You've pulled the curtains and blinds, opened the windows, and even got rid of clutter. But somehow, your room still feels dark and closed in. If you've exhausted the most obvious culprits, maybe it's time to rethink your paint colors. When it comes to brightening up a room, painting the walls is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to make a real impact. In this article, we look at 5 colors that make a room feel brighter and give you some ideas about how to pair them with other colors, furniture, and furnishings.

Pale sky blue

Pale sky blue is, as its name suggests, a light and airy color, and is probably the strongest contender for colors that make a room feel brighter. It is an especially great color for a bedroom. Blue occupies the cooler end of the color spectrum, so it will make the room feel cooler, which can help you sleep better. A chalky pale sky blue will also create a calming environment that's perfect for relaxing and unwinding after a long day. It can help guests relax when they spend the night in your spare bedroom. It can also contribute to creative thinking in your home office.

Pale sky blue is also a fantastic color for kitchens. Create an airy, spacious, and bright area by pairing pale sky blue walls with white accents on door frames, cabinets, and furnishings. Choose natural browns or grays for a pleasing contrast in your furniture (we stock a beautiful slate gray dining table that is perfect for open-living kitchen-diners!)

Creamy white

Creamy white is another great color for making a room feel brighter, and it's perfect if you want to lighten up your space but don't want to give up the option of changing up the decor later. Stark bright whites or pure whites can be a tad overbearing when painted on every wall, and leave quite a clinical impression, so choosing a creamier tone is usually best.

White paint is, of course, a neutral color, which means it's easy to pair with most other colors on your walls or furnishings. Also, white works well on almost any surface, except wood laminate or textured walls, because it tends not to hide imperfections. If you have a family, keep your white colors on the walls (and choose a paint that can be wiped clean if you've got crayons and a little Picasso running around!)

Creamy white will work particularly well in rooms where you need an airy feeling and plenty of light—like kitchens or bathrooms—but can also be used in other areas of your home where you need to instill a sense of quiet and calm, like a bedroom. Finally, remember that painting a room white has the added benefit of not taking away from more important elements like furniture or artwork, since white doesn't take on too much personality itself!

Lavender

Lavender is a soft, gentle color that can make almost any room feel brighter while retaining that cozy and inviting feel. Naturally, it's a strong choice for the bedroom because lavender (the color and the herb!) is known to be relaxing and can help you fall asleep faster. To coordinate your furniture with lavender walls, look for complementary colors like light grays, silvers, or very pale woods (this luxurious gray bed frame is stunning against pastel walls).

Lavender is also ideal for instilling a sense of calm in typically busy areas of the home, like the kitchen or bathroom. Whether you're cooking a meal to eat at home or putting the finishing touches on your outfit for a special night out, a lot happens in the kitchen and bathroom. Using a color like lavender gives you a light and bright workspace without compromising on the room's relaxation functions, too.

Light pink

Light pink is another inviting and relaxing color that can feel warm and bright. It's one of the best choices for rooms with a lot of windows and for small rooms that you want to feel more spacious. Pink also works beautifully with gray living room furniture (like this gorgeous sectional sofa).

While typically pink paint is used on feature walls in contrast to lighter colors like creams and whites, bolder decorators can use pink all on its own if there is sufficient natural light in the room. And, although traditionally thought of as a feminine color and often marketed as perfect for a girl's bedroom or a dressing room, trends of recent years have seen much greater adoption of pink's many interesting tones among men, giving this color opportunity to shine throughout the home.

Mint green

Mint green is another good choice for colors that make a room feel brighter. Not only is it a cool color, but it also has the effect of making your space feel larger and more open. If you have a small room, this can be an effective way to make it appear bigger than its actual size. The same goes for rooms with low lighting or plenty of natural light coming in through windows—mint green is remarkably versatile in that it can help brighten up both types of spaces.

If you don't fancy painting the entirety of your walls mint green, consider getting a printed wallpaper that delivers the same natural and earthy feel from the greens without the intensity of the color block.

Get painting!

We hope this article has given you some ideas for making your home feel more welcoming through the use of wall colors that can make a room feel brighter. With so many different paint colors available, it can be hard to know where to start. But if you keep in mind the tips we've outlined above, it will help you to transform your space. To find exceptional quality products at great prices to decorate your new room, take a look at Gallery Furniture's current sales and offers HERE.