Tips for How to Brighten a Room Using Color without Painting

With some imagination and shopping fun, anyone can become skilled at how to brighten a room in your New York home. Best of all, you don’t even need to crack open a can of paint. Try these tips and tricks in your home.

Learning how to brighten a room is a great way to refresh your home’s decor without too much mess, stress, or fuss — you don’t even have to open a can of paint. There are many other ways to give your home an exciting new colorful decor. Just as a magician uses lights and mirrors, so can you when it comes to brightening your living space and adding new color to the decor. Check out these tips and tricks.

Add and Change Furnishings

Simply swapping out simple items can add new color and a new look to your decor — think of it as the interior design equivalent of changing an outfit. To easily add new color and style to a room, swap out pillows, lampshades, rugs, and other accessories. Consider using vibrant colors and bold patterns when you fashion a room with new accent furnishings. Your options are endless, but here are some ideas:

• Rugs: Replace a dull area rug with a patterned rug in lively colors. The area rug should tie the furnishings together.
• Furniture: Dressing up sofas, chairs, and beds with new bright-colored plain and patterned pillows will instantly add a new vibrancy to the decor. Bring in colors from the area rug and artwork.

• Reupholstery: Custom-made slip covers are a very affordable way to give old sofas and chairs a brand-new look.
• Throws: Eye-catching throws will add new color along with new texture to brighten a boring sofa.
• Accent Pieces: Freshen up decor with a new accent piece such as a bench or ottoman adorned in trendy geometric patterns or dramatic colors.
• Plants: Bring the colors of the outdoors inside with greenery (simulated or real) planted in colorful pots.
• Lighting: Ditch an old lampshade for an updated and new colorful appearance.
• Artwork: New artwork can add a splash of color over an old sofa.
• Windows: New window treatments in a color pulled from something else in the room — a lovely area rug or artwork, for example — can update the look of your room.

Brighten Walls with Murals and Decals

Colorful removable wall murals and wall decals can dress up an entire huge wall in an instant. Easily removable and storable, the decals can simply be changed whenever you’re ready for a new look. Wall decals and murals come in many styles, sizes, and finishes to fit any decor.

• Peel-and-stick wall decals are easily removable and reusable.
• Most can stick to almost any surface that’s smooth to the touch — even wallpapered walls.
• Try a customizing option to create personalized wall decor from your own photos, patterns, or artwork.

Focus on Lighting

If you want to see your home in a new light … start with your lighting. New and improved lighting is a wonderful option for how to brighten a room. Great room lighting and accent lighting make colors pop and create an inviting ambience. Want even more color? Add a lamp with a colorful base.

• Place a floor torch lamp in a dark corner to add style and open up the room.
• For wonderful reading lights, hang wall-mounted swing arm lamps on the wall on either side of your bed.
• No room for a table lamp? Place a floor lamp in a corner or behind a chair for extra lighting.

With some imagination and shopping fun, anyone can become skilled at how to brighten a room in your New York home.

Image Source: Flickr/Lynn Friedman

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Carol Ruth Weber of weberlifedesign.com

Carol Ruth Weber writes on interests relevant to today's dwellers in society from decor to health, beauty and fashion as well as green living and DIY. Carol began her career as a Theatrical Costume and Set Designer and segued into the world of Interior Design. Along the way Carol honed her skills as both an Interior Designer and Life Designer.Carol has been taken into service by individuals and businesses to assist clients with the daily battles to find enough time in every day to do all that is needed to do in order to enjoy their life and to be happy with their surroundings providing subjects for her many published pieces. Carol is known for her thoughtful and insightful views as well as being an on-air expert for eHow and SFGate.Read Carol's many articles focusing on Decorating, Fashion, Beauty, Art, Pets, Lifestyle and General News published on Examiner.com. Her talented approach to life through writing can also be seen on statewide CBSlocal.com sites as well as for a number of other publications including Yahoo and Care.com. Enjoy following Carol's blog for her insightful look at the world. Carol's mission through her writing is to dance people towards results to achieve peace in their surroundings! Carol Ruth Weber may be contacted at weberlifedesign.com.