how can i brighten my old apartment

How can I make my apartment look bright?

This is a bit on the literal side, but another thing that will make your apartment look brighter is lamps. During the day, you probably have a lot of different lighting needs, and a single overhead light is not going to cut it.

How to brighten up your home with natural light?

A lamp on your desk or near your favorite reading chair can make work and play a breeze while brightening up your entire home at the same time. The type of light also makes a difference. While desks and kitchens need bright and direct light, bathrooms and hallways only require soft lighting. 8. Soften harsh, natural light

How can I make my room feel less dark?

Darker lampshades will filter out a considerable amount of light and may make your room feel gloomy. 2. String extra lighting If you still need more light once you have lamps set up, consider buying fairy lights.

How can I improve the lighting in my rental?

Tap lights are also wireless and a good way to illuminate shelves or other small spaces. These lights are typically activated when you apply a small amount of pressure to the top of the light. 4. Use mirrors to maximize lighting Add a few mirrors to your rental space if you don't have a lot of room or money for new lighting.

How do you brighten up a dull apartment?

Top Tips to Make a Dark Apartment BrightAdd Lighting. The easiest way to brighten up a space is to combat darkness with light. ... Use Light Furniture. In a dark room, the last thing you want is dark, bulky furniture that will just make the space seem darker and smaller. ... Add Colorful Accents. ... Decorate with Glass and Mirrors.

How can I make my old apartment look better?

10 Ways To Modernize An Old ApartmentMake It Your Style. Everyone has a unique personal style. ... Swap Out Light Fixtures. ... Paint – If It Is Allowed. ... Replace Cabinet Knobs. ... Cover Ugly Flooring. ... Hang Curtains. ... Fake A Backsplash. ... Lighten Up A Bathroom.More items...•

How can I make my old house brighter?

Try these tips to help brighten up any room in the house, from basement bedrooms to cramped living quarters.Clean the Windows. 1/22. ... Use Mirrors Strategically. 2/22. ... Rearrange Furniture. 3/22. ... Streamline Your Shelves. 4/22. ... Cut Back on Clutter. 5/22. ... Hang Sheer Window Treatments. 6/22. ... Cut Back Foliage. ... Choose the Right Fabrics.More items...

How can I brighten my apartment without natural light?

15 ways to fake natural lightUse mirrors. Mirrors' reflective properties can make your room feel larger and brighter. ... Utilize soft and warm hues. ... Use neutral colors for furniture and walls. ... Add gloss to furniture surfaces. ... Opt for light colors. ... Keep windows unobstructed from furniture. ... Avoid clutter. ... Add subtle light fixtures.More items...•

How can I spruce up my apartment on a budget?

8 Inexpensive Ways To Spruce Up Your ApartmentSlap on a fresh coat of paint: ... Build from the ground up: ... Throw pillows & blankets. ... Swap out light fixtures: ... Knobs, Hooks and Thing-a-ma-bobs: ... Freshen up the Bedding: ... Organizing Bins & Baskets: ... Add life to your space with PLANTS & fresh FLOWER:

How can I make my apartment look new?

Switch up the look of your room with a fresh coat of paint or removable wallpaper. For easy application (and reversal), avoid painting trim and doors and just focus on the walls. You can paint an accent wall to add an interesting focal point to the room, use color to make the wall “pop”, or get creative with wallpaper.

What makes a house look expensive?

How to Make Your House Look Expensive on a BudgetPaint Doors a Contrasting Color. ... Add Molding, Wall Trim, or Architectural Details. ... Go Large with Wall Art. ... Change Out Your Hardware. ... Declutter. ... Streamline Your Gallery Walls. ... Add Flowers or Plants. ... Use White Bed Linens.More items...•

What colors make a room look bigger and brighter?

So, what colors make a room look bigger? For an optimum effect, go with soft tones like off-white, blues, and greens, and always remember that brighter rooms feel bigger and more inviting. And here's another hack: Try painting your wall trim and moldings in a lighter color than your walls.

What kind of bedding makes a room look bigger?

Low beds do make a room look bigger, and the same can be applied to all furniture, in all rooms.

How can I make my apartment floor first brighter?

How to Make Any Apartment Feel Instantly BrighterEmbrace white walls. This is where your apartment's generic white walls come in clutch (go figure!). ... Ditch the dark furniture. ... Get strategic with mirrors. ... Give your windows a wipe-down. ... Live with less.

How do you deal with no sunlight?

Coping with Less Daylight HoursBe aware of SAD. ... Make daylight hours count. ... Celebrate winter activities. ... Socialize more often. ... Exercise more. ... Light a fire. ... Talk to your doctor about vitamin D deficiency.

How do you make an old apartment feel modern?

5 Ways to Instantly Modernize an Old & Dated ApartmentInstall a new faucet.Change out light fixtures.Replace the cabinet pulls & knobs.Cover up the floor & tile.Change up the window coverings.

How can I make my living room look expensive?

8 Ideas to Make a Room Look Expensive01 of 08. Decorative Molding. The Spruce. ... 02 of 08. Display an Antique. Glow Decor / Getty Images. ... 03 of 08. Include Curvy Shapes. CR Laine. ... 04 of 08. Custom Window Treatments. ... 05 of 08. Add Metallic Items. ... 06 of 08. Fresh Flowers. ... 07 of 08. Create Vignettes. ... 08 of 08. Dimmer Switches.

