As any real estate agent will tell you, when you're selling your home—or decorating a new one—one of the most dramatic changes you can make is to increase the amount of natural light it receives. Sunlight makes a room feel brighter, reduces electricity costs, improves your mood, and even helps maintain bone health, immune system function, and diabetes management. However, remodeling can be expensive and time-consuming; here are a few simple and effective ways to increase household natural light before staging your home—without spending a fortune.

How to Boost Natural Light in Your Home

1. Paint 

Dark colors tend to absorb light while lighter colors—particularly white—reflect it. If you paint your walls a light color, a single ray of sunlight can bounce around from wall to wall and illuminate all corners of the room. Each reflection multiplies the amount of sunlight in the room and makes it feel both brighter and larger. Choose paint with a glossy finish to increase its reflectivity.

2. Mirrors

An old trick of crafty real estate agents is to hang mirrors in properties they’re selling. Mirrors catch and reflect light more efficiently than almost any other material, so they are indispensable when you want to brighten up your home. Place them opposite windows and sliding glass doors for the best effect. If certain areas of your home are perpetually gloomy, hang a mirror, so it points in that direction and reflects light into the darkness. Another benefit of large mirrors is that they make the room seem bigger.

3. Flooring

As with paint color, floor coloring affects the amount of perceived light in a space. Instead of choosing brown, red, or charcoal carpeting, select a brighter, lighter color like off-white or powder gray. Alternatively, if you have dark-colored hardwood flooring, cover it with lighter colored rugs. They not only reflect more light but protect the wood finish. To brighten a kitchen, consider laying white or off-white linoleum.

For help buying or selling your home from an experienced real estate agent, contact Coldwell Banker Gundaker in Lake St. Louis, MO. Ryan and her team serve clients in and around St. Charles County and have developed proven strategies for real estate success. They can help you buy or sell a house quickly and at the price you want. Visit their website to learn more about the company, or call (314) 566-6903 to have them help you with your house hunting.