THE PLAY OF LIGHT AND COLOR

Lighting plays a huge role in the way a color of a paint may appear. For instance if you were to take a can of paint and paint a wall in two different rooms, one that doesn’t have many windows and is mostly lit up with artificial lighting and one that is flooded with natural sunlight that same color from the same paint can may appear different. For this reason it is important to take the lighting of a room into consideration when choosing a color. Natural sunlight is very important to take into consideration. As the day progresses the light changes in intensity, creating changes in the appearance of color. The color of every room that receives natural lighting will change throughout the day as the sun rises and sets. During the morning as the sun rises the sun gives off a yellowish cast to a space. During midday the sun casts a cool bluish hue. During the afternoon as the sun sets the lighting gives off a reddish cast. North facing rooms produces lighting that is cooler, east facing rooms produce lighting that is warm in the morning and coolers in the evening, west facing rooms produce lighting that is cooler in the morning and warmer in the evening and south facing rooms produce lighting that is warm throughout the entire day. Artificial lighting is just as important to take into consideration as natural lighting is, just like natural lighting different types of artificial lighting can play a huge role in how a color appears. Many commercial and residential spaces use artificial lighting to light up entire rooms that do not receive any natural lighting. There are 5 different types of artificial light bulbs that can effect the way a color appears on a wall. Incandescent bulbs generate yellow light that intensifies warm colors but tends to dull cooler colors. Halogen bulbs produce a brighter white light that acts more like sunlight. Fluorescent bulbs generate a cool, blue light that amplifies blues and greens, but mutes warmer colors. fluorescent bulbs or “soft white” mimic the warmth of incandescent bulbs, but all colors can appear faded in their light. Full-spectrum fluorescent produce light that most closely resembles natural sunlight. So before you decide on a paint color for a specific room take these lighting tips into consideration.

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