How the Light Sources in Your Home Stop You from Choosing Your Best Paint Colors: These 5 Ways

Many people have had the experience of carefully selecting the best paint colors for a room in their home, only to be disappointed with this color once it has been painted on the wall.  This common phenomenon is inevitably the result of at least one of the numerous visual distortion factors that affect the human eye and alter our perception of colors throughout the paint selection process.  Among the 11 Distortion Factors, the one that often has the most dramatic effect on your ability to successfully pick paint colors for a room is the Light Source Factor.  Therefore, understanding how different sources of light behave in your home’s interior spaces is an important secret to picking your best paint colors.

The first point here is that the colors we see are actually just the result of light bouncing off of a surface and entering our retinas.  When we see a piece of paper that looks yellow, what we are actually seeing is yellow light bouncing off of that piece of paper.  That could be because the light source itself is yellow or because the piece of paper is yellow. 

Also, light of a certain color tends to pull paint colors toward that end of the spectrum.  We need not even worry about the actual color of objects, we should only be concerned about what color an object appears to be as a result of the light that is shining on it.  We use various types of lighting to illuminate our homes and businesses, and each one has different effects on the colors around us.

Natural Day Light or Sunlight






Visible Spectrum of Day Light from Sun

  Natural light, or the day light of the sun, is the purest light source (nearest to white) that most people ever see.  It shines (somewhat equally) across the entire visible spectrum of light from violet to red (think of a prism).  [see sun light spectrum on left]

The predominant color visible in sunlight goes from the high red end in the early morning, to the lower blue end of the spectrum at midday, and back toward reddish-orange in the evening. 

The fluctuating effects of day light will cause a paint color to tend to look warmest around dawn and dusk, and appear its coolest and lightest when the sun is at its peak in the sky. 

These effects of day light can be further accentuated if the sunlight is obscured by atmospheric conditions.  Moisture in the sky in the evening and early morning, brought on by various weather systems, can cause an even redder hue as the sunlight is filtered more by the atmosphere. 

Fluorescent Light





Visible EM Spectrum from Fluorescent Light Bulb

 The wavelengths in the fluorescent light spectrum, unlike those in sunlight which cover the whole visible spectrum equally, spike very sharply between 490nm and 590nm.  This means that almost all the glow from a fluorescent light bulb is green; there is very little light from the rest of the visible spectrum [see fluorescent light spectrum on left]. 

This is a major factor in the paint color selection process.  Colors will look very different in paint stores (typically lit by fluorescent light bulb) than they do at home.  They have a greener tint, in addition to being lighter, in the store.

The traditional fluorescent light bulb has become much less common in new homes, even in kitchens and bathrooms.  However, fluorescent light is quickly regaining popularity in the form of the Compact Fluorescent Light bulb (CFLs).

Incandescent Light



Visible EM Spectrum from Incandescent Light Bulbs

 Incandescent lighting, the light produced by the standard, traditional light bulb, is still the most common type of light found in most rooms of a house. 

Incandescent bulbs shine more evenly across a larger portion of the visible spectrum of light than fluorescent bulbs, but they still have a considerable increase in output toward the high end of the spectrum, actually reaching their highest point within the visible spectrum at 750nm, the very edge [see incandescent light spectrum on left]. 

However, light bulbs vary in their performance.  GE’s Reveal bulb has a much less even distribution of light across its spectrum causing it to be noticeably redder than their Soft White bulbs [see above].

Halogen Light





Visible EM Spectrum from Halogen Light Bulb

   Halogen bulbs are most commonly used in floodlights, recessed (or can-) lights, spotlights, track-lights, pendant lights, bar-lights, etc.

Halogen’s peak light concentrations are at wavelengths of about 650nm, giving it a reddish hue just like incandescent light [see halogen light spectrum left].

650nm is not as far into the red end of the spectrum as the standard incandescent bulb, but the reddening effect is often more pronounced. 

This is due to the fact that the halogen light bulb releases much less light throughout the rest of the spectrum, concentrating much more of its energy at this peak wavelength.

Xenon

Visible EM Spectrum from Xenon Light Bulb

Xenon lights are relatively rare in the home.  They are available for some spotlight and track-light applications; but they are becoming increasingly popular as bar-lights, intended for use under kitchen cabinets to illuminate countertops. 

Xenon light bulbs have a peak wavelength around 450nm putting them deep into the blue (almost violet) range [see Xenon light spectrum on left]. 

Like incandescent lights, Xenon bulbs emit light along a broader range of the visible spectrum. 

They have less of a spike at any particular wavelength, and are typically less bright, than fluorescent lights.  This means they tend to distort the colors around them less.

By the way, do you want to learn more about the visual tricks you must overcome to choose the best paint colors for your home?

If so, check out this blog post: Paint Company Color Wheels

Or do you need to know exactly how to fix the problems that are cause by varying sources of light?

If so, this article will give you everything you need to know: The Visible EM Spectrum and Your Paint Colors

Do you want to know how to save $1000s on paint and remodeling projects, pick perfect paint colors, design beautiful interiors, and increase your home's value by 23% or more!?