Lamps

Lamps provide a variety of affordable and aesthetically pleasing lighting options.

Wall Sconces

Wall sconces are another popular lighting source and are ideal in any room of an apartment.

Brighten and Captivate with String Lights

String lights are a fun and popular way to lighten a dark living space.

Use Mirrors

Add mirrors to reflect natural and unnatural light throughout the room. Hang your mirrors near windows and other light sources.

Minimize Wall Clutter

Wall space is important in brightening a dark apartment. When that space is covered, light cannot reflect off the wall.

Use Light Paint

If your lease permits, paint the walls a lighter color. It doesn’t make sense to have a navy blue accent wall in a dark basement apartment.

Brighten Walls With Statement Pieces

If you can’t paint your walls, a brightly colored piece of artwork or a wall hanging can brighten up darker areas on your walls.

How to maximize lighting in a rental?

Use mirrors to maximize lighting. Add a few mirrors to your rental space if you don't have a lot of room or money for new lighting. Mirrors propped up against your walls won't damage the drywall and can reflect light from your lamps and other home lighting. Mirrors create the illusion of more lighting sources and double the amount ...

How to make a room feel bigger?

Brighten up corners . Add some depth to each room by lighting up dark corners. This will help draw the eye across the room and help it feel larger. Make sure that the fixture fits well in the space to avoid throwing off the flow of your other decor. Light placed in corners should be soft and warm.

What color lampshade should I use for my apartment?

To keep your apartment as bright as possible, stick to light-colored lampshades. Think white, cream, light gray or similar hues when selecting a lampshade.

Can you hang a chandelier in a rental?

Having a rental doesn’t mean you can’t make some changes to make your space feel homey. While you may not want to hang up a chandelier in a place you’ll only be in for a year or two, there are lightweight lighting options that you can hang from the ceiling to help transform a dining room or bedroom.

Why do you put mirrors in dark apartments?

Mirrors are your best friend in dark apartments, and when they’re placed strategically, they can help you maximize any natural light that your space already receives . Now, I’m not going to pretend that I remember the physics of light—my freshman year physics class felt more like a test of endurance than a learning opportunity—but placing mirrors opposite your windows gives the sunlight a reflective surface to bounce off and spread around your room. Plus, mirror styles are endless and add interest and dimension to walls in much the way windows do.

Do white curtains blend in with white walls?

If you’re “lucky” enough to have standard white apartment walls, white curtains will blend into your walls allowing the sunshine to pour in unobstructed. And, white curtains on white walls actually soften the edges of your windows so that the sunlight, not the hard edges of your aluminum window frame, is the star of the show. Half Priced Drapes.

SWAP IN LIGHT RUGS AND FURNITURE

White is your new BFF--it reflects light, so it will magnify what little sunshine you have in your apartment. Too in love with your gray velvet chaise to replace it? White pillows and a light, textured throw blanket will brighten things up.

MIRRORS, MIRRORS, MIRRORS

This is the oldest trick in the book for making a room look brighter and larger--but before you get those tacky floor-to-ceiling mirrors installed in every room, remember that less is more. Go for a large, horizontal mirror above the couch, bed or mantle.

SAY NO TO DARK ARTWORK

So your apartment doesn’t look out onto Central Park West. Ours doesn’t, either. But you can mimic a skyline view with large, bright artwork throughout your abode.

CUT THE CLUTTER

Is it beautiful (like your grandma’s antique vase)? Is it serving an important purpose (like this copper hanging light)? If not, say sayonara. Unnecessary clutter is only making your living space look darker and more cramped.

CHEAT WITH HANGING LIGHTS

Really wish you had a window instead of a wall? Experiment by hanging bulbs at different lengths in front of the wall instead. Your guests will be so distracted by the chic decor, they’ll forget there’s no view of the park.

1. Paint it white

White is the most reflective colour of all. There’s also light-reflective paint, which costs more but includes little particles to boost the reflective properties.

2. Curb your curtains

Curtains often partially block incoming light when they’re open. Try blinds or more flimsy fabrics.

3. Clean your windows

I’m not being funny. When I finally got round to cleaning my grimy tenement windows after months of neglect by previous tenants, it was like that bit in The Wizard of Oz when the picture went from black and white to Technicolor.

4. Use dark for contrast

Bits of strong contrast, such as black picture frames, can emphasise the lightness of everything else.

5. Seek out shiny things

Mirrors, glass, reflective metal – if it bounces light, it’ll help brighten things up.

6. Go to IKEA

Or anywhere else where you can get furniture that’s minimalist. Heavy pieces dominate and darken rooms.

7. Cover the cabinets

If you can do it – it may not be allowable in a rental so always check with your landlord first – painting over tired cabinets is really effective.

Is terra cotta good for apartments?

Yes, terra cotta is actually pretty good-looking, but there are so many chic, inexpensive planters out there that will be more impactful (and of course, they can move with you to future apartments).

Do landlords use white paint?

No matter what! "Typically landlords use a very basic white paint," says designer Casey Kenyon, who advocates for a hue that’s more deliberate: "Choose a white that feels right for you and your space." Paint a few samples (several coats of each) directly on the wall before choosing one. "It always looks different on the wall than in the store!"