How to Use Light to Impact a Room
Impact of Window Treatments
Color and light can determine the focal point of a room. If you put a bold color on a wall, the eye is automatically drawn there. Similarly, if you put a colored window treatment in your window, that will become the focal point. Color makes a statement and adds character—so it’s important to understand how to get the most of the color and the way the light impacts it. In Connecticut, the trained specialists at Window Products will be happy to help you determine what will work best for your room.
Where to Put Color
Put color where you want your eye to go. Color draws the eye, so if you choose to put it on a window, your eye will go there. If the frame is white and the window treatment is also white, it will blend in, and the walls and accessories will be the focus. On a window, the general rule is to blend it in to the frame. If you feel the space is boring, contrasting window panels or valances can be added. Also, understand that certain colors will change the look of the space. Gold, orange, red-orange, red, and magenta have brown undertones and will blend into wood and make a space seem smaller. Black undertones such as purple, blue, indigo, green, and teal all enhance wood and visually expand space, making it look bigger.
Impact of Light
Natural light and artificial light will both affect the look of color in the room—and the look will change throughout the day because the light is different throughout the day. The four main times light changes are:
- Early morning, when the light is warm.
- Noon, when the light will be cool.
- Early evening, when the light is warm again, but from a different angle and with different colors than in the morning.
- Night, when we turn on our artificial lighting. Because there are many types of light bulbs to choose from, it’s important to understand how artificial lights might be different in your space than in another.
Because of the effects of light on the color, it’s important that you don’t just dive in. Use a yard of fabric on the window or paint a swatch sample on your wall, and observe how the color is changed throughout the day. Keep it up at least 48 hours before you make your decision so you know that you like the color at all times of day and won’t need to make a costly change down the road.
Color and Light in Fairfield, Saybrook CT
At Window Products, we’ve been serving Connecticut since 1994 with two showrooms – one in Branford and one in Southbury. We offer the full line of Hunter Douglas window fashions, a nice selection of screen shades, and a wide variety of awnings and shades. Our personalized service, quality products, and professional installation services ensure you’ll find the perfect window treatment or awning for your home or business. Contact us for more details.
