This west Brentwood, TN homeowner came to us wanting to lighten up the dark interior of a 7300 sq ft custom built home he recently purchased. But he still wanted to preserve the stately, Old World Italian feel with classy decor and ornate ceiling medallions adorning many of the light fixtures. We chose three tasteful shades of beige, but primarily used Sherwin-Williams Bungalow Beige (SW 7511). We also lightened up the trim, creating a contrast, but still bringing a light, airy feel into the freshly painted rooms.
We love how he added more light in well populated areas, adding lamps and allowing for more natural light with less window treatments. The lighter shades also allow for brighter colors in his décor, opening up rooms and creating a simpler and pleasing color palate. Check out the before and after transformation in his living room! (click photo to enlarge)
While this homeowner is still in the process of furnishing and decorating, its easy to see the potential of this 6 bedroom, 5 bath home. We painted almost all areas of the home, including a finished basement with movie theater and game room, four bedrooms, five bathrooms, two stairwells, a recreation room, kitchen, all common areas, and the lovely two story foyer.
A bright, well lit home adds joy and peace to everyday living. We love coming in to create brighter areas in homes, or in this case, brighten up the entire home. We love how this homeowner used several methods to keep his home sunny and well-lit.
““Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
”
More Photos from this Home:
Other things you can do to make your home brighter:
Change Window Treatments – Choose lighter curtains and blinds, and keep curtains or blinds open to allow for more natural light. Get rid of heavy, dark curtains that absorb light, and select sheer or translucent shades that let the sunshine in.
House Plants always brighten up a Home!
Supplement Daylight with well placed Light fixtures – Lighting aimed upward really adds to the sense of brightness in a room. Add more light fixtures throughout your home, and also add free-standing lights to the darkest areas of your room. Accent lights can be added in areas of your home with darker painting, or to accent walls. Make sure to add bright, white bulbs to your fixtures, rather than traditional bulbs that emit a yellow glow.
Add mirrors and make use of reflective surfaces – Hang a mirror across from your largest window and double the sunlight! Angle reflective coffee tables and glass covered surfaces to catch and bounce the light in the room.
Remove and Lighten up furniture – Choose light colored furniture, white bookshelves, cream couches, white tables, and remove unnecessary furniture to create large sections of wall open. Don’t put too many accessories that will clutter up a room. Add light colored rugs, and remove darker carpeting and decor where possible. Where you can’t lighten up furniture, add colorful accent pillows and artwork.
“Once you choose hope, anything is possible.””
Clean! - Wipe down all of your surfaces, clean marks off the walls, and dust furniture and dark corners as much as possible. Clean windows on both sides, which can have a major effect on how much sunlight streams into the room.
Painting Tips - See Below :
““For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.””
- Paint the ceiling white to temper darker walls. It makes it easier to be creative and choose a varying (but still bright) shade if your ceiling is white.
- Choose a brighter color for the trim - By repainting the room's trim a bright color, you'll be able to lighten the room up considerably.
- Use wallpaper on one wall, or add an accent wall to provide a stylish contrast to darker walls in the room. This works great for parlor, foyer, dining or entertaining areas.
- Select white or neutral color scheme for walls to keep the light in.
- Opt for matte and not glossy walls and ceilings. Gloss creates glare and not natural, even light. Matte walls reflect evenly and work better with light sources windows, and reflective surfaces.