Setting the Mood

So, would you like warm white, natural white or daylight lighting with your kitchen, sir or madam? A question asked in this manner would probably leave most people scratching their head!

And the truth is, there’s no particular right or wrong answer – the choice of colour temperature is purely down to personal preference and the mood you want to create in a particular space or room.

If you prefer a more traditional yellowish appearance of a conventional halogen lamp then warm white (around 2700K-3000K) would be the ideal solution and is by far the most popular choice for homes throughout the UK.

If you want to create a more modern and cleaner look, then you may prefer the brighter feel of a natural white or daylight lamp (4000K to 6000K). Natural white and daylight both contain a hint of blue light (more in daylight) and looks brighter to the eye.

It also has a higher lumen output than a warm white lamp and is the perfect choice for task lighting in a kitchen or bathroom.

Below are some common areas where the different colour temperatures can be utilised:

– Warm white: living room, dining room, bedroom, hallway

– Natural white: kitchen, bathroom, study, office, retail stores

– Daylight: Commercial applications, retail stores, art studios

In the kitchen area, the style and colour of furniture will often dictate the design of the lighting scheme. A more traditional looking kitchen with an oak woodgrain finish and a dark worktop for example would suit warm white lighting.

Whereas a modern, contemporary kitchen with a white finish and matching worktop would look better with natural white or daylight lighting to improve the overall appearance. Warm white lighting in this environment would make the white look too yellow and ruin the overall effect as well as cheapening the kitchen.

Download our guide to matching colour temperature to kitchen worktops or view our blog guide to LED colour temperatures.

You can also use our lighting colour temperature configurator to see the difference between the colour temperatures.

There’s no reason why you can’t have a mixture of colours in the same space or room as you may want to have natural white for task lighting and warm white for your downlights or ambient lighting. Try experimenting with different colours to achieve your desired effect to suit your lifestyle.

For more information about colour temperatures and lumen outputs plus our fantastic range of LED lighting please contact the TLW team on 01302 741941 or email us here.

Inspiring lighting from TLW | The Lightworks.