The new paint color looks amazing during the day. When night falls, however, it doesn't look as great. Or, the paint swatch looked amazing at the store, but at home, it looks quite different and isn't going to work for the space. What happened? In both of these examples, the issue wasn't with the paint – it was with the light. The type and temperature of the light changed, so the view of the color changed. This has an impact on how the color looks and can make a huge difference once something is painted.
Light Changes The Perception
Whether it's for cabinet paint or wall paint, the light that hits it is going to change how it looks. Colors are a reflection of light back at us on a specific spectrum. If the light changes from natural to artificial, for instance, what exactly is reflected back will change. This can be easier to see in some colors, especially darker colors, as they'll change more drastically depending on how much light there is and what kind. For painters, this means paying attention to not only the colors desired but how they look in different types of light.
Natural Versus Artificial Lighting
It's always best to test paint colors in natural light when possible. Test the colors in the same natural light they'll be in when used, though. What direction the light is coming from as well as the part of the day, can make a difference in how the paint looks. It's going to look different when the sun is first rising compared to how it might look during the afternoon.
All of this is going to look different from how the light looks when it's dark, and artificial lighting is used, too. The different temperatures of light bulbs make a difference in how the color will be perceived. Changing from cool to bright lights or switching from incandescent to fluorescent light makes a big difference and can completely change how the color looks in the room.
Cloudy Versus Sunny Days
It's easy to notice rooms get a little darker when clouds are covering the sky. Beyond making the room a little darker, it also impacts how the color looks in the room. Cloudy days create shadows throughout the room, which can change how the color is perceived. It may look quite a bit different on cloudy or overcast days compared to ones where it's sunny and bright outside. During the summer months, clear and bright days might be more common, but the paint can look different in the winter, where it may be more likely to be overcast and a little darker outside.
Using This When Choosing Colors to Buy
What all of this means for painters, professional or amateur, is that it's crucial to swatch and check out the paint in many different types of light to see how it really looks before settling on a color. The right way to test paint swatches is to use a lightweight board that can be moved around the room. Use this to paint the test colors on, then use it for at least a few days to see how changing light impacts the color. Place it on different walls or in different rooms to see how that can make a difference, too.
How a color looks in the store or online isn't necessarily going to be how it looks at home. Light has a huge impact on color, so what looks good in one situation may end up not matching well in another. Take time to test out various colors, even if they seem like they're pretty close together, to find out which one is going to end up being the right shade. This can end up making a huge difference in the long run, as the lighting in the room changes and adjusts throughout the day and over time.
