Natural light is one of the easiest ways to make a room look it’s best! It shows off the true colors of everything and feels fresh and clean. For years I’d want to recreate that feel in our smaller spaces or rooms without windows, but the yellow tint of our light bulbs made everything feel drab. 

Regular warm light bulbs cast a tint on everything that changes the color. Incandescents were the worst offenders, but even some of the energy efficient bulbs nowadays give off that yellow hue that changes the color of the room. 

Years ago I found the easy the solution that is (literally) as easy as replacing the light bulb! Enter the daylight bulb…the easiest change you can make to make a room feel fresh and bright! I’ve been adding these all over since I discovered them years ago. I still find spots in our home that would look better with the daylight bulb. 

I added this inexpensive wood planked wall on our stair landing soon after we moved in, but the yellow tint of the bulb has bugged me: 

This little alcove upstairs gets tons of natural light, so the warm light felt really out of place. 

Look at the difference in just a quick change of the bulb!: 

That’s the actual color of our carpet! 🙂 I’ve done this tons of times and it never fails to amaze me how great everything looks! 

I don’t use daylight bulbs in every room — I prefer warmer light in our living spaces and bedrooms. But in bathrooms, storage rooms, hallways, closets, laundry rooms…it makes a HUGE difference. 

I install them in bathrooms no matter how much natural light the room gets. Our basement bathroom was feeling super dingy with the warm halogen bulbs our builder installed. I replaced those (left side) with the daylight (right), and what a difference!: 

If you use these you’ll notice that anything white looks MUCH better with a daylight bulb. And you can see the actual color of the Agreeable Gray paint on the walls. 

By the way, in the before the bulb was 100 watts. The daylight was only 60, and still looks brighter! 

With both the fan and vanity lights changed out, the difference is huge: 

I prefer daylight bulbs that have more bulb and less plastic, like these: 

Some LED lights have the plastic base that covers half of the bulb and I feel like those don’t let off as much light. I get a lot of ours at Home Depot (they have a big selection) but you can find them here as well. 

I first found these when I did a small makeover on our son’s old bathroom. This is the difference the daylight bulbs made with the old vanity light: 

Isn’t that crazy? I didn’t care for the old glass, even though the new bulb really did help. 

Here’s the difference with the new bulb and the new brighter glass as well: 

We couldn’t even believe how different it felt in here! It was like there was a window opened and letting the sun in. 

After I installed these I left the light on, came upstairs and for a split second thought daylight was streaming in the bathroom. I knew there wasn’t a window but my mind was tricked for sure. 

The daylight bulbs make everything their true color. This was with incandescents: 

Here’s the after: 

This is what I mean by the real color of the room. It’s amazing! Daylight bulbs really let your rooms shine the way they should! 

They come in different wattages, but overall they are brighter no matter what. In this room I immediately installed a dimmer because first thing on a dark morning they would be way too much. (Most are fine to use with a dimmer, but double check.) 

I tell you what — you see a lot more with the daylight bulbs. You know how you think you look pretty good in your bathroom and then sometimes you go out and you’re like, whaaa? Yeah. These show you all of that before you go out. 🙂 

Have you tried these “natural light” bulbs in your home? You can see all of my lighting tricks and tips here! 

P.S. See that bathroom after I remodeled the whole thing here!: