Want Gorgeous Interior Colors? Look to the Light
See how to manipulate natural and artificial light — and learn about those baffling new bulbs — to get the exact room colors you want
Houzz Contributor. Owner of Buckminster Green LLC, (http://www.buckminstergreen.com), a remodeling company based in Philadelphia, PA.
Houzz Contributor. Owner of Buckminster Green LLC, (http://www.buckminstergreen.com),... More »
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If you're reading this ideabook, you've probably already looked at hundreds, if not thousands, of photos of beautiful homes. Perhaps you loved the colors in a room and wrote to ask the designer or contractor to ask what those colors are.
It's important to keep something in mind while browsing photos: Many home interior photos are taken using supplemental lighting, which affects how you see the interior colors.
Get inspired by the photos you see, but experiment in your house with the lighting you plan to use before you start painting. With all the new technology on the market that affects how a room is lit, the tips that follow will help you arrive at the perfect color.
It's important to keep something in mind while browsing photos: Many home interior photos are taken using supplemental lighting, which affects how you see the interior colors.
Get inspired by the photos you see, but experiment in your house with the lighting you plan to use before you start painting. With all the new technology on the market that affects how a room is lit, the tips that follow will help you arrive at the perfect color.
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| How color changes in a room. Every wall in this room is painted the same shade of gray, but look at the differences caused by the angles and placement in the room. Color also looks different under different circumstances: The day progresses and the natural light in the room changes, seasons change, a couple candles at night or all recessed lighting on full blast changes the appearance. It is worth the expense to paint samples on multiple walls before you commit to a color. The lighting in the room should be finalized too — don't look at samples with temporary bulbs hanging from pigtail lamp holders. And be sure to check the color at different times of day. A few ways to affect color through lighting:
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Note that the chandelier in this room is not on. Combine this with the fact that colors look different on different computer monitors, and what you see in the photograph is at best close to what the room looks like in person.
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Tips for choosing a lightbulb. You've probably noticed that there are a lot of options these days when it come to shopping for lightbulbs. Though most of us have a sense of what to expect from a 40-watt incandescent bulb, watts are no longer a good way to describe a bulb's light output, now that different technologies use different amounts of power to produce the same light.
Compare lumens to see how bright a bulb is, and if you want to know how warm or cool the light produced will be, look for the kelvin rating. For the warm light traditionally produced by incandescent bulbs, look for close to 2,700 Kelvin. Most of the old fluorescent tubes you're familiar with are around 4,000 Kelvin. Fluorescents come in many varieties these days, from warm to cool, from traditional tubes to compact fluorescents (CFLs), all in many interesting shapes. Each will have its own effect on the colors in your house.
Compare lumens to see how bright a bulb is, and if you want to know how warm or cool the light produced will be, look for the kelvin rating. For the warm light traditionally produced by incandescent bulbs, look for close to 2,700 Kelvin. Most of the old fluorescent tubes you're familiar with are around 4,000 Kelvin. Fluorescents come in many varieties these days, from warm to cool, from traditional tubes to compact fluorescents (CFLs), all in many interesting shapes. Each will have its own effect on the colors in your house.
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If you're concerned that the government has outlawed your favorite lightbulbs, plunging you into a confusing world of ugly-looking lightbulbs that give off weird light, have no fear. The only thing that has been outlawed is selling lightbulbs that heat your house more than light it. The old incandescent bulbs converted only 10 percent of the electricity used into light; the rest became heat. Ever hear of an Easy-Bake Oven?
Incandescent light is still available but in a more efficient package. Look for a halogen bulb like the one lighting this chandelier. These bulbs look the same as traditional bulbs, but with the filament encased in gas, they are able to produce light like a 100-watt incandescent bulb with only 72 watts.
Incandescent light is still available but in a more efficient package. Look for a halogen bulb like the one lighting this chandelier. These bulbs look the same as traditional bulbs, but with the filament encased in gas, they are able to produce light like a 100-watt incandescent bulb with only 72 watts.
