Things are looking gloomy – seasonally speaking, if not also metaphorically. It was one thing to be locked down when the days were long and the heatwave heavy, but we’re facing a run of dark months, mostly indoors. Here are some expert tips on staying on the bright side, and maximising winter light.
Look at the floor
People automatically think of changing the wall colour to make a room look brighter, says the interiors expert Sophie Robinson, “but the floor bounces light back up”. If you have dark wood flooring or moody-coloured carpet or rugs, she advises placing a light-coloured rug on top as a simple and relatively inexpensive way to create instant brightness.
Let colour shine
Pale walls will make a room feel lighter, says Robinson, but she warns against choosing anything labelled brilliant white, and she’s not a fan of the grey mania that has swept the country’s interiors in recent years. “In the UK, we get a lot of grey days and a lot of cold blue light, especially in winter. Cold greys or bright whites [on the wall] are going to look really depressing. They look great in sunny, south-facing rooms, but not in dark or north-facing rooms.” Instead, she says, think of choosing a warm white or a very pale but warm-toned colour. “Pale pink is really fashionable right now.” For woodwork, especially windowsills, a satin finish has long been fashionable, but Robinson points out that gloss paint will bounce even more light back into the room. She has even been known to paint a ceiling with gloss. “You have to prep the ceiling very well – make sure it’s not lumpy or cracked – but a gloss-painted ceiling can look brilliant.”
Declutter
Clutter can feel oppressive, even if not literally light-sucking (though you might want to think about keeping windowsills free of stuff). “Try to declutter as much as you can,” says the interior designer Emilie Fournet. Arrange things you love on shelves and “maybe prop some frames or a mirror at the back, that will reflect light”.
Lighten furniture
Now may not be the time to invest in new furniture – although sales of furniture were 39% higher than usual in September – but good choices can make a room feel brighter. “A round dining table with one pedestal looks lighter than a big rectangular table with four chunky legs,” says Fournet. Go for furniture – sofas, beds – with legs to increase light low down.
“Generally, try to avoid big, heavy furniture, but sometimes it’s unavoidable – people need wardrobes and sofas,” Fournet says, but bear in mind the proportions of the room. In a small living room, “a smaller sofa and an armchair will look more in proportion than one big sofa, and help with the flow of the room”. Choose sofas with lower, thinner armrests and beds without footboards. A bookcase with glass doors will reflect light. Dark wood furniture can “bring depth and warmth”, says Fournet, but will inevitably look heavier. You may want to consider furniture made from woods such as birch or ash, or paint cupboards in a lighter shade.
Layer lighting
If all you have is one central pendant light, says Sally Storey, lighting expert and creative director at John Cullen Lighting, “it probably doesn’t feel nice. It’s very bright in the centre, then dims all the way round the room. I like a room with various pockets of light – layering the light to give it different moods.” This can be achieved without a visit from an electrician by plugging in more table lamps and freestanding lamps or uplights. Storey recommends lighting the tops of cupboards (in kitchens, for instance, or freestanding units in bedrooms or living rooms) to throw light on to the ceiling and increase general brightness. Use an LED strip that can be plugged in, or a simple system installed by an electrician.
Lighting on shelves is another good trick, she says. “I’ve done it on very simple Ikea shelving. It gives you a wonderful warmth of light.” Backlighting shelves can be done with strips of LED, mounted to an angled profile (a strip of metal you can get at DIY shops) and again, a relatively small job for an electrician. You can use lighting to delineate between your working day and leisure time – switch from task lighting and bright uplights to cosier lamps.
Switch bulbs
Changing the type of bulb can also make a difference. Look for the Kelvin or K rating, which denotes the “temperature” of the colour (not heat) of the bulb. “I often use 2,400 Kelvin, which is more like the old tungsten bulbs, and a warmer light,” says Storey. The higher the number, the “whiter” the light. Both bulbs and LEDs are often given a CRI (colour rendering index) rating, which tells you how it will illuminate the colour of an object. “Cheaper LEDs will have a lower colour index of about 80, whereas daylight is about 100,” says Storey. “When you see light looking a bit flat, it’s because the CRI is low and nothing feels in its true colours. But when you have a high CRI, of 90 or over, everything seems more vibrant.”
Be drawn to shiny things
“Think about furnishing your home with things that reflect light, such as mirror and glass,” says Robinson. “A wall mirror is an obvious one – positioned opposite a window means you reflect light back into the room.” The bigger the better? “Either a really big mirror,” she says, “or a collection of mirrors can look really good if you’ve got lots of little ones you can group together. If you put a light rug on the floor and a glass coffee table on top, that will make a huge difference.” Smaller touches, such as a shiny lamp base, or shiny fittings in bathrooms or kitchens, says Fournet, “reflect a bit of warmth and light”. One of her tips is to frame art prints on mirrors, rather than mountboard, to “create a bit of depth”.
Embrace cosiness
The aim is to create uplifting brightness and a bit of sparkle, without turning your home into something resembling an operating theatre. “Light and bright can start feeling chilly with all the glass, mirror and pale colours,” says Robinson. “Don’t get too carried away – make sure you bring in lots of lovely woolly, cosy textures too, for that nesty, winter feelgood vibe.”
Don’t obscure windows
A pair of heavy draped curtains can block out up to a third of the window when drawn back – fitting a longer rail ensures they can be pulled clear of the window. “That lets the most amount of light in,” says Robinson. Alternatively, she says, switch curtains for blinds and avoid placing big, blocky pieces of furniture in front of windows.
That goes for what’s outside, too
You may need to prune trees or trim a hedge if it’s blocking the light. “Don’t have your black bins outside your window looking dark and heavy,” says Robinson. Fournet says: “Cleaning your windows makes a massive difference and will bring in a lot more light.” Consider installing outdoor lights. “That really helps,” says Storey, particularly if you live in a basement flat. “It gives you a feeling of life going on outside and there being more space.”