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How Lighting Transforms Paint Tones: Tips for Perfecting Your Home’s Color Palett
Light dramatically affects our perception of color. This is why the same paint surface can appear different under various lighting conditions. Sunlight reproduces color tones most accurately. However, the lighting in your home changes depending on the time of day and season. The tone of natural light varies depending on the time of day, and artificial lighting also alters tones.
With tips from Eva-Marie Eriksson, an interior architect at the Fyra design office, you can consider lighting conditions when choosing paint and create a lighting setup that beautifully and comfortably reproduces tones in your home.
Pictures: Fyra
Examine the tone in changing and prevailing lighting conditions
“The correct paint color should always be chosen in the space where it will be applied. Since home lighting changes throughout the year and day, it’s important to examine the paint color both in natural light and in the artificial lighting present during the darker and nighttime hours. If the space has no natural light, colors should primarily be studied under artificial lighting. It’s essential to observe the paint tone under different light conditions, but also to accept that the tone will never remain constant.”
It’s also good to consider views through windows and the surrounding colors. If a lot of natural light floods the room and there’s a brightly colored wall outside the window, this can reflect its color into the room and unexpectedly affect the chosen tones.
Check the light source’s RA value
In home lighting, it’s important to also pay attention to how artificial light reproduces surrounding tones. The characteristics of the light bulb strongly influence how color tones appear. When selecting a bulb, it’s good to consider the color rendering index (CRI) RA value. The RA value indicates how well the bulb reproduces colors. The higher the RA value, the better the colors are rendered. I recommend choosing bulbs with an RA value of 85 or higher. This way, the tones in the decor won’t be distorted under artificial light, even though the amount and temperature of the light change compared to bright daylight.
Check the light source’s color temperature
Another factor to check when choosing a bulb is the color temperature, which is measured in Kelvin (K). The lower the Kelvin value, the redder the light, and the higher the Kelvin value, the bluer and colder the light becomes. In a home environment, warm lighting is generally perceived as more comfortable than cold lighting. For home spaces, a 2700K (warm white) or 3000K (pure white) light is ideal. In addition to wall surfaces, the color and material of the floor affect the final result. It’s always best to test the light on-site whenever possible. The colder the color temperature of the light (3500K and above), the cooler it makes the wall tones appear.
