There's nothing worse than coming home after a long day and being greeted by a dark and dreary home. You instantly feel sluggish and irritable and spend the rest of your evening moping around. Light has a huge impact on our mood, so no wonder! If you're interested in learning how to maximize natural light in your home and boost your mood in the process, learn some simple ways to make your home cheery and bright.

Make Your Walls Shine

You can make your home sunnier by incorporating design elements that reflect and disperse light instead of absorbing it. The two most effective ways to do this are to decorate with mirrors or turn your walls into mirrors using reflective paint and finishes. You can find mirrors at just about any home and garden store. To maximize natural light, place these mirrors opposite or next to a window or door.

Thinking about giving your walls a paint job?  Light bounces off some paints and finishes better than others. Try high-gloss paint or semi-gloss paint (such as eggshell) for optimal effect.

Wash Your Windows

You have more than enough windows, but there's not a drop of natural light to be found. What's going on? The source of your home's inexplicable darkness could be windows that desperately need a deep clean.

The next tip on how to maximize natural light in your home is to wash your windows. Just because your windows look clean doesn't necessarily mean they are. Use a cleaning solution and a soft, microfiber cloth to scrub both the inside and outside panes of your windows, and marvel at the difference. Most homeowners clean the inside pane regularly but neglect the outside pane, which can result in a buildup of dirt and dust that prevents light from passing through.

...Or Invest In Brand-New Ones

Are your windows impeccably clean, but you're still not getting enough natural light? The problem could lay in the window itself. It might not be big enough, or it might have large and obstructive framework. The solution? Replace them with new windows. New windows can be expensive, but if your old windows let in so little light that it's starting to compromise your well-being, the expense is worth it. And besides—choosing new windows is incredibly fun. There are countless styles to choose from, from casement to bay. You can even have your own custom windows created.