The Best Way to Get More Natural Light in Your Home as Days Get Shorter

An open and airy room instantly seems more spacious and inviting, and creating this feeling actually has nothing to do with the size of a room; it’s all about amount of natural light.

Luckily, amplifying sunlight in a space is a lot easier than knocking down walls to increase the square footage. This is exactly how to increase natural light in home—zero renovation necessary.

The Best Way to Increase Natural Light in Your Home

According to interior designers, the best way to make the most of the natural light coming in though your windows is surprisingly simple.

“My number one piece of advice is to paint,” interior designer Alana Spears shares. “In rooms that don’t get much natural light, the key is to pay attention to the LRV (Light Reflectance Value). LRV measures how much light a color reflects. The closer the number is to 100, the more light will bounce back into the room.”

When picking your new paint, our pros say to go for an off-white shade with warm undertones like yellow or cream to help balance the natural coolness in a room with less light. Also look for semi-gloss or satin finishes to help reflect light around the space even more.

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5 Other Ways to Increase Natural Light Inside

If you’re looking to create an even brighter space—or are living in a rental and aren’t allowed to paint—there are a few other effective ways to increase natural light without picking up a paint roller.

• All of our experts encourage placing mirrors opposite any windows to bounce light around the space.
• While selecting your decor, interior designer Reanna Channer suggests looking for reflective materials such as quartz and metal for a similar light-bouncing effect.
• Channer also recommends setting up your curtain rods so the drapes can open 12 inches beyond the window frame on either side, and allow light to fully enter the space.
• Designer Lauren Morgan says to swap out lampshades and window treatments for soft, sheer options.
• Make sure your windows are not obstructed by tall furniture, and consider arranging pieces to face the light.

How to Create a Chic Lighting Plan for Your Home

The secret to creating a cozy living room or bedroom atmosphere to lounge in is ambient lighting: a technique that involves various light sources placed at different levels around the room.

“For the brightest, most flattering effect, I always recommend layered lighting with a mix of overhead, task, and accent lighting,” Spears says.

She says she leans toward accent features that spread their illumination across the space, as opposed to focusing light in a single direction. And it seems like diversifying sources really is the best way to go.

“A mix of overhead and ambient lighting is essential,” Channer says. “Sconces, floor lamps, table lamps in darker corners are what you want.”

Overhead lights can feel notoriously harsh, so to keep them feeling as comforting as your curated lamps and sconces, consider installing dimmable switches.

How to Light a Room With No Windows

If you’re trying to bring the bright and effortless feel of natural light to a room without windows, like a bathroom or walk-in closet, ambient lighting is a must.

“Utilize backlighting with LED strips to create artificial light that almost feels it could come from a window,” Morgan says. “Mount the strips in a reveal behind a vanity mirror, in a cove in the ceiling or tile niche, and in a ceiling beam to subtly uplight the room.”

When you’re recreating natural light instead of supplementing it, using bulbs and LED strips in the right temperature range is also important.

Light temperature is ranked on a scale from 1000-10000 Kelvin (K), with candlelight’s warmth sitting at 1000K, and a blue sky’s coolness at 10000K. To keep a room with no windows feeling as similar to sunlight as possible, experts say to keep an eye out for 2700K-3000K bulbs and LEDs.