The Impact of Lighting on Paint Colour and Selection

Lighting has a big impact on paint colour and selection in many ways. Today, in our blog, we want to talk about lighting and how it affects paint colour. This is, in fact, a very complex topic, but we will give you a simple overview.

Light Bulbs

The first thing to understand is that light bulbs are rated by “Kelvin temperature.” Higher Kelvin numbers correspond to “cooler” colours, like blue. Lower Kelvin numbers correspond to “warmer” colours like yellow and orange. This is an arbitrary system that may not make sense, but that is what you need to know.

Practically speaking, if you want to create a warm and cozy atmosphere, then you should choose light bulbs with a lower Kelvin number which will contribute a “warmer” tone to the room. Similarly, warm colors would be those with some yellow in them, like anything from yellow to red. Other colours can have a yellow undertone which will make them feel warmer.

Similarly, paint colours that lean to blue or have blue undertones will feel cooler, and if they are well lit, they will feel brighter.

In areas which you want particularly bright, such as a workspace, then it is best to choose lighting that has a higher Kelvin number. Also, be aware that fluorescent light tends to give off a bluish cast. Some people like that, and some do not.

Our Eyes

The next thing to understand is how our eyes perceive colour. In our retinas, we have tiny parts called rods and cones. Cones perceive colour, and rods perceive only black and white and shades of gray. What that means is when there is very little light, we only see gray. (Try this outside by looking around just before dark.)

For practical purposes, if you want a room colour to look very saturated (or bright), then you need plenty of light, because in low light, the colour fades away. So, if you are trying to create a bold statement or drama with wall colour, you need sufficient interior lighting for us to fully appreciate the colour.

Any subtleties of wall colour are lost in a poorly lit room. For this reason, give careful thought to lighting in your home. You can use ambient lighting, accent lighting, and task lighting to make your room function the way you want it to, and then select the Kelvin ratings of bulbs to enhance the wall colours chosen.

Level 5 Painting are experienced and dependable interior and exterior, residential and commercial painters based in Surrey, British Columbia. The Level 5 Painting crew performs at the highest industry standards to exceed your expectations and deliver painting projects with phenomenal results. 

If you have any questions about this article or would like to talk to us about your next painting project, then please call us at (604) 910-4828.