Colour & Light

Have you ever picked a paint colour in the store, loved it, but got it home and it looked totally different? Colours change when viewed under different lighting conditions. Some colours that tend to look quite different under certain lighting conditions are gray, grayed-blues, taupes, tans, grayed-greens, grayed-yellows and mauves.

Natural sunlight is considered the idea light source it maintains a neutral balance between the warm (yellow cast) and cool (blue cast) ends of the light spectrum. Here, direct sunlight provides the truest rendition of the colors in this room.

Northern light is the coolest, while light from a southern
exposure is most intense. 

The sun moves and changes throughout the day, indirect sunlight warmifys the room, making a noticable change to the colours and visual feel.

You can see how the use of artifical light in the evening
completely changes the colours of this room. 
With so many lighting options available on the market now, consider your room colour when picking up your next box of light bulbs.

Consider the following when choosing your next light bulb.
The room will appear warm under incandescent and halogen lights, blues and greens are dulled while reds and yellows are enhanced.
Fluorescents which are used quite often now (due to their energy efficiency) provide a cool cast of light, blues and greens are enhanced, while reds and yellows are muted.

My biggest tip.....
Take a big chip home, most paint stores carry them or invest in a small can (usually under $10).
Attach the chip or paint a square on the wall and watch it over the next 24 hours or so how does it look? How does the light affect it?