Selecting Wall Color

Color is light, and the color you perceive an object to have will change with the amount and type of light falling on the object.

The artificial light you rely on in your home is most likely to be incandescent. This light is yellowish and warm, although a new type of bulb corrects the yellow so colors appear truer and clearer.

Halogen bulbs produce crisp white light that makes colors look more intense. But halogen bulbs are expensive compared to other types, and they must be used and handled with care.

Fluorescent light is typically bright and clear. Buy warm bulbs or daylight-balanced bulbs rather than cool-light bulbs, which give a sickly greenish cast.

Natural light varies with the time of day, the weather, and your geographic location. (The light in the Southwest really is different from that in Maine or the Midwest.) To test the effect of natural light on the colors you plan to use, buy a quart of each and paint samples on poster board to move around the room.

If your house is surrounded by trees, the light that enters will have a greenish cast, which can change certain shades of yellow to an unappealing yellow-green in summer. Other colors may not be as affected by the filtering effect, and your eye (and your expectations) will compensate to some extent for any changes.