticeable lack of natural light. As the seasons shift, the dark and dreary atmosphere can affect not just your home's ambience but also your mood and energy levels.

Brightening your living space during the winter months is more than just a design choice; it's a way to combat the seasonal blues and create a cosy, inviting environment. Whether you want to let in more light, add cheerful decor, or enhance your home's overall vibe, these top tips will help you transform your space into a warm and uplifting retreat all winter.

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1. Re-Paint The Walls

One of the clearest and most straightforward ways to brighten up a space in the winter is by having the walls re-painted, whether in the same colour, a similar shade or even a new colour entirely.

Of course, having the wall colours changed fully will involve more time and work, especially if the new paint shade is very different to the existing one.

Some of the best wall colours for brightening up a room in the winter months include:

• Cream
• Warm White
• Soft White
• Light Grey
• Faded Taupe
• Soft Beige
• Pale Peach

Also, visual contrasts can help too whether or not you’re having the walls painted. This can allow the brighter elements of the space (ideally as the predominant colours) to stand out better.

2. Allow More Natural Light In

Another relatively simple way of brightening up a room in the winter is to let more natural light in.

The obvious way to achieve this is by simply opening the curtains and pulling up the blinds. That said, you may want to consider other potential additions.

Here are some more specific ideas for letting in natural light:

• Consider having skylight windows added for a suitable room (e.g. a kitchen or converted loft space)
• Use suitably placed windows to reflect natural light to help with brightening up the space

3. Let In Nature

Aside from letting in natural light, there are other ways to use nature- and nature-inspired decor and fixtures to improve the look and feel of the room.

Some ways of adding nature-inspired elements include Earthy colours, suitable houseplants*, and natural materials

* Just ensure any houseplants used are safe for any house pets you have as some plants can be poisonous to animals. Humans may also experience allergies.

4. Use Mirrors in A Smart Way

It’s also a good idea to consider how to use mirrors to brighten up a room in the winter. On the one hand, as already discussed, you could have a mirror or several installed to reflect natural light throughout the space, further brightening it up.

However, some other and more specific ideas to consider that will depend on the room are mirrored wardrobes for a bedroom and LED bathroom mirrors. For the latter, having an LED bathroom mirror installed can allow you to benefit from artificial light plus a mirror’s capacity to reflect natural light as a duo approach to brightening up a room.

5. Opt for Light Wood Finishes

Light wood finishes are another way of making a space look and feel brighter. This might include light wood cabinets, built-in shelving, bookshelves or/and wardrobes. Of course, what will work best will depend on the type of room in question.

Natural light wood finishes can also improve the look and feel of a room by adding a nature-inspired atmosphere. If opting for light wood finishes, just ensure that they will work well visually when compared with the other colours in the space. This might include contrasting or complementing other existing tones.

6. Consider Bright and Striking Patterns

Bright, bold patterns can also add value by enhancing a room in general while also brightening it up for the winter.

Some bright and striking patterns worth considering include:

• Geometric floral designs
• Eclectic stripes interior design
• Maximalist floral pattern
• Geometric boho aesthetic
• Fun pop art patterns to add character

You might want to add one or more of these patterns or/and other bright and bold patterns through wallpaper, artwork, rugs, bedding or even tiles. Of course, what patterns are available for any given medium, such as the above mentioned, will vary.

7. Declutter the Space

A free or low-cost solution is to declutter a room. Costs might apply if you needed to introduce new storage space and solutions, including more locations to store items or/and more efficient storage options.

By simply decluttering a room, it can make a space feel fresher, brighter and more open. By allocating time to decluttering, you can improve a room ahead of the winter months while sticking to a budget. Of course, if you have the time, this can prove helpful to undertake for several rooms.

When it comes to decluttering, just ensure to set aside sufficient time, anticipate that it might take more days/weekends than expected and don’t forget to keep energised, hydrated and to take enough breaks.

8. Ambient Lighting

Designed to illuminate a room as the primary light source, upgrading a room’s ambient lighting can prove a very effective way of brightening up a space for the winter and future winters to come.

Popular forms of ambient lighting to look into are:

• Lamps
• Pendant lights
• LED lights
• Recessed lighting
• Chandelier

When opting for a new form of ambient lighting, it’s important that the lighting is installed by a qualified professional and you go with a suitable choice that meets your preferences and works for the space.

This includes ensuring that the lighting is a safe option (e.g. if having a chandelier installed, you’ll have to make sure that it is not too heavy for the ceiling’s load-bearing capacity). This is just one reason why a qualified professional is needed.

9. Go With Metallic Accents

Another consideration to have in mind is that of metallic accents. These accents can reflect light and brighten up the space with their bright visuals contrasting other tones in the space, including those they are found attached to (e.g. metallic handles on wardrobes).

Some metallic accents to brighten a room include:

• Statement wall art
• Metallic tableware
• Brushed brass lighting
• Metallic framed mirrors
• Copper pendant lights
• Golden wardrobe handles

10. Gloss Finishes

Just as metallic accents can reflect light to brighten up a space, so can glossy finishes. The suited options will differ from room to room, of course.

What’s more, there are many types of gloss finishes with different properties, meaning some will be more suitable than others depending on the specific finish in question (e.g. glossy bathroom vanity units) and how a given gloss finish might compare with the other finishes in the room.

Kitchen Space

For a kitchen, some popular options will be glossy kitchen cabinets, countertops and splashback. Though you may be tempted to opt for glossy tiles, it’s important to keep in mind that these can prove a significant slip hazard, which can be more dangerous in a space where cooking or/and cleaning is taking place.

Living Room

In the case of a living room, you may want to go with a glossy coffee table or even specific glossy wall paint.

If considering glossy wall painting, it’s best to go with a professional as it can be difficult to pull off DIY. Also, glossy wall paint should not be too glossy (e.g. satin is a good choice, whereas high gloss works best for woodwork and trim).

Bathroom

As for a bathroom, consider the likes of:

• Glossy bathroom vanity units
• Gloss wall panels
• Glossy floor tiling

* As discussed earlier, gloss floor tiling can be worth looking into, however, their slip hazard will be a reason to consider opting for an alternate. That said, glossy tiles could work for the wall instead. Of course, you’d still want to keep in mind how the floor and wall tiles might compare if one option is glossy and the other matte.

Bedroom

Lastly, glossy wardrobes can act as a source to brighten up a bedroom. Matte is, however, the better option for painting bedroom walls. As mentioned earlier, the correct type of gloss finish will depend on the fixture with the finish and how glossy or/and matte the rest of the room is.