Winter Lighting Tips

As the days get shorter in the wintertime, your home may start to seem dark and dreary. It can be challenging to keep your house bright and cheerful when the sun goes down so early and Portland delivers its annual onslaught of rain. However, you can easily adjust your interior lighting to ward off those wintertime blues.

Here are four ways to brighten your home during the winter:

1. Maximize Natural Lighting

Nothing is as bright, warm, and inviting as natural lighting. Take advantage of every opportunity to open your curtains and let in sunlight. Move large pieces of furniture away from your windows, so they don't block the light. You may even consider removing the mesh screen, which also filters out the sun.

2. Turn on Table and Floor Lamps

Overhead lighting may not be enough to fully illuminate your home in the winter, and table and floor lamps can be a great source of warm and bright light. Place table lamps in the areas where you work or read to avoid straining your eyes and add floor lamps to any dark, shadowy corners in your home. To add as much light as possible without increasing your electric bill, consider switching over to LED bulbs, which are brighter and use less energy than traditional bulbs.

3. Light Candles

Candles are an excellent source of warm, cozy light. They're easy to move around, and they don't run up your electric bill. To avoid a fire hazard, you can use flameless candles, which look almost exactly like the real thing.

4. Use mirrors to amplify light.

Mirrors and other reflective surfaces can be a great way to increase the lighting in your home without adding more light sources. When natural or artificial light reflects off of the mirrors, it can have a significant impact on the brightness of the room. It's usually best to place mirrors directly opposite windows, but you can experiment with different mirror and lamp placements to find the best setup for your home.