Family room and Kitchen area is dark and dreary!

[Anonymous]

We bought a house which we could see only a few times. I have no idea how I never noticed before but the family room and kitchen area are all very very dark and dreary. We have a screened porch off the family room and the house is in a wooded lot so we get no direct sunlight.
We added skylights but still is very dark! I find it depressing!! The rest of the house is bright and cheery but this is where we spend most of our time. Any more ideas to lighten this room?

Do any of you have dark interiors? Does it bother you? It is killing me and I have deep regret but nobody in my family thinks so. I think it is only me!!

[Anonymous]

Yes, we have one room that is dark. I painted it a lighter color than is reflective - some colors absorb light, even if they are pale, and some reflect. Put in recessed lights, put light colored rugs on hardwood floor and added some bring cheery art. Looks better but still not a bright room!

[Anonymous]

Can you have the trees trimmed/some of them cut? Can you just paint the room very light yourself?

I grew up in a house like this. Skylights don't help much sometimes.

[Anonymous]

Paint in a light color in semigloss. Also add a big mirror on the wall facing the window(s). Then add a couple of Halogen lights. Last, if/when you have a chance, use light colors on the flooring. If you have dark wood, look for light colors area rugs. If you have carpeting, replace with light color carpeting. etc.

[Anonymous]

Did I write this post and forget? YES, I bought a house about six months ago that I now realize is very dark. It makes me so sad. I'm wondering how quickly I can move. My last house was tiny, in a less desirable neighborhood, but OMG did it have great light!
I hope to add windows on the south wall as soon as I can save up for it. But mostly I'm planning for the next move.

[Anonymous]

OP here...the trees are the neighbors sadly...so we can't do much about it! Our yard is to the side.

PP, we can't move. This is our house...that is it!! We have to make it work! The permanence of this scares me!!!
Same story here...our previous house was tinier and had lots of faults but was so bright and happy and I loved the light shining through the windows all through the day!

I keep trying to tell myself that it is OK...that there are worse problems etc. but I still go to bed thinking about it and wake up with the same thought! Am I crazy?!!
Oh and we just ordered a charcoal couch for the space....we are just nuts!

I plan of adding color and painting the brick wall. I want to love my house...I do!!

[Anonymous]

Ihave the same problem! North facing, 1st floor condo. I just finished going through some minor renovations - changed the hardwood from Brazillian Cherry to natural oak, had the walls painted white muslin (BM), installed recessed light, light colored rug and drapes. I LOVE the lights - I don't know why I didn't think about it 5 years ago!

[Anonymous]

PP, I had the help of a interior designer who charged a flat fee for 4 hours of consultation. She was great helping me pick the wall colors, figuring out where to install the light, drapes and rug color, etc. T

[Anonymous]

What is a good price to pay for an interior designer?

[Anonymous]

Recessed lights!!!! Ours was a messy, awful job due to plaster, etc. so I had to save for a year to get them put in my living room but once I did, I cannot get over the differernce. My dark, dreary, sad, depressing living room can now be bright and light and normal. DO IT!!!

[Anonymous]

We do have extra lighting everywhere, I guess I am trying not to turn on lights during the day.
I love the room during the night! It's the sunlight I miss.

PP, do you turn on the lights during the day too?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We do have extra lighting everywhere, I guess I am trying not to turn on lights during the day.
I love the room during the night! It's the sunlight I miss.

PP, do you turn on the lights during the day too?

I do. i have a dimer though, so it is not full potency during the day - only enough to be bright and cheerful.

[Anonymous]

agree with light floor, light walls, big mirrors, paint dark stuff lighter (brick wall), silver accessories, no clutter.

[Anonymous]

Our den is in the back of our home on a very tree-shaded lot. Although we don't have them on all the time, recessed lighting has made an amazing difference! Like night and day, literally!

[Anonymous]

OP, what about a photo? You can do a lot with paint, but yikes, not semigloss. Looks cheap and is hard to cover.