ARCADE

The living room is an often used space in the house, used mostly by its inhabitants for relaxation and socializing. A colorless and lackluster room strikes a depressing note while on the other hand a bright and cheery living room acts as an uplifting agent and fills one with optimism.

If you are not satisfied with the décor of your living room there are ways and means by which you can change the décor for the brighter look.

With some bit of planning and taking the help of some creative ideas you can convert your dark and cramped living room into an airy and bright space. Here are 10 Helpful Tips for Creating Bright Living Rooms:

1. Paint the walls and ceiling white

White acts as a great reflecting agent hence if you want a brighter room consider painting the walls and ceiling of your living room in white. A dark colored ceiling and walls cast dark shadows over the room making the room look duller in appearance while a white wall will lend an appearance of brightness to the room.

If you are wary of coloring your entire room white then just paint the ceilings white – that in itself would be sufficient to make a dramatic difference to the room.

2. Add colors

You could either paint an entire wall in bright vivid colors or you can just paint the soffit in a different color from the rest of the room – the choice is entirely yours. Alternatively you can cover your walls in reflective wallpaper that will reflect the light falling on it and make the room look brighter.

Throw in a multicolored cushion, a vibrant rug or add some colorful decor items and see your room taking on an entirely new color.

3. Natural lighting

Natural lighting is the best way by which you can brighten up a room. Try utilizing natural lighting to the utmost. A great way to utilize natural light is by the addition of large windows to the living room space.

Another idea is to do away with large heavy curtains in the living room and replace them with lighter variants which allow natural light to filter through.

4. Add mirrors

Adding mirrors to the living room can help create a bright space. To achieve a bright look you have to strategically place the mirror such that it is able to reflect the sunlight during the day and reflect artificial light during the night. A floor to ceiling mirrors or even a wall mirror can brighten up your room considerably.

5. Clutter-free

Adding too much of furniture and décor items to your living room can create an atmosphere of darkness. If you want to brighten your room then the first step should be to de-clutter it as much as possible and do away with the non-essential stuff.

If you cannot live without a display unit you can go for wall mounted shelving which will not only clear up the space but also eliminate the shadows caused by your furniture.

6. Large windows

Windows let in ample sunlight into a room and make the room look brighter. The larger the windows the brighter the room would appear. Thus try to add windows to your living room if it is lacking in one.

If there are existing windows but they are small you can try to widen them. Of course all this can be achieved only with professional help.

7. Glass furniture

Glass is not only handy when it comes to doors, it can also be incorporated into the furniture to give the room a bright look.

Transparent glass tables, glass cabinets and mirrors will reflect light in the room creating brightness. An oversized glass topped coffee table with lights focused on it will definitely add to the brightness of the room.

8. Reflective flooring

Reflective flooring is a great way to make a room look bright. After the ceiling, the flooring occupies maximum area so what goes on here will have a big impact on the overall tone of the room. Tiles in lighter shades, materials like marble etc will add to the brightness of the room.

9. Artificial lights

Poorly lit rooms look bleak and dreary. In order for the brightness to remain in your living room long after the sun is gone, you need to invest in good lighting. But never ever invest in fluorescent lighting – they make everything look so artificial.

To keep the brightness intact, instead of going for a single overhead light source go for diffused lighting that not only lights up the entire area but also creates a cozy atmosphere. Table lamps, floor lamps and wall scones can also be used to brighten up the living room.

10. Light airy curtains

Heavy curtains prevent the light from filtering into the room thus creating a dark atmosphere. In their place use light airy curtains which allow maximum light to pass through. A curtain in bright pattern and colors can brighten up the room. Stylish shutters and venetian blinds can also brighten up the room.

If you are fed up of your dark and cramped living room which feels like a cave, now is the time to change it. These helpful tips will help you create that perfect bright look for your living room.

Is it that time of the year when you are constantly looking for newer ways to redecorate and spruce up your homes? If you are looking forward to remodel your house and are not getting any clue as to how to go ahead, take a look at the top 10 DIY home decor ideas that I am going to list down.

However, before we begin, let me say a word or two about DIY decor ideas. By DIY, I mean Do-it-yourself decorating that is the newest mantra these days with many people taking the reins in their own hands to decorate their homes. These DIY decor ideas are easy to implement and can do a total makeover of your living areas. Take a look:

1. Eggshell candle centerpiece home decor idea

One very easy way to spruce up your living area is to make use of eggs and take the shells to transform them into cool and awesome looking egg candles.

This is a cheap option and everyone can do it quite effortlessly at home. The colorful egg candles in the picture look cool and are arranged together on a tray. These can be placed on a console table or inside cabinets.

2. Tennis ball key holder home decor idea

Seen below is a cool key holder made out of an old tennis ball. If you have unused or worn out balls, as in this case, you can transform these into holders for keeping various objects like pencils, tissues and keys of course! This is an inexpensive way to add some style to your living area.

3. Fall leaves and dry sprigs home decor idea

There cannot be any better and more creative way to decorate your entrance walls than doing it with actual dried up fall winter leaves and dry sprigs of wood to lend an elegant look to your home. The wall decoration seen in the image can be easily implemented at home with real leaves that one can collect at the backyard of his or her house.

4. Painted bottle vase DIY home decor idea

A very creative way to add some color to your living room is to paint a few bottles of coke or hard liquor and arrange flowers inside these. Empty bottles of various sizes can be best utilized when converted into colorful vases like the one in the picture. The vase is painted with colors of various shades and spruces up any nook or corner.

5. Ice cream stick wall art home decor idea

If you are someone who has a fetish for collecting ice creams sticks, here is one word of advice – Please do not throw these sticks into the garbage bin!

Instead put these to use and make motifs on the wall with these sticks to bring some change to your living room. The owner of the house has made nice designs on the wall using ice cream sticks that has totally changed the look of the room.

6. Driftwood DIY home decor idea

If you happen to chance upon a floating driftwood by the beach side, take it home and wash it to decorate your walls with it. Yes, driftwood can be used as planks on walls to place various items of decoration. These are available free of cost and look awesome.

7. Beautiful picture collage home decor idea

Another way to decorate your living room is to make a collage of different shaped pictures in any color and stick it on the wall besides the sofa as can be seen below. One can either stick these directly on the wall or can also put pictures inside a big wooden frame that can be plastered.

8. Butterfly wall art decor idea

The wall art as seen below looks amazing and the best part about it is that you can make this art work at home! Yes, you would need black chart paper, scissor and glue.

Now, cut the papers in shapes of butterflies that you desire. Stick these together in any order on the wall besides the sitting or any place that you wish. This DIY idea is affordable and one can easily do this at home.

9. Cool fabric pillow home decor idea

Pillows or cushions can drastically change the look of your room with their vibrant colors and textures. Seen in the image are two beautiful pillows, the fabric of which has been cut out of old bed sheets that are no longer in use.

Most of us have unused or old bed covers with colorful motifs that can be used to design pillow covers instead of throwing away.

10. DIY porcelain plate decor idea

Unused or old plates, like the ones seen below can be used efficiently to decorate a vacant wall. The white plates of varying shapes have been spray painted with blue and pink colours that look extremely attractive.

The plates are then arranged on the wall in a roundel order. The whole wall art can be done creatively using old objects that are of no use otherwise.

Do it yourself decorating is not only convenient but also saves one a lot of money and time. There are many ideas for home decorations that need not involve loads of money. One needs to have a good eye for finding out things that could be used for ornamentation of rooms. Take the help of the top 10 DIY home decor ideas listed above and make some innovative changes to your living rooms.