Light up your home: how to manipulate perceptions of space by using light

Any homeowner will want to live in a property which feels spacious and airy. This gives the place a fresh feel to live in and an inviting atmosphere when people visit. A home which has the feeling of space appears less constrained and more comfortable to be in as well. If your property is on the small side though, you might struggle to get this feeling. After all, if you only have so much floorspace to work with, you cannot suddenly find more out of thin air. Or can you?

A good interior design tip is to use light in your home to manipulate how spacious it appears. Using light cleverly in this way can actually make your property appear bigger and more open than it really is. In essence, your mind will be tricked into believing this which will make it feel like the big, spacious home you desire.

But what are the best ways of using light in your home to create an illusion of space?

Mirror, mirror on the wall

Everyone who graduated and earned their interior design diploma knows that one of the best tips to use is to hang mirrors on the walls of rooms you want to appear bigger than they are.. A single mirror is fine for tiny spaces but you can use multiple ones in rooms which have more space in them. The secret behind using mirrors is the way they reflect any light coming into the room around it. By bouncing light around, it helps to create a perception in the mind of a space that is bigger than it really is. The visual reflections you get from mirrors also help and can make a room seem more spacious.

Use plantation shutters

Fabulous plantation shutters are another great way to use light to your advantage. These kinds of shutter allow you to open them up fully when it is sunny outside to flood your home with light. This will instantly make any room feel larger and more inviting. If it gets too warm, you can adjust the slats when the shutters are closed to let in some natural light while reducing its intensity. The other big advantage in terms of space is that they will not intrude into the room like curtains or blinds. This saves space and gives you more to use. When you add in the modern style they bring to any room and the value for money they deliver, plantation shutters are a fabulous design tip to think about using.

Invest in good lighting

We have looked at how using natural light in various ways can help but what about when it is dark outside or is a dull day? These situations call for you to think carefully about the artificial lighting you have in any room. First thing to consider is what bulbs you use and how bright the light they will give off. Bright (but not harsh) lighting is advised as this will illuminate the whole room to make it feel bigger.

You should also pay attention to the lightshade or fittings you use in your home. If you have a big chandelier in a smaller room this will create the impression of less space than there actually is. Light fittings that intrude into any space too much are best avoided when trying to make rooms appear bigger.

Use lighter colours on the walls

Colour has a big influence on our minds and how we see the world. This also applies when it comes to how spacious your home feels. The paint you have on your walls could be where any problems lie and this is something to think about carefully. Ideally, you want to go for lighter shades, like pale blues or whites. This allows more light to be reflected off the walls in any room which will instantly make it seem larger. These sorts of shades will also feel less constricted than darker ones and can trick your mind into thinking there is more space than there actually is.

Light can be a great help

As the above shows, there are some cool ways to use light to your advantage when creating a home that feels bigger. It all comes down to how our minds perceive what we are seeing and how this then makes us feel. By using light in a clever way, you can make your home feel larger and more spacious.