In Decorating put first things first
March 23rd, 2007 by Jim Homet
Before jumping into your next decorating project, ensure you have the right lighting
Our eyes are designed to work in sunlight, and we are naturally happiest and most productive in sunlight. A study performed by Pacific Gas and Electric found that retail shops with a skylight recorded over 40% more sales than stores without natural lighting. That same study found students were performing 10-20% better on tests in rooms with natural light.
In terms of decorating, sunlight will represent colors differently than most indoor lighting. In the picture below, I put my digital camera into manual mode, and set the white balance on the white background in the sunny picture. I then used the same settings indoors under a warm white light (around 2700° Kelvin)
To test this in your home, select two objects that appear to go well together (for instance a paint sample card that you would consider for your wall color, and for your trim). Hold them first in the middle of the room away from sunlight. Then bring them to a well lit place like a sunlit window.
The two color cards will reflect light differently in the sunlight then the room lighting. The dark may appear much brighter and different hues, while the lighter colored card may have changed only slightly.
What to Do…
I want to take advantage of the sun. I think it makes me feel better to be in the sunlight, and the first thing that I want to do is try to make my room lighting as close to natural sunlight as is possible. From there, I will get a much better idea of the room’s potential.
Without major renovation, I am stuck with my windows, and what natural sunlight I get in my rooms. Instead, I change all of my lighting to full spectrum light bulbs (5,200°k see below) -including my overheads, sconces and lamps.
Full spectrum is often measured on the Kelvin scale. Kelvin was a scientist who in the late 1800’s developed a scale to test color hues at certain temperatures. He took a piece of black carbon, and started to heat it up. At different temperatures he recorded the apparent color hue. 0° Kelvin(k) is pure black while around 5,200°k represents noonday sunlight. On the Kelvin scale, standard incandescent lighting is usually around 2,500 – 3,000° and standard fluorescent lighting is usually around 3,200°.
For more information do a search on Google for full spectrum lighting. I have been seeing more and more full spectrum or daylight bulbs locally in shops as well.