Left: Resene Sea Fog hallway by Trinity Interior Design. You’ve been to your local Resene ColorShop and chosen the perfect soft white for your living room. You get home, turn on the lights and… that white paint chip now looks dingy. What happened? It’s all about the lights. How colours appear can depend on the type of artificial light you have. Those at the store are probably fluorescent, and therefore give a clean, bright light. Or the store might have south-facing windows that bring in a cool light. At home, your incandescent bulbs may throw a much warmer cast. Likewise, your elegantly cool white walls might turn dull and shadowy. Or your creamy walls might gain a distinctly orange hue in the evening. Artificial light sources Incandescent light bulbs are the mostly commonly found in our houses. They emit a warm, yellow light similar to that of candlelight so will make warm whites and other warm colours more vivid, but if a low wattage is used, it will mute cool whites and colours. They cast a brighter area of light close to the bulb so can leave corners of the room in shadow. how light affects colour 22 |