Color and Light

Your choice of lighting in an interior can affect any color you've chosen for your walls and furniture. It can enliven or drain a person, a mood. The sun's position in relation to a room can alter color, as can the voltage or shade of your light bulbs. There is no more important factor in determining how a wall color or fabric is going to look in a room than light.

Before you make any decisions, evaluate your paint and your fabric during the day and at night, as it evolves with the sun and reacts under lamplight. And keep in mind that dark colors absorb light, as does flat paint, while pale colors and gloss paint reflect it. Coastal communities are awash in color. Abundant light keeps colors bright. In contrast, northern areas usually err on the side of softer colors because the light is not as ever present.

Natural Light
Most of us can agree than morning light is pretty wonderful, especially when it streams through undressed windows and bathes everything in warmth. But the sun goes down, and the pace of life requires that we not live, like our forebears did, with the sun's habits. And thank goodness we've progressed beyond firelight, which is lovely on a cold winter evening but hugely impractical in an Alabama August.

Candlelight
Candelight is the most desirable, if you don't have natural light. "I tell my clients that if they're going to have a dinner party, they should use candlelight," says Jennifer Garrigues. "It really is the most flattering of all lights." Romantic and warm, candelight evokes the past at any time of year or at any event.

Chandeliers and Sconces
It is still possible to find chandeliers and sconces that have not been altered for electricity, but it is becoming increasingly difficult and not always practical. and there is nothing wrong with chandelier light. "I love tall windows and pools of artificial light--what you get from lamps or fabulous chandeliers," says Patrick Dunne. Sconces in a dining room or hallway also provide enough light to be practical without being shockingly bright. "Beautiful chandeliers should always have a dimmer," says Jennifer Garrigues. "There is nothing worse than overhead lighting that is too bright."

Recessed Lighting
Overhead lighting is the source of the most consternation among designers. Mindful that it is sometimes a necessity, they are creative in dealing with it. Phillip Sides says, "I learned about recessed lighting the hard way. I kept installing it in my clients' houses, but they never turned the lights on. So now I won't use it unless absolutely necessary." Patrick Dunne simply won't use it. "Americans overlight everything," he says. "Not everything in a room has to be revealed."

The key seems to be in selecting low-voltage lights. "You don't want to highlight everything in a room," says Bill Ingram. "What is dark can be as interesting as what is light. It's good to have a little mystery." Barry Dixon uses incandescent lighting. "It's wonderful in orange-toned rooms," he says.

Lamplight
As an alternative to overhead light, lamplight seems to be the fixture of choice. Dixon and Garrigues both opt for pink light bulbs because they are so flattering. "The Ritz in Paris uses pink lighting, and people wonder why they look so good there," says Jennifer Garrigues. Dixon often lines lampshades in pink silk to ensure a flattering pink glow in a room. One thing to remember is to be careful in selecting your shades. Opaque lampshades will focus light downward, an idea that works particularly well on a desk. Translucent shades help diffuse light throughout the room, a particularly useful tool when you are trying to eliminate the need for recessed lighting.