How To Decorate A Windowless Bedroom

Allow's get existent about something here: In that location'southward no such thing as the "dream home." Whether yous're on the hunt for a house or an apartment, you'll ever observe that something'south missing or could be improve. Ordinarily, though, the pros are good plenty that you decide you lot can live with the cons, whatever they may be. Such was the case for my ii roommates and me when we moved into our second flat in New York City. Choosing a large, three-bedroom apartment with 2 bathrooms and an open kitchen in a great location also meant we had to settle for a living room with no windows.

The windowless living room is a problem for ii reasons: First, it gets extremely hot during the summertime, and at that place'southward no way to get fresh air in the room. 2d, and more than importantly, it's e'er dark and dim. In that location's a skylight in the middle of living room and kitchen, but that barely provides enough natural light to reach the length of both rooms. And if information technology's raining? Forget about information technology.

Nosotros really lived like this, with a dark and muddy living room, for two years. Just after ane roommate moved out and took a few pieces of piece of furniture with her, we decided it was time to do something about our problem. The merely issue was nosotros had no idea how to gear up it. Enter Modsy.

Modsy is an online design service that provides everything you need to revamp your space, from 3D renderings of your room so you know exactly where to place every particular, to shopping links so yous don't take to chase anything down. All nosotros had to exercise was upload photos of our room, provide a few measurements, and take a quick style quiz. A few days afterward, Modsy sent us the design plans for our infinite, and we instantly cruel in dearest.

A 3D rendering of our flat, designed past Modsy.

Courtesy Modsy

The next stride was to store. We got a few things directly through Modsy, including the sofa from their ain furniture line, and striking up some of our favorite home stores for everything else nosotros needed. To be honest, it did accept us a few weeks to pull the room together completely. And while it took longer than we expected to finish our redesign, it was definitely worth the look. See for yourself beneath.

The difference is obvious, only it can be hard to assess what, exactly, you lot need to practice to get similar results. Alessandra Wood, Vice President of Style at Modsy, broke down the choices her team fabricated and how their design changed our space so drastically. It turns out there are six like shooting fish in a barrel things yous can do to make a dark room feel so much brighter.

1. Commit to calorie-free furniture.

Almost people are hesitant when it comes to purchasing anything white for their homes, but it's a necessary evil when you're working on a room without windows. And while the chances of staining a white sofa or carpet are high, the take a chance is worth the reward. By adding a long, white sofa and accent cabinet next to each other, we were able to make the wall wait taller and wider, which makes the room feel larger and a bit brighter automatically.

On the opposite wall, a long white media console takes center stage. When planning your major purchases, try to plan for a few central items to be white or another light shade. And if y'all're really worried about stains, practice a little extra digging. "Brand sure y'all're getting something that is treated or easy to clean," says Wood.

ii. Sprinkle in some color.

Of grade, not everything in your room should be low-cal. "Using pops of color gives a more than fun, lively vibe," says Wood. Merely proceed in mind, just one "pop" isn't enough. "If you have but one nighttime piece in the room, it'due south going to stick out like a sore thumb. So you really want to look for ways where y'all could introduce a color or a tone in a couple of different moments," she explains. For example, in our room, nosotros plant a patterned rug at Marshalls that ties into the bright turquoise chair, which also pulls in the blueish throw pillows and some of the darker tones in the artwork on the wall.

3. Load up on lighting.

Without windows, you're forced to create your ain calorie-free, so don't be afraid to get overboard with lamps. Because our living room just has ane overhead light and a skylight that doesn't always provide the sunlight we need, Modsy put three lamps in the room—one on either side of the sofa and a floor lamp in the corner by the TV. Non simply will this aid to make the room feel brighter, merely it as well gives you more control over the space. "If you lot desire to plough off the overhead lights you have more than enough lighting to create a really beautiful and peaceful environment at dark too," Wood explains.

four. Hang a mirror.

A circular mirror above the bar cart sends calorie-free from an overhead skylight back into the room. Mirror, Target. Bar cart, Overstock. Plant, The Sill. Vase, Marshalls.

LUCY SCHAEFFER PHOTOGRAPHY

Another pull a fast one on to fake more lite in your space is to add a mirror. Modsy placed the mirror strategically above the bar cart so that the few beams of natural sunlight we get from the skylight will reflect off the mirror and back into the room. This works even if you simply have lamps and overhead lighting, and then definitely requite information technology a try.

5. Don't forget a few plants.

Plants literally add together life to your infinite, and then placing a few effectually your room will help make the area experience more alive. You tin besides opt for low-cal-colored planters to spread smaller moments of brightness around. (We went for pale pink, blue, and gray planters from The Sill.) Merely be mindful, though, that you'll probably need to take extra expert intendance of plants in a night or windowless room. Make sure you're watering them correctly and give them some time near a window in another room if needed.

6. Cull the right fine art.

If taking care of plants isn't your thing, there'due south some other manner to make the room feel live that doesn't require whatever maintenance: art. "Having art in the home creates a focal point that adds depth with imagery and pops of color," Wood notes. To capitalize on this, we mixed abstruse paintings with travel photos that make you experience similar you're exploring the world.

This all may sound like a lot to take into business relationship and plan for, but in the end information technology all adds up to the result of a brighter, fresher space. "You're not thinking almost the fact that the room doesn't accept light or doesn't accept windows because at that place's so much going on in the room and the room itself—there's a lot of different points of focus and a lot of energy," Wood says. So whether or not lite furniture and plants are right for y'all, as long as y'all fill your infinite with beautiful items and endeavor a few of the tricks above (mirrors! art! layered rugs!) you lot'll be on your way to a room that creates it ain low-cal.

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Alyssa Fiorentino Senior Editor of Content Strategy Alyssa is the senior editor of content strategy at Firm Cute who covers dwelling house decor, design trends, and news.