How Wall Colors Are Impacted by Color-Changing Lights

We all know the disappointment: You carefully select the perfect paint color from samples at the store, but it looks completely different on your walls at home.

What happens between the purchase and the painting? Does the paint color somehow change after you leave the store? And why does wall color sometimes seem to change throughout the course of a day?

The light-obsessed pros at TCP have some answers for you. Our decades of experience designing LED lights have allowed us to spend hours every day playing with the science of light. We’ve long been champions of why home lighting color temperature matters – and it all comes down to how paint color changes with light of differing types.

We break down for you the basics of how human beings perceive color, why cool or warm lighting color can impact that perception and where to position lights for better control over a room’s ambience.

Then, just for fun, we dive into the effects of colored light on wall color. You’ll be amazed at how color-changing lights let you change up the vibe without switching out the bulb!

The Basics of Color Perception

We don’t really see color with our eyes. They are the portals for receiving light, but the human brain is the organ that interprets that light as color. And none of us perceive color exactly the same way.

Here’s basically what happens during color perception:

1. Light hits an object, some light is reflected, and some light is absorbed by the object.
2. The reflected light enters our eyes where photoreceptors in our retinas – rods and cones – transmit signals to the brain for it to interpret.
3. Rods in our retinas help discern shades of gray in very low light.
4. Cones in our retinas allow us to pick out the specific wavelengths that correspond to different colors.
5. Our brains interpret color very quickly while making unconscious assumptions about the conditions around the perceived object.

One interesting fact is that color perception is highly subjective – meaning we each interpret colors according to our unique anatomy, beliefs and circumstances.

Factors that can impact our perception of an object’s color include:

• The number and quality of cones in our eyes
• The light source illuminating the object
• The background color behind the object
• The language and culture of the observer
• The age, memory and mood of the observer

The takeaway here is that we cannot always trust our perception of colors. Remember the polarizing online debate about the color of a dress a few years ago? Turns out, the whole thing hinged on differences in background color, illumination source and those unconscious assumptions our brains make.

How Lighting Affects Paint Colors

Now, we can’t control most of the factors that impact color perception. In fact, there are only two you can control: background color and light source. This is why neutral wall paint colors and high CRI light bulbs are important in settings where color consistency matters, like factories or offices that use color-coded organizational systems.

Let’s look at three ways lighting, color and perception work together to change how paint colors appear:

Natural Light

Light that comes naturally from the sun contains the full spectrum of visible and invisible wavelengths. Its color quality changes throughout the day from sunrise to high noon to sunset. Old incandescent bulbs covered the full spectrum of light, as well, and you can mimic natural light with LED bulbs that deliver that familiar warm glow with higher efficiency and less heat output.

When it comes to natural sunlight in rooms of a house, the direction the windows face plays a part in the lighting color of that room.

Here’s what you can expect from light in rooms facing:

• North – Soft light with a touch of blue. Dark paint colors will look darker, and light paint colors may appear dim or muted.
• South – The most intense light. Dark paint colors will appear a little brighter, and light paint colors can look washed out, especially whites.
• East – Early light with a touch of green, then shadows later in the day. Warmer hues may appear muted with morning exposure, and all paint colors will seem duller in the evening.
• West – Early shadows followed by warm, orangey light. All paint colors may appear darkened early in the day, and warm shades of red, orange or yellow can appear over-saturated with evening western exposure.

Artificial Lighting

Artificial lighting is, obviously, any light that comes from a man-made source like light bulbs. If you’ve tried to figure out how to read a light bulb box recently, you know that there are hundreds of choices out there. That’s because each type of lighting emits a different lighting color temperature. The main choices include:

• Incandescent = Warm Lighting Color with a slight yellowish tint that can make cool colors appear muted and warm colors appear more intense
• Fluorescent = Cool Lighting Color with a bluish tint that makes most colors appear washed out
• LED = A Wide Range of Lighting Color Temperatures that allow you to set the visual tone you want, from cool and vibrant to neutral to warm – especially LED lighting with selectable color temperature or wattage

Light Positioning

The number and position of lights in a room can have a huge impact on how the space looks and feels. For example, a single overhead fixture might emit enough brightness for your kitchen, but its placement in the center of the ceiling will leave a lot of shadowy corners. Layered lighting from several sources helps you join the aesthetics and function of lights for a more pleasing effect.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Set the overall tone with ambient lighting. This typically comes from an overhead light, but it can also be a floor lamp that’s particularly bright.
2. Make chores safer and easier with task lighting. Under cabinet lighting, table lamps and pendants focus downward on areas where you chop veggies, read or do other focused work. They reduce the glare and dark shadows overhead lights can produce.
3. Add accent lighting for depth and dimension. Wall sconces, track lighting and recessed lights help any space feel more fully and comfortably lit. Track lights and some recessed lighting can be angled to highlight artwork or architectural features, but even a sconce washing up or down a blank wall brings a sense of proportion to a room.

Experimenting with Color-Changing Lights

Understanding the way paint color changes with light can be freeing! Rather than obsessing about finding the “perfect” hue for your walls, consider playing with light to alter your home’s vibe with the flip of a switch.

Options like TCP’s ColorFlip bulbs deliver warm white light when you’re playing it straight – then switch to a fun colored light when you want to change things up.

Effects of Colored Light Bulbs on Paint Color

Own the way paint color changes with light by using our color-changing lights deliberately! These fun light bulbs feature the familiar A19 shape and E26 base, so they’ll work in all your regular fixtures. Here’s how each of the five available color options will affect the way your painted walls look:

• Red – Neutralizes yellows while deepening blues and purples.
• Blue – Adds luminosity or brightness to cool tones, like blue, gray and green.
• Yellow – Adds brightness and visual warmth to all colors.
• Green – Mutes reds and oranges while making blues appear more complex.
• Purple – Saturates and punches up warm tones, like red, mauve and orange.

Practical Uses For Color-Changing Light Bulbs

Along with the fun of making paint color change with light on purpose, our ColorFlip bulbs have a practical side. They can serve as holiday decorations that require zero cleanup, especially in porch lights. They also give you effortless control over the ambiance in every room of your home.

Keep them in the warm white light setting while you prep food and beverages – then flip to yellow or purple when guests arrive for a colorful party vibe. There’s even a ColorFlip bulb that switches from warm white to more vibrant white light, which could make cleaning or other chores easier. And if you’ve got a teenager who’s lobbying for a paint color in their room that you don’t like, consider letting them use a ColorFlip bulb as a compromise that personalizes their space without the expense or commitment of painting.

Transform Your Home with TCP Lighting

There’s a reason TCP is one of the most trusted U.S.-based lighting manufacturers: We’ve been designing and crafting all kinds of innovative, energy-saving light bulbs for more than 30 years! From lights that let you select various lighting color temperatures without changing the bulb to color-changing lights like our ColorFlip bulbs, we do it all. So you’ll be able to find the lighting that makes your home look and feel its best at TCP. Contact us for advice and guidance on choosing the perfect lamps and fixtures for every room of your home!