Natural Light Impact on Color and Style in Home Design
Have you ever walked into a store and found the perfect accessory for your home and then, when you got home, that piece looked blah? Well, if you answered yes, you are definitely not alone. It happens to everybody, including design professionals. Although there is nobody for us blame for such color discrepancy, we should use this experience as a reminder of how important natural light is when it comes to home design.
While some people prefer to only use artificial light in their design for consistency, we embrace the beauty of the unpredictable given that we never know how color will react when exposed to natural light throughout the day. Furthermore, besides making our design process more interesting, maximizing the use of natural light comes with other benefits: it is good for the environment as it will help you reduce your energy consumptions and also, it is good for your health, as the lack of sunlight has been directly related to seasonal affective disorder (SAD) which affects 6% of U.S. population, especially those living in areas of long winter and little sunlight.
Natural Light and Color
Natural light can have a dramatic effect on any home design project.
The color you see on your walls might be an exact match to the color chip, or not. And this is what makes design even more challenging and interesting at the same time. When we agree on the best design style to be used in your kitchen or bathroom remodel, we not only select the cabinetry, lighting and plumbing fixtures, and accessories, but we also select an appropriated color scheme based on your goals.
The array of colors we choose for your project will reflect the desired particular design style throughout the day, regardless of how sunny or cloudy the day is. We also study how these colors will perform under artificial light so your design is guaranteed to shine through during evening hours too.
The impact of natural light on certain finishes can be dramatic. While there are no specific colors that will cause such change, given that each material is different and each manufacturer uses a different pigmentation system, we have learned from our past experiences certain that wood tones, wood grains and hues of beige, greys and blues can definitely be challenging to work with.
The Right Color For Your Bathroom
Establishing lighting plans when doing a bath remodel is an important consideration when making design and material choices.
If your bathroom has windows, the negative impact of natural lighting can be easily prevented and a positive effect can be achieved by incorporating some artificial lighting, often with dimmer controls, to balance out the natural lighting during mornings and evenings, as well as reflective surfaces, including glass and mirrors. Otherwise, you can simulate the effect of natural light with energy-efficient LED lighting. The advantage, in this case, is the consistency, as no matter what time of the day or night you turn your lights on, the result will be always the same. Either way, one thing is certain: at the end of the day, when you want to relax and enjoy a fabulous bubble bath in your newly remodeled bathroom, the last thing you want is to have a bathroom that resembles an office space.
Talk with your designer about the feeling you want to create in your kitchen or bathroom and how the use of natural lighting can help achieve it around the clock.