If so, this free resource will give you exactly what you’ve been looking for: Paint Color Miracle (TM)

How a Paint Company Lures You in with Their Color Wheel Display

Your average paint company knows that their most important advertising is done inside the paint retail location.  A brand’s paint color display (or color wheel) is its best tool to attract you to their paint.  How can a paint company use its own color wheel to lure you to their brand?  The answer is easy… color.  For centuries, advertisers have used bright, bold colors to focus the attention of customers on their brand.  The power of bright colors is evident in signs, logos, and almost every form of commercial marketing.  This fact is common knowledge, and yet it still comes as a surprise to many people that paint companies use these same tactics to draw your attention to their line of paint colors inside every home improvement store.

Using the Sample Card to Sell the Color Wheel





Brightest Colors Front and Center!

 

Of course, paint companies are a little sneakier than traditional marketers.  Paint brands know that when you are faced with an array of paint displays (such as in your local hardware/home improvement store), you are most likely to focus your attention on the color wheel display that most attracts your eye.  Since the marketers of paint brands understand the human (or perhaps, “animal”) attraction to bright colors, they know how important it is to include bright, bold colors in their paint lines and place them front and center in their displays.  This is the best way to attract your attention to a paint company’s color wheel.

So how does a paint company accomplish this color hypnosis of potential customers?  Well, it starts with the sample card.  Have you ever noticed how the brightest, most saturated color sample cards are always the first row you see in a paint display?  Well you guessed it… paint companies are playing with a loaded deck (of sample cards, that is)!

But a Bogus Sample Card Equals Bogus Paint Colors

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with stacking sample cards in the color wheel display so that the most attractive colors are the most visible.  The problem occurs because so many of those bold, dramatic, “attractive” colors are basically useless as paint colors in your home!





Bright, Bold Colors on Top!

  

It’s funny, but many of the colors that a paint company puts in its line would never look good painted on any wall.  The colors are 100% used to grab your attention when you are perusing paint displays.  People are helplessly attracted to bright colors; they are much more eye-catching and far more interesting to our brains.

Sadly, not only are people more attracted to the paint color wheels because of these colors, but beginners are more likely to find one of these bright, saturated colors most attractive and end up choosing one as their new paint color.  Unfortunately, for most of the reasons discussed above, those colors look ridiculous painted on walls.

To be fair, when brighter colors are painted on smaller surfaces, such as in an accent color, on trim, on a partial wall, etc, they are far less offensive than when they cover a room.  But the brightest colors in the display – with the least amount of white, black, or gray mixed in – will rarely even work in these applications.

Obviously, when mistakes like this occur paint companies have nothing to lose.  Whenever people pick paint colors that they are unhappy with, the paint company does not have to refund the customers’ money.  In fact, no paint brand in the country will allow you to return paint once you have purchased it.  Even better (for the paint company), since the customer is unhappy with the paint color they chose, they are probably just going to buy a whole new batch of paints!

Designer Paint Color Wheels




Behr Paint Color Wheel

 

Of course, there are a multitude of distorting factors making it difficult to pick paint colors that will end up looking attractive on your wall.  So, rather than filling the world with disgruntled customers, paint companies have offered the marketplace a basic solution to their problem of conflicting interests.  That solution is the designer, or “signature” brands that most paint companies now offer to accompany their primary brand.




Designer Paint Colors

 

Valspar Paint, for instance, also produces paint branded as Laura Ashley, Eddie Bauer, Waverly, and more.  These separate lines, or collections, have their own color wheel displays and are usually available wherever the primary brand, Valspar in this case, are sold.  Other examples are Disney Paints, currently produced by Behr, and Ralph Lauren and Martha Stewart, formerly produced by Sherwin Williams.

By licensing these names, paint companies and retailers are taking advantage of the popularity of these well-known brands to attract you to these paints; that way they don’t have to use obnoxious colors to bring your attention to their color wheel.  If you look at the colors in these displays you will notice that they are generally missing those bright, saturated tones.  Instead, most of the colors are more neutralized.  Naturally, these colors are much more attractive to paint on a wall in your home.

Paying for a Brand Name Paint Color?

If you are worried about ending up with an ugly paint color, you may be somewhat safer utilizing one of these designer collections.  However, the color range offered by any one of these alternative brands is very limited and typically the whole line of hues is all neutralized to about the same tone.  This gives the smaller brand a nice consistent look, but it doesn’t allow for much variety.  Also, these signature paints are typically more expensive (often 50% more) despite the fact that you can get very similar colors from the primary “mother” brand for considerably less money.

By the way, do you want to learn more about how paint company marketers influence your paint color decisions?

If so, check out this blog post:  “When Choosing Your Paint Color…  Don’t Get Fooled by the Color Names!”

Or do you need to know exactly how to adjust for the problems that overly bright/saturated paint colors cause?

If so, this article will give you everything you need to know: “Paint Companies Make 40% of Their Profits from Your Paint Color Mistakes!”

Do you want to know how to save $1000s on paint and remodeling projects, pick perfect paint colors, design beautiful interiors, and increase your home value 23% or more!?

If so, this will be exactly what you’ve been looking for: Paint Color Miracle ™