With spring on the way, now's the perfect time to overhaul gloomy spaces in your home and add as much light as possible to dark rooms.

How? By banishing colours, fabrics and accessories that absorb light, and introducing those that reflect it instead.

Lighter rooms are the perfect way to enjoy those crisp spring days. So, follow our expert advice and inject more glorious light into your living spaces.

6 quick and easy tips to add light to dark rooms:

1. Mirror Mirror on the wall

Mirrors don’t just reflect your appearance; they also bounce light back too. So, if your rooms aren't getting enough light throughout the day, adding a few mirrors can easily remedy that.

Position your mirrors directly across from windows and other sources of natural and artificial light in your rooms. That way when the light does shine in, your mirrors will be there to catch it and ping it back, not to mention mirrors also make small rooms feel infinitely bigger too.

2. Re-expose your windows

Anything that hangs in front of your window will inhibit the amount of light that passes through. If you have curtains, opt for lighter fabrics, in softer colours and tie them back during the day.

Likewise, remember to roll up any blinds fully, and keep your windows clear of clutter, all of which will act as a barrier to light. A quick trim of any trees, branches or ivy obscuring light from your window will also make the world of difference too, as can giving them a quick clean which removes any surface dirt and grime preventing light from getting through.

3. Go Matt, not high-gloss

It can be easy to think high-shine materials are better for reflecting light, but actually the opposite is true. Rather than bounce light back, gloss finishes diffuse it instead so all that wonderful natural light goes to waste and fails to make its mark on dark rooms.

Matt furniture and paints on the other hand actually do exactly the opposite. Bouncing light back into a room, to bring about a fresher, lighter feel.

4. Use uplighters

Another quick and easy fix you can make in dark rooms is to install uplighters. Whether wall mounted or freestanding, research shows that the direction of a light source has a direct bearing on its effectiveness. With uplighters proving to be most effective when it comes to brightening up dark rooms.

This is because uplighters reflect light towards the ceiling, rather than horizontally or vertically like table lamps and ceiling roses do. The more light your room has up high, the lighter it will look and feel overall.

5. Ditch the wall art

Bare walls are light's best friend, so covering your walls with artwork, prints or pictures (while great for putting your personality across) will unfortunately inhibit your room's ability to transfer light.

That's because paintings and other solid objects mounted on walls absorb light instead of reflecting it. So, if your rooms feel dark, consider replacing your wall art with light-reflecting mirrors instead. Or simply cut back on the number of artworks to allow more light to naturally bounce around the room.

6. Decorate in white 

When it comes to reflecting light, no colour does this better than white. So, if your rooms are dark, and nothing else seems to fix it, giving your walls a fresh coat of white paint should make the world of difference.

Likewise, replace any dark furniture in a room with equivalent options in white or lighter materials. All of which will give dark rooms a bright, fresh (and most importantly) light look.

To explore our British handmade furniture, all available in over 150 fabrics, visit our website or call our experts on 020 8939 3800.