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kristin_c

yellow-tinted whites and fluorescent lights

kristin_c
10 years ago

I painted my "new" kitchen with BM Simply White and in natural light it reads as a soft white, but in artificial light it looks distinctly cream, especially next to my off-the-shelf white trim.

The kitchen light right now is an old-school fluorescent fixture (with the long tubes) that I plan on replacing anyway. Probably the replacement fixture will take CFLs and I hope they're not as cold as the fluoro tubes. So what I'm trying to figure out is, are the fluorescent lights emphasizing the yellow tint in the Simply White, and/or the blueness of the trim, and will changing the lights make it not so obvious? I would hate to repaint (with another $$ gallon of Aura no less) if it would be fixed by changing the lights.

Thanks.

Comments (4)

  • tbo123
    10 years ago

    well, SW in my garage (fluorescent) looks white with no particular undertones.
    SW in my kitchen with natural light (not much) looks yellowy at least when compared to the laminate white cabs.

    FWIW

  • kristin_c
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Huh.

    I noticed the spot where it looks the most cream is on the small strip of wall over the pantry and basement doors. Both those doors still have the old paint job on them, which is an almond color. I guess the wall may be reflecting that almond color back, so I think I'll live with the paint until I get the doors down a repainted white and see how that works.

  • Faron79
    10 years ago

    A bulbs' "Color-temperature" (C/T")can play a big role here...

    * "Warm-Whites" are noticeably AMBER. These are skewed toward the "RED" end of the spectrum. This C/T-range is typically ~~ 2800deg.-3300deg Kelvin ("K").

    * "Cool-Whites" are much less amber...looking much "Whiter". Their C/T ranges from ~~ 3400K-4500K.

    * "Daylight" bulbs cover the upper K-range. These are usually sold in the 4500K-6000K range. Bulbs here are BLUER than
    warm whites...literally, since that's the part of the light spectrum they're moving towards!

    Scroll down to the picture in the attached link. It's a good graphic for bulb K-ranges in our visible spectrum.
    Notice that bright sunlight at noon is ~~ 5500K.

    Faron

    Here is a link that might be useful: Bulb Color-temps...

  • PRO
    Lori A. Sawaya
    10 years ago

    Totally. Color and light are inextricably tied. Change the quality of light emitted and you change the quality of the reflection that bounces back to your eyeball from what that light lands on.

    Fluorescents come in different colors or color temperatures like Faron mentioned. Color Rendering is equally important.

    With the whites you're working with (and in general) a good fluorescent bulb to try is one that is at least 5000K with a CRI of 85 or 90.

    That should balance out the quality of light and in turn even out the "colors" of white you're seeing.

    CRI Link: https://www.topbulb.com/color-rendering-index/

    Here is a link that might be useful: Bulbs to buy

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