eLightBulbs Lighting Blog > Well-lit rooms look larger than dark rooms!

I was listening to the Dave Ramsey talk show¹. Many of you know him as the self-made real estate millionaire and personal finance expert. While it is inspiring that he has helped lead thousands of people out of debt, honestly, I just like the way Ramsey shoots straight from the hip. But I certainly wasn’t expecting to hear about light bulbs.

Ramsey was asked, “What are some key things to do when getting a house ready to show?”

He replied that it was helpful to stand out on the street to look at it. “Curb appeal is most of what sells a house,” he said. “Ask yourself, ‘What’s wrong with this picture?’. . . Get the kids’ handprints off the front door, get the cobwebs out of the corner. The first impression at the door can mess up your showing.”

So far so good.

He took us inside. “Take half of the stuff out of your closets and put it in boxes. Full closets look small. Take half the stuff out of the kitchen cabinets and everything off your kitchen counters so they appear larger and less cluttered.”

Here’s where I almost dropped my coffee. “Put new light bulbs in every light fixture, bright bulbs. Well-lit rooms look larger than dark rooms.”

Wow, there it was. So simple, yet I didn’t even see it coming.

I started thinking -- here’s a world-famous real estate guy and talk show host getting down to the little things, like changing every light bulb in the house to impress a potential buyer. Nothing so grandiose, but in its own way, profound. Now there’s an eye for small details you can learn from.  Hmmm, I wonder if Ramsey uses energy efficient compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs in his houses…