Colored Lighting
Decorating with colored lighting is an underestimated effect, yet the powerful combination of lighting and color is a way of producing stunning effects by simple means.
Awash of colored light on the blank canvas of the white wall, painting, or mural can create a totally different mood – without having to redecorate.
We all perceive color in our own way. In part, this is due to our physiological make-up, but our personal experiences also shape it.
Wherever light is intense, there are dazzling combinations of color: the blue of the Mediterranean, the bright colors of Africa, the vibrant hues of India and Latin America. Color affects our mood, adds flavor to life, and richness to our surroundings.
Light and Color
Light and color are inextricably linked. Colored lighting affects emotions and used to therapeutic effect in health and beauty spas, as different colors are through to create different moods, and so enhance the effectiveness of treatment.
The hot colors of the spectrum are invigorating, tonics that vitalizes and shake us awake. Cool shades absorb, soothe, and tranquilize. With colored light, we can change not only the mood but the apparent shape and size of our rooms as colors recede and advance.
How our perception of colors is affected by light, and how colors affect our perception of space, is critical when it comes to interior design. Blue can increase a sense of spaciousness – think of the sky and sea. The vibrant red invokes many psychological associations. Red is warm and welcoming when used in small doses, but a vast expanse can be overwhelming.
LEDs (light-emitting diodes), can literally change the color of your walls and ceiling at the touch of the button. With the light source concealed, all you are aware of is the magical effect of color.
In the contemporary interior, which might take a stronger, more dramatic lighting scheme, colored light on a wall or ceiling of the same color can provide even higher intensity. For example, using a blue light on a blue wall will increase visual saturation — the closer the color of the light to the wall color, the more dramatic result. Colored lighting techniques are often appropriated from the theater in order to bring additional color and drama into our living spaces.
Introducing color with lighting can transform our interiors. It provides a magical paint box of possibilities for creating a mood with lighting. From the subtlest wash of gentle hues, which dissolves boundaries, expands space, and creates a relaxing, therapeutic atmosphere, to the most theatrical effects.
