How To Lighten a Dark Hallway With No Natural Light
Entering your home after a long day, you feel glad that you finally took the time to learn how to lighten a dark hallway with no natural light. Gone are the days of being greeted by a dreary and unwelcoming hallway – now, the entrance to your home feels light and inviting, just as you always dreamed it would.
Taking off your shoes, you seize this moment to admire the beautiful hallway you’ve created. Stylish lights and lamps ensure dark and depressing corners are a thing of the past, while light colours and mirrors bounce the light around the space to make it feel more open and airy.
Discover how to take your hallways from drab and uninspired to bright and welcoming with our top tips on how to lighten a dark hallway with no natural light.
6 ways to lighten a dark hallway with no natural light
Your hallways are some of the most important spaces in your home, but also the most overlooked.
Your downstairs hallway is the first thing you and your guests see when entering, setting the atmosphere for your entire home. A bright and inviting entrance hallway will create a calm and uplifting atmosphere, while a dark hallway might set a depressing tone or put you and your guests on edge.
Similarly, your upstairs hallway shouldn’t be neglected – this space is the first thing you see after leaving your bedroom in the morning, so it needs to create a positive mood that sets the right tone for your day.
If your downstairs or upstairs hallway is lacking in natural lighting, there are several things you can do to make it feel brighter and more inviting.
1. Use a light paint colour on the walls and doors
One of the easiest ways to completely transform the feel of your hallway is to use a light paint colour on the walls and doors. Lighter colours help to create a sense of brightness by reflecting light, in contrast to darker colours which absorb light.
Choosing a light colour to create an inviting ambience doesn’t have to mean painting the walls white. In fact, stark white might have the opposite effect, making the space feel very sterile and unwelcoming. Instead, opt for a calming off-white paint colour or a pale shade of a relaxing colour like blue, green, pink, or lilac.
Design tip: Every paint colour has an LRV number, which stands for Light Reflectance Value. The higher a paint’s LRV, the more light it will reflect. Consider the LRV when choosing a paint colour for your hallway to make sure it has the desired effect of brightening up the space – you can usually find this value printed on the paint can.
2. Choose a bigger ceiling light fixture
Small ceiling light fixtures do nothing to brighten up dark hallways. They usually make matters worse, causing the corners where the light doesn’t reach to feel even darker.
Replacing your small ceiling light with a large ceiling light will help to ensure that even the darkest corners of the space are fully illuminated. Opt for something with lots of light bulbs to help cast light around the entire room and go for a modern style to update your entire hallway.
Product pick: A beautiful contemporary chandelier is the perfect choice for an entrance hallway. Opt for a stylish bubble chandelier to create visual interest and welcome guests into your home.
3. Incorporate multiple light sources
Swapping out your old ceiling light is a great start to lightening up your dark hallway, but to really make a difference you’ll also need to incorporate other light sources into the space.
Wall lights are great for illuminating darker areas of the room that your ceiling lights don’t adequately cover, while floor and table lamps are ideal for creating ambience and adding visual interest to the space.
Ally Dowsing-Reynolds, lighting expert and co-founder of Dowsing & Reynolds, says:
A feature table lamp on your hallway’s console table is a lovely way to envelop the space in a warm, welcoming glow. Hanging a mirror on the wall nearby maximises the cosying effect by reflecting some of its light.
Choosing an animal lamp, like Baxter the Frenchie, adds an extra playful dimension to make you smile when you arrive home.
Style tip: Light switches and sockets are available in a wide variety of colours and finishes – choose ones that complement your hallway lighting to really tie the space together.
4. Introduce natural light
If possible, introduce natural light into your dark hallway to lighten up the space. For downstairs hallways, this could be as simple as installing a glass pane in the front door. For upstairs landings, consider adding a skylight to let plenty of natural light pour in from above.
If neither of these is an option based on the layout of your space, consider installing internal doors with glass panes to allow light to stream from other rooms into your dark hallway.
5. Hang mirrors strategically
Mirrors make great additions to dark hallways because they bounce light around the space, making it feel brighter and bigger than it really is. They’re also an excellent way to enhance the aesthetic appeal of your hallway, so choose ones with interesting shapes and designs that show off your personality.
Position your mirrors close to the light sources in your hallway for the best effect – this will allow them to take in as much light as possible and make the room feel much brighter.
6. Declutter your hallway
Simply decluttering your hallway can make the room feel lighter by creating more space and allowing light to move around more freely.
Keep your hallway neat and tidy, avoiding leaving shoes and coats lying around in places they shouldn’t be. You should also consider removing bulky items of furniture, opting for slim and streamlined alternatives.
Show us your beautiful bright hallways
We’d love to see how you’ve used these tips on how to lighten a dark hallway with no natural light to improve your home. Tag us on Instagram @dowsingandreynolds – we can’t wait to see what you’ve come up with!
