Colour and Lighting

Colour and Lighting

After spending hours, driving from paint store to paint store, sorting through hundreds of colour chips, you have finally made your choice. The paint is mixed and you are ready to paint. You apply the colour, only to find out it is not the same as it was on that colour swatch in the paint store. Before you go back to the store and complain to the clerk, the culprit may be the light that your room is receiving.
It’s a proven fact that natural or artificial light will affect the final look of painted walls.

South facing rooms receive the most natural light. Walls across the windows can be painted with darker colours as a dark colour will absorb more light and can be used to dull the effect of a very bright room. For the same reason, a light colour can look almost white. It may be a good idea to use a shade darker than the intended colour.
North facing rooms receive considerably less light. Using lighter and warmer colours
will compensate for that. White can look grey, especially on the window walls. Using a creamier white can help “warm it up”. If a darker colour has to be used, it will have less of an effect when used on a window wall.
A room facing east will look brighter during the day when it gets a lot of sunlight.
A west facing room will look dull in the morning but warm and bright in the afternoon.
The architecture of a home, will affect the influence natural light has on colour.
A bright, open space home can take advantage of the effect that natural lighting has on a colour scheme. At the same time, smaller homes with small windows will rely more on artificial lighting.
Different types of artificial lighting have a different colours and their interaction with the painted walls have to be carefully considered.
Incandescent lights have a warmer yellow effect.
Fluorescent light produces a slightly blue colour.
Halogen lighting is the closest to natural and it looks white.

After narrowing your choice to two or three colours, it’s a good idea to buy a litre of each colour and paint some “test patches” in the areas that they will be used in. Test areas should be on two or three walls in each room for a more real representation of the final result. Your painting contractor should be able to provide that service for a nominal charge. Your colour consultant can help with colour and how lighting would affect it.

To engage the services of a Colour Consultant in the Greater Toronto Area, call 416 733-7767 or click here to book a consultation

For painting services in the Toronto area call 416 733-7767 or click here to request a quote.