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Use light to your advantage. The light source you choose affects how colors appear in a room, but so does the way you use the light. On this project, the gold leaf wall is washed with light from a bright LED strip. This combination gives off a warm glow. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are the longest-lasting bulbs out there, and they cost the least to operate. They have a greater up-front cost, though. Don't be surprised to pay $20 for an LED. Though the lifetime savings are worth the investment, if you don't like the quality of the light, it's all for naught.
Go to a lighting showroom where you can see different bulbs in action, or buy one and use it in the basement or garage if you don't like the color. If you like the yellowish light cast by a traditional incandescent, try the Philips Ambient LED. At 8 watts, it uses 80 percent less electricity than an incandescent 40-watt bulb.
Go to a lighting showroom where you can see different bulbs in action, or buy one and use it in the basement or garage if you don't like the color. If you like the yellowish light cast by a traditional incandescent, try the Philips Ambient LED. At 8 watts, it uses 80 percent less electricity than an incandescent 40-watt bulb.
| Adjust bulb color with fixtures. If the color of light produced by a bulb isn't quite to your liking, you can tweak it by picking a fixture shade that changes the light, like this glass shade from Schoolhouse Electric. But know that an enclosed shade on a fixture that hangs upside down like this has limited bulb options. LED bulbs will not last as long if they're exposed to the heat buildup in an enclosed shade. CFLs don't like to hang upside down — they will work and still generally last longer than an incandescent, but you won't get the full predicted life out of them. |
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This cool modern chandelier has exposed bulbs that would look great with some of the interesting-looking LED bulbs that are out there now. If your fixture is on a dimmer, keep in mind that while the color produced by the LED at full strength will match that of its equivalent incandescent, when dimmed the incandescent will get much warmer in tone, while the LED will just dim and the color will stay pretty consistent.
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by Scott Haig, CKD
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| Get help figuring out a lighting plan. Due to all of these factors, it can really pay off to have a designer help you with a lighting plan. Someone with knowledge about the lighting options will be able to maxmize energy efficiency and help you get the color in the room just right. Fluorescent tubes are placed behind the mirrors in this room. Incandescent recessed lighting and LED accents make for an interesting mix. |
by Studio Carver
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Using natural light. We've spent a lot of time talking about artificial light, but controlling and monitoring the natural light a room gets is also critical to selecting the right colors. Large windows are expensive and require blinds or curtains for privacy. For diffusing light on a large scale, consider Kalwall panels. These fiberglass panels are gaining in popularity in residential projects and can flood a room with light without the glare. Of course, just as with any source of natural light, colors will look different throughout the day, so don't pick a color you love at 10 in the morning, only to find it looks drab and dreary when you come home from work.
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Light from a skylight can be harsh, creating a spotlight effect and bringing as much heat into the house as light. Skylights also often require structural alterations to roof framing, and structural changes are never cheap. Instead of a skylight, consider a tubular daylighting device, shown here in cross section. Like Kalwall panels, the device fills a room with diffuse natural light. Though a 5,000- to 6,000-Kelvin bulb will supposedly reproduce natural light, there's nothing like the real thing. Even though the new bulbs out there use a lot less power than those Edison bulbs, there's no beating free light.
More:
How to Match Color in Photos to Real Life
Get Your Light Right for a Healthy House
More:
How to Match Color in Photos to Real Life
Get Your Light Right for a Healthy House
Ideabook updated on Jan. 26, 2013.
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In horror and despair, I immediately painted over it again, but if I would have seen this ideabook, maybe I could have rescued it through the lighting. I hope to never have another yellow fiasco, but if I do, at least now I know how to choose the right bulb! This kind of useful technical information can never go amiss on Houzz.
I plan to print this out, make notes, and keep it as a reference. It's the "Everything you always wanted to know about lighting but was too confused to ask" manual.
We like a modern/contemporary pallet in a house that doesn't get a lot of direct daylight ... here's what we ended up with.
CFL and LED bulbs throughout. (Gradually move to all LED.) All in 5000-6000 K. It's not for everyone, but we love what it does for our grays and whites and walnut flooring. We didn't want yellows or browns and the light clarity helps with all of our ideas.
