Window shutters in Los Altos, CA are part of an overarching strategy to make the darker rooms in your home brighter. If you have rooms that seem dark even at high noon, they likely have only one window and are located in a part of the house that never gets full, direct sunlight. There are several things you can do, however, to make the room brighter.
One thing you can do is to paint the room bright white. When the color of the walls in a room are lighter, they will reflect more sunlight. If you have north-facing rooms, the white should have a warmer tone, while south-facing rooms should have cooler-toned white. At the least, ceilings, walls, and closet doors should be painted with the type of white paint you’ve chosen for the room to get the most light reflected.
Adding mirrors to a room can also brighten it because mirrors bounce sunlight off of reflective surfaces. This can literally give a room twice as much sunlight as it would have without the mirrors. Mirrors work best if they are placed opposite the window(s) in the room.
Another thing that can brighten a dark room is adding other reflective objects, such as brass lamps, metal photo frames, and cabinets with glass doors.
Accessorizing a room with bright, cheerful colors can also make it seem brighter. Use bright furniture, bright rugs, and bright lampshades to immediately fill a room with more light.
Having window shutters installed is also another great way to make a dark room brighter. If you have thick curtains hanging in a dark room, they will block light even when they are open. Hunter Douglas window shutters give you many options for maximizing the amount of natural light that comes into a room. Avoid dark colors for your window shutters. Instead, select white or neutral-colored shutters because they’ll allow more light to come in.
Another thing that will help make a dark room brighter is to add more artificial light. A single overhead light will not give the abundance of light needed to brighten the room considerably. Add floor lamps and table lamps spread evenly around the room. Bulbs should be at least 60 watts (higher is better; consider 3-way bulb floor lamps, which will give an extra boost of light), and they should be warm, daylight bulbs.
If you’re remodeling an area of the house that is dark, consider adding more windows. The best option, especially for rooms where direct sunlight never hits, is to install skylights which will bring unobstructed light in from overhead. Sun tunnel light tubes are also frequently installed to allow rays of light into dark rooms or hallways. The advantages of both skylights and sun tunnel light tubes are that they reduce the need for artificial light and they can help with seasonal affective disorder.
Another neat idea for increasing the amount of light in dark rooms is to replace interior solid doors with glass doors to allow light to flow throughout the house. If you need more light in dark hallways, consider installing a frosted glass panel above, beside, or in an entry door to let more natural light in.
If you’d like to learn more about how window shutters in Los Altos, CA can help brighten dark rooms, you can speak with our expert staff at Windows & Beyond, Inc. You can stop by our showroom at 633 W. Dana Street, Mountain View, CA 94041, or you can give us a call at (650) 318-6828 for a free in-home estimate.