6 tips to brighten up dark spaces
CRAMPED rooms with little natural light are challenging to decorate.
These designers tell us how to optimise these tricky spaces and give them rental appeal. Here are their tips:
“Lighter, brighter, cooler colours help the walls recede,” Jaye Langmaid, owner of Hudson & Crane, an urban design studio in Washington, DC, said. Light blues and greys can make a small room feel larger and enhance limited natural light. But don’t be afraid to accent a wall in a darker colour, which can lengthen an oblong room or hall. Stay away from warm colours, which may make a small space feel crowded. Shannon Claire Smith, a DC-based interior decorator and design blogger, said that renters have a number of ways to make low ceilings appear higher. “I always have clients try to stretch the walls as high as they can,” Smith said. “A darker colour on the ceiling makes it look like the night sky – you don’t know where it ends.” Hang floor-length drapery panels, or arrange artwork gallery-style so that it fills walls from floor to ceiling. If you don’t have enough artwork to do that, a few large pieces can have the same effect.
Decorative mirrors create an illusion of space and light. “Mirrors can help reflect what little natural light comes into a basement apartment,” Sarah Roussos-Karakaian, who co-founded the artisan contracting and design team Nestrs with her husband, Nick Karakaian, said. “The light bounces around your space.” Floor-length mirrors, too, can make a low ceiling look higher.
There’s nothing new about trying to make the best of a small, oddly shaped space. To find furniture that will fit down narrow stairwells and into cramped rooms, check out French, English and Japanese antiques, Rachel Dougan, founder and principal designer of ViVi Interiors, said.
Overhead lighting tends to be less than flattering, designer Anna Matthews said, who suggests buying lamps will warm up the space.
Get the most out of a small space by purchasing furniture with more than one function. “Have all your furniture be multipurpose,” Roussos-Karakaian said. Couches can pull out to double as beds for overnight guests, and coffee tables with built-in shelves can serve as storage space. Roussos-Karakaian also recommends wall-mounted shelves: use them as bookcases or fill them with decorative storage baskets. – Washington Post