Cost for bulbs (so far): a bit over $1000. I'll let you know when I have to replace one in between 35 - 45 years.
Thanks for a good article. Now bookmarked; we have to upgrade everything BUT lighting in the kitchen and two baths, so I'll save myself all kinds of time by using it then.
I should add: the big box stores carry very little other than 2700K and a few 3000K bulbs. We had to order ours online.
Not to dispute your advice; just recently in one of our leading newspapers in our City the heading read "Mercury bulbs pose a growing threat". (I live in Canada.) In a nutshell the topic targeted 'lack of storage or manage of mercury waste' and went on to mention that without proper legislation and control over so-called compact fluouescent lamps or CFLs, 'they and the mercury they contain in many cases will end up in land fills where their harmful mercury can get into the water', etc. An example given was; mercury contained in a typical thermoter can contaminate five Olympic-size simming pools to toxic levels'.
With that said; from my own experience while working in close proximity to a hard-wire ceiling fixture that was equipped with three CF*s I quickly discovered that they triggered vicious head-aches (that came as quickly as they went when out of range of them) giving me reason in event if I were personally to use even one it would not be put in a reading lamp nor worse yet in a child's room.
I was hoarding incandescent bulbs until I stopped by my local lighting store and found out that the halogen bulbs are the preferred alternative. They give off wonderful natural light and little heat. They are fairly expensive, but I was assured that they will outlast the old incandescents. Time will tell.
A lighting designer (for retail stores) said that in a home lighting should be handled by thinking of it as an enhancement for color (if you pick the right lighting). It helps me to think of it that way.
I sure do agree with the comments on the quality of light from CFLs! We tried to delay some of the expense of LED lighting by using CFLs in a good number of lights. Flicker, glare, general ugliness are all on the menu when you turn those on, especially if you've bought the "cooler" kelvin bulbs, i.e., 4500K and up.
The earlier fear over the mercury contamination levels during breakage has died down to practical levels ... but breaking a CFL is still not a good thing. And the end of life of the bulb should be handled via recycling; Lowes and Home Depot stores, among many others, have containers which are then sent for recycling. Just don't throw the bulbs in the trash.
One clarification: the mercury in an old thermometer is many times greater than the tiny amount in a CFL bulb.
Writing interior designers to ask them what paint color is in the picture is such a waste of time. NOT going to look the same in your house. It's great to see those pictures and use them as a general point of inspiration, but lighting, photography and printing or computer monitors all alter the way the colors look. I've even spoken with people who saw a paint color in a friend's house in person -- loved it -- and then painted it in their own house only to be very disappointed because it just didn't look the same. And they were utterly mystified as to why. This post does a great job of explaining how lighting alters colors. Add that to the way the other colors and finishes in your house affect paint colors and you realize you just need to address your lighting first, then choose colors by bringing them in to your home to see how they look there. A lighting consultant and/or color consultant are both a great idea if you need help.
I painted a hall a nice green, I thought. Until that night when I turned the overhead light on and it was like standing in a neon bubble!! It was so glaring and horrible I had to repaint the next day. Freaked me out so much I repainted it off white. I thought no way was I trying to get bold in a hall again.
Then there's the time I was trying to find the perfect taupe, so I came home and went to the darkest corner of the room and wondered why the paint looked so dark!!
My yellow experience was a nightmare until the guy at BM gave me Rich Creme and it turned out to be the palest and most pleasing of yellows that wasn't even a yellow. When we built this house that's the color I chose for my great room/dining room, laundry and pantry. It's a wonderful neutral and everything goes with because it has no undertones and whatever light hits it, it is beautiful.
It's amazing how up until recently, lighting was such an after-thought and now homeowners and designers are realizing the importance of it.
Like a previous post, we have been purchasing our bulbs online. Here is where we found a great selection. http://www.lightbulbmarket.com/endura-led-a19-(a55)-light-bulbs
I hope next time we'll read about recessed lights chose, effectiveness and it's insulation.