Our Northern Virginia winters mean shorter days, 40 inches of snow, and grey skies. If you are like many Northern Virginians who face long commutes, you will be up before the sun and traveling in the dull light of a winter dawn.

It’s no wonder positive attitudes take a serious hit during this season.

So how can you beat the winter blahs and put a little cheer in your life? For All American Painting Plus, Reston’s leading interior house painters, the short answer is “lighten up.”

Daylight is in short supply, so the best practice is to make the most of what you get and ensure your lighting is “upbeat” and not contributing to a shadowy scene (more on this in a little bit).

Interior painting has long been recognized as the fastest and most affordable method to change the feel of a room. Giving your living space a “light” backdrop can do wonders to brighten up a room.

Let the Sun Shine in – And Bounce All Around

The key to brightening up emotions is brightening up the environment people live in. Dark or “dense” colors absorb light. Pale colors reflect light. To get the maximum benefit from daylight or artificial light, you want walls, ceilings, flooring, furniture, and accessories that will reflect light.

Dense colors definitely have their place. As professional painting contractors, we aren’t suggesting you paint over that deep, rich, red accent wall with an off-white color. In fact, white, while it reflects well, does nothing to boost the spirits. You need some color.

There are some excellent paints that actually work year-round and never go out of style. With over a decade of experience as house painters in Northern Virginia, we know what colors stand the test of time. Interior decorators agree with us and you can find a list of colors that never go out of style in our blog post, 5 Home Décor Colors That Won’t Die.

More Tips to Brighten Up a Space

Interior paint provides the backdrop, now it’s time to optimize the rest of the room. Here are a few easy, no cost/low cost ways to do that:

  1. Remove your screens from the windows. You won’t be opening your windows for a few months, and by removing the screens you maximize the amount of sunshine you let in. Washing the windows is also a good idea.
  2. Invest in some light-colored slipcovers to give your furniture a more “reflective” look. Just the change in appearance boosts morale and at the end of the season when you remove them, presto, another whole new look.
  3. If you have hardwood flooring, consider removing area rugs. Let the sun (or lamp lighting) reflect off the shiny floors.
  4. Check the bulbs in all your lighting fixtures. There is a huge difference in the “color” of light between warm white, cool white, and daylight bulbs, not to mention LED bulbs. Try them out in your new “bright” spaces to see which works best.

If you need help choosing a wall color and getting the interior painting done, don’t hesitate to call us. We think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with our affordable, all-inclusive painting estimate. Don’t let the winter blahs get you down. Call us today.

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