How Can I Brighten Up A Low Lit Apartment?

Apartment dwellers have the challenge of trying to find light fixtures that can address the need for light but can take up minimal floor space.

Choose Lampshades Carefully: Lampshades aren’t just for decorative purposes and can make a difference in the quality of light that you get from your lamp. You need to know your lighting goal when trying to pick out a shade. Lighter lamp shades will allow more light into the room. Darker lamp shades will make the light localized, so it shines below and above the shade. You can also ditch the shades altogether and go for a lighting look where the bulbs are exposed, which will get more light in the room.

Try Incandescent Light: Using a softer, yellow light can help make your apartment more relaxing and even send signals to your body that it’s time for sleep. Incandescent bulbs emit the yellow, softer light that you want.

Think about Task Lighting: While it’s important to consider the overall brightness of the room, you need to focus light in areas of the apartment that need it, such as at a desk. Task lighting is also helpful for kitchens and using under-cabinet lighting can help you see better for tasks at the counters.

Add a Mirror to the Wall: Mirrors not only make a room appear larger, but they also help bounce light and maximize the light that is there currently. It can also help give the illusion of more windows.

Use Floor Lamps: Square footage is an issue in many apartments, so take advantage of height. Torchiere floor lamps are a good solution to get the most of out of lighting. You can also utilize tall floor lamps for narrow corners and places that are often overlooked for lighting.

Take Advantage of Wall Space: Using the wall space also helps you get around the issue of square footage. Mounted sconces can provide light while also serving as an art piece. Sconces by the bed can save space on bedside tables and provide a good amount of light.