Wallpaper to make a dark room lighter

[Moanyoldcow]

I'm redecorating my bedroom and need some ideas to make it lighter. It's quite big but long and thin with a north-facing window in one thin end.

I'm going to have wardrobes with a tall headboard along one wall (all white) but I'm worried about how dark the room can get.

I was thinking a reflective wallpaper (say white and silver botanical) might make the room as light as possible. Only other option is just paint it all white but that feels a bit boring.

We are currently living with the previous owner's wallpaper which is black and silver damask with purple walls (it's like a fucking bordello) and it sucks all the light out.

Any suggestions? I really don't want to mess this up as I don't have the money to redo it if I mess it up.

What sort of colours/styles do you like? Traditional? Modern? Plain? Patterns? Bright? Neutral? There's soooo much to chose from!

Laura Ashley Cotton Wood is white & silver reflective. Or you could paint an off white/light colour from the Dulux light & space range to make it feel bigger?

Probably not what you want to hear but if a room is dark & gloomy you should embrace that with a dark colour to give it that moody feel. Very on trend (apparently!)

I like bright colours and the house is modern so I want something in keeping with the style. There's a lot of blue and green everywhere else in the house so steering clear of those. I think predominately white/silver/cream etc is probably for the best.

It's currently gloomy and it's really horrid in there - I feel like maybe I need recessed spots so I can give the impression of light with no pendant hanging down too but I don't have the cash for it.

I'll look at the Laura Ashley you suggested.

We have this (white & silver) on one full wall in our bedroom & on a partial corner wall - it works incredibly well, the other walls are just painted white. I think it would look too busy though if it was to be put on all walls in a bedroom.

www.grahambrown.com/uk/sarra-white-and-silver-wallpaper/19601-master.html

I had the same problem and went with just white paint and bought a huge mirror to face the window with the money I saved on the wallpaper. It doubled the light in the room!

Thank you all - I didn't think about a mirror but I'll consider that. Both of the suggested wallpapers are very nice.

I might go with a combo!!