How To Brighten A Dark Office With No Windows?

Lighting is the most important element of a comfortable working environment. Good lighting automatically adds to your comfort, well-being, and productivity whereas poor lighting significantly decreases the productivity level and makes you feel sleepy and drowsy all the time.

In addition, a poorly lit room can also be a source of headaches, blurred vision, and dry eyes. Therefore, never compromise on the lighting of your working environment.

Windows are a good source of natural light for your office. However, if there is no window in your office, it’s extremely important to invest in artificial lighting sources. Here we have prepared a list of things you can do to brighten up your office with no windows.

How to brighten a dark office with no windows?

Here are some lighting solutions you can use to add brightness to your windowless space in case you don’t have access to natural light:

Be Smart with the Wall Colors  

Colors can do magic if you incorporate them effectively around you. This principle is used in light therapy as well which uses different colors and lights to treat different physical and mental ailments.

So, start with repainting the walls of your office with some bright colors such as cream, baby pink, soft gray, or light lime green. The scientific reason behind the use of bright colors is that they reflect light and you are able to retain it for a longer time. In other words, light colors do not double or triple the light intensity, it just prevents the existing light from losing.

However, there is no need of painting your office wall white color as it would eventually make the room feel darker. White paint brightens the room only when it has already a sufficient amount of natural sunlight. An office without a single window or any natural light source would appear duller with white paint. Also,  avoid using dark colors on office walls as they absorb most of the sunlight coming in and make your office feel closed-in and dull.

Bring some Nature into Your Office Space

Bringing plants into your office is a very interesting way of bringing more light to your dull windowless space as well as cleaning your office air.

Bringing living greens not only illuminates the low-light conditions of your office but also boosts your energy levels as plants are a source of fresh air.

The green color is considered a natural mood booster. Seeing greenery daily is suitable for your eyesight as well and it’s significance is multiple if your workspace doesn’t have any windows.

However, do some research before selecting plants for your office. Consider the shade-loving plants and plants that can easily survive in low light. Spider plants, peace lilies, ferns, English ivy, and snake plants are the commonly used plants for offices with no windows.

Create Illusions of Natural Light 

“Fake it till you make it”. Yes, you have rightly accessed it. If you have an office with no windows for natural light to come in, you can create an illusion or sense of light. For example, add a bright floor-to-ceiling drapery against the wall. Big-size drapes imitate the look of window panes and create the illusion of more space. This would make your office look brighter and wide at once.

Another way to make your workplace look brighter is to use reflective accessories. Place different mirrors at calculated spots in the room so that your room appears visually expanded. Even a dim light gets amplified after reflecting from mirrors and transforms the overall look of your office.

Install French or Frosted Doors 

French doors are also a good option for bringing the elements of nature into your windowless office and eliminating its dullness. If privacy is not your concern, you can install French doors instead of regular doors in your workplace. French doors not only bring a huge amount of light into your office but also adds to the beauty and style of your office.

Indoor windows are also a good option as they allow light to flow from one room to another. In particular, these doors and windows are best for common rooms, reception areas, and conference halls of your office. In addition, it helps to make the entire space look larger and wider, which is great if you have a small space for your office.

Display Visual Artwork on Office Walls 

Another way to enhance the overall look of your darkened windowless office is to creatively use the vertical space of your office. The display of artwork and wall murals creates a huge difference by changing the overall look and feel of your office environment and helps in brightening it.

It also creates positive psychological effects on the minds of office workers and fills them with positive emotions. You can follow easy decorating tips for making a better workplace environment.

For instance, you can hang oversized paintings or photographs that depict any visual image from nature such as the sky, trees, water, or beach. Similarly, the use of wallpapers is also effective. You can go for any statement wallpaper for your entire wall as they create a huge impact on the overall office space.

 

Use Minimalist Furniture in your windowless office

Don’t overcrowd your windowless office with a lot of furniture. Instead, keep it as minimalistic as you can. Don’t go for high-back office chairs, rather you can incorporate mid-back chairs or reclining chairs in your office.

Less furniture creates a lot of extra space that allows ample light to come in. In addition, minimalist furniture in the office also makes it appear spacious and adds an aesthetic appeal to it. It’s a perfect solution if you have a small office space or don’t have any windows.

Select the Right Office Lighting Solutions

Lightning is one of the most crucial elements regardless of the type of office layout you have. Artificial light solutions are also a good option when it comes to illuminating your windowless office. There is a range of artificial lighting options such as using fluorescent bulbs with filters,  cove lights, string lights, and lamps

 

Blue-enriched Light Bulbs

If you have a windowless office or your office space lacks natural light, blue-enriched light bulbs ( around 17,000 K) are the best option.

Studies show that people working under blue light bulbs feel more energetic, happier, and active and experience less eye strain.

Cove Lighting

Cove lighting is another way to add natural lighting to your office with no windows. it is a type of indirect lighting installed in ceilings or walls to create an indirect light source.

The light is built in recesses, ledges, or beams directed towards the ceiling or against the wall that projects light throughout the given space. In this way, it gives a feeling of natural light and minimizes the visual disturbances of direct light.

Fluorescent Light Filters 

The use of fluorescent light bulbs gives a dark and dull appearance to the room. The harsh and flickering light of these bulbs can cause headaches and eye strain as well.

However, you can soften the fluorescent light exposure by adding fluorescent light filters in front of them.

These filters convert the harsh fluorescent lighting into full spectrum natural light that looks close to afternoon sunlight. This way you can not only reduce the negative effects of fluorescent bulbs but also can enjoy natural lighting in your windowless office space.

Hidden Lights 

A single light fixture in the center of the room projects all the light into a single spot in the middle of the floor whereas the rest of the office would remain dark and dull.

Hidden lights placed on shelves or other obscure spots are a good option that creates a warm soothing luminescence in your office without a single window.

Desk or floor Lamps 

Desk lamps are also a good source of soft light. The light of a desk or floor lamp is not only soft and uniform but also gives an elegant look to your working space.

You can use it as a primary source of lighting as well as an aesthetic decorative element.

String Lights 

You can also go for string lights by hanging them from the ceiling or attaching them to the edges of walls.  Using string lights with some other light alternatives is more effective for getting a well-lighted office environment.

Take Outdoor Break

Last but not the least, if your office has no windows, you should go for outdoor breaks during tea time or lunch hour. Sunlight has magical power in it.

Spending time outside in fresh air under the sun creates a sense of refreshment and brightens up the mood. So make sure to take small outdoor breaks during working hours as it can have a huge impact on your energy levels.

Conclusion – Last Thoughts!

In a nutshell, spending some money on the lighting of your office, especially when you have a windowless office, is a valuable investment. In this article, we have tried to answer the most asked question: how to brighten a dark office with no windows.

We have listed some office lighting solutions for you. For instance, change the paint on office walls as it would brighten up your office space as well as your mood. Try to create illusions of light by strategically placing mirrors or you can add french or frosted doors to bring an element of light to your windowless office.

In addition, the shortfall of natural light in an office with no windows can be compensated by using artificial lighting options such as cove lights, fluorescent lights, string lights, desk lamps, etc. We hope that with these right office lighting solutions, you are now able to brighten up your windowless office space.