24 DIY Lighting Ideas to Brighten Your Home on a Budget (2024)

FAQs

What lights brighten a dark room? ›

Room-brightening hanging light fixtures, such as pendant lights and chandeliers, are both practical and decorative. Track lighting, recessed lighting, and directional spotlighting work well on their own and when paired with lamps and other light fixtures.

Floor Lamps

The height of a floor lamp helps illuminate more of your space, and different levels are pleasing to the eye. You'll forget all about not having overhead lights! And they're easy! Once you've chosen your lamp, you just put it where you want it!

Incandescent bulbs are the cheapest lighting option if you only consider upfront costs.

Compared to older types of lights, such as halogen bulbs, LED light bulbs are cheap to buy and cost less to use.

Translucent shades, like light paper and silk shades, allow light through with a gentle diffusion. For a brighter lamp, you should also buy a lampshade with a white or off-white inner surface. If you only need soft, ambient light in the room or if you'll be using the lamp for reading, go for a translucent shade.

Regularly decluttering, particularly surfaces and areas around windows, can let a room breathe and feel brighter. Upgrade light bulbs. Switching to LEDs or other high-lumen bulbs can make a difference. Opt for 'cool white' or 'daylight' tones to mimic the effect of natural light.

Candles and oil lamps are the most classic and traditional ways of indoor lighting without electricity. Candles can be lit up by matches or with lighters in case of power failure. Candles can be placed in designated holders or 'candlesticks' for more convenience. Oil lamps use oil, wick, and a light source to be lit.

LED lights are more energy efficient than other light sources because they use less energy and last longer. Switching to LEDs will help you reduce the amount of energy you use.

How can I brighten my house with decor? ›

Choose Streamlined, Light Colored Furnishings

Simple designs and light or bright colors help light reflect and keep the space feely bright and breezy. The same goes for rugs, too. Pick light and bright rugs to keep the space feeling open. This is an especially helpful suggestion if you have dark flooring in the room.

Ben Gallizzi is an energy expert at Uswitch.com. He told Metro.co.uk that lamps use less electricity and thus cost less to run, thanks to their lower wattage. Ben said: "Lamps will generally be cheaper to run than ceiling lights, as they are intended for close-up use and will commonly have a lower wattage.

Despite myths you may have heard, turning your lights on and off doesn't use more electricity than leaving your lights on. Turning off the lights when you aren't in a room is one of the easiest ways to save energy.

The light-emitting diode (LED) is today's most energy-efficient and rapidly developing lighting technology. Quality LED light bulbs last longer, are more durable, and offer comparable or better light quality than other types of lighting.

Plug-in ceiling lights: These lights come with a cord that plugs into an outlet, so you don't need to do any electrical wiring. You can simply mount the light fixture to the ceiling using the included hardware. Battery-operated ceiling lights: These lights use batteries instead of electrical wiring to power the light.