Light and Color

Choosing Lighting with Color in Mind is an Important Decision.

You can make appropriate lighting choices that consider light and color in your home!

 

Important Information

Color Rendering Index:

Describes the way light makes colored objects look.

• For example, incandescent (97-100 CRI) has an excellent color rendering index!

 

Color Temperature:

Described the way the light source appears.

• For example, the color temperature of incandescent light is warm, about 2700 degrees kelvin. Other sources are cooler. Some fluorescent lights are about 4000 degrees kelvin.

 

Purchasing:

• Carefully read the package before you purchase the bulb. The package will tell you the color rendering index and color temperature.
• Be sure to purchase light bulbs from a reputable manufacturer.
• Spending a little extra time at the store can save you aggravation when you get home!

 

When Thinking of Light and Color, Consider...

Appearance: 

• Different light sources may affect colors. For example, the same color might look different when viewed under incandescent and compact fluorescent lights.

Color Critical Areas:

• Lighting affects color. Color critical areas include dining rooms, family rooms, bathrooms, closets, bedrooms, laundry rooms, craft and hobby areas, and places where art is displayed.

Initial Cost:

• How much will the light cost when you first buy it?

Control:

• Dimming might change the color of some lights. For example, dimming incandescent lights makes the light appear more orange.

Remember:

• Lighting can produce warm or cool atmospheres. For color sensitive activities, such as applying make-up and selecting fabrics, consider warm light.
• The color of daylight varies at different times of the day, across seasons, and in geographic locations.

Approximate ranges for color rendering index and color temperature for common home interiors light sources

 

Lighting can ... 

• Create a cohesive “warm” or  “cool” look in your home

• Make skin tones look more natural

• Help you closely match colors (for dressing, sewing, arts and crafts, or laundry)

• Enhance colors in your home

 

Consider how the color rendering index and the color temperature affect your home.

 

Color Rendering Index (CRI)

Specific types of light sources create different effects on colored objects in your home.

 

Color Temperature

Specific types of light sources create different cool and warm atmospheres in your home. 

 

 

Sources:

Illuminating Engineering Society Color Committee. (1992). Color and illumination. 

New York: Illuminating Engineering Society of North America.

 

Holtzschue, L. (2002). Understanding color: An introduction for designers (2nd 

ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons.

 

Karlen, M., & Benya, J. (2004). Lighting design basics. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley 

& Sons.

 

Williams, B. (2000). Light Sources for Architectural Lighting. Professional Lighting 

Resources. Retrieved November 22, 2011, from http://www.mts.net/~william5/library/sources.htm

 

Winchip, S. M. (2008). Fundamentals of lighting. New York: Fairchild 

Publications.

 

Authors:

Paulette Hebert, Ph.D.

Professor

Design, Housing & Merchandising

 

Gina Peek, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Extension Specialist

Housing & Consumer

 

Mihyun Kang, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Design, Housing & Merchandising

 

Reviewers:

Barbara Denney
Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

 

Brenda Miller
Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

 

Emma Rose Moore

Oklahoma Consumer, Member Oklahoma Home and Community Education (OHCE)

 

Pamela Turner, Ph.D.

University of Georgia

 

Graphic Design:

Sylvia Chaney

 

Text Layout:

Jessy Kramp