5 Ways to Brighten Up Your Space

After the fun and warmth of the holidays, it can be hard to stay motivated and get going. Especially with all the gloomy, grey winter weather hanging around, getting up the morning can seem like a real chore. What everybody needs is a little more fun and a lot more light getting into their rooms.  By changing just a few features around, you can a turn a dark, musty bedroom into an inviting, open space that makes you feel like you’re only steps away from a great beach and cool ocean breezes.

 

Coastal Living has quite a few suggestions for those really looking to transform their homes into something brighter and airier, but you don’t have to go knocking down walls or adding windows to make room feel refreshed. Here are the top five areas where you will get the most change for least amount of money, and a more inviting brighter space for the New Year.

 

Paint

This is a huge help to anyone wanting a crisper, more relaxed feel to their living or bedroom. Especially if your house has a lot of dark wood colors or little natural light, a fresh coat of white paint will completely transform most rooms into something light as air. Pale blues also often have the same affect, as do yellow trims and light, sandy wood tones.

 

Lights

For the lighting design in your house, take a cue from your favorite holiday light show, and bring back out the strands of Christmas lights you might have just packed away. Buzzfeed has an incredible 46 awesome things to do with string lights that bring a little whimsy and deliver a lot of extra brightness around you house. From dangling them on walls, wrapping them around wine bottles, and clipping your favorite polaroid’s to them, you will have a the perfect, eclectic décor, lighting, and lots of money to spare.

 

Reflection

As you might have noticed in gyms, dance studios, and some restaurants, a lot of mirrors is an easy way to make a small room feel huge. Creating a whole wall of mirrors might be a bit much for your personal living space, but you can put up some more surfaces in general that are reflective like small mirrors, or pieces with chrome trim to catch some reflections from all of your great new lights.

 

Plants

Creating a jungle will lead to just as much claustrophobia and need of something airy, and hanging plants are usually to be avoided because they take up so much visual space all around them. But, you will be amazed at how much the bright colors of some well placed flowers or succulents transform any room. If you want plants that are cheap and easy, buy miniature flowering cactuses, they come in bright colors, are low maintenance, and will bring something unique.

 

Rearrange

Sometimes the best way to give a room a little more room to breathe is by simply eliminating clutter and organizing the essentials. Clear surfaces, save a few choice décor items, will work wonders if you have a collection of magazines or junk piling up around you.