When illuminating residential or commercial spaces, the foundational approach is to create layers of light by combining a variety of fixture types and applications. Lighting also has an emotional component. Human-centric lighting nurses the individual’s circadian rhythm and mood.
Mood lighting harnesses color temperatures, actual colors and flexible controls to set the atmosphere within a given space. Moods that lighting can cultivate include a sense of calming and relaxing, warm and romantic or energizing and focused. Almost any commercial space can gain added value from mood lighting, including the office, hotel and medical space.
Table of Contents:
- Types of mood lighting
- Color temperature: warm vs cool
- The psychology of color and light
- Advanced lighting controls
Types of mood lighting
A layered approach to lighting yields the best results in any space. You’ll want to combine multiple fixtures from the following typologies:
- Ambient lighting – general overhead lighting, most commonly ceiling fixtures.
- Task lighting – focused light for completing a specific activity, such as table lamps.
- Accent lighting – fixtures that highlight objects or design elements, like spot lights, wall lights or recessed cans.
Combinations of these three lighting types allow you to set the scene and shape the mood. Ambient and task lighting fixtures are focused more on the practical, but accent lights give you the opportunity to get creative and infuse a space with color and character. Examples of dramatic mood lighting fixtures include:
- Backlit wall mirrors
- Under- or above-cabinet lighting
- Neon lights and signage
- Wall sconces (particularly those that wash light up or down the wall)
- Perimeter cove lights
- Colored spot lights
Color temperature: warm vs. cool
You’re likely very familiar with color temperature as it relates to white light. Warm white lights are less than 3,000K, cool white lights range from around 3,000 to 4,500K and daylight is more than 4,500K. As a general rule, warm whites create a cozier atmosphere and cool whites work best for task-orientated spaces.
Mimicking natural daylight offers many benefits, particularly within offices. High CRI, color-tunable LED lighting products have the potential to improve our circadian rhythms, among myriad other health benefits, as well as to increase productivity.
As a designer, however, white light isn’t your only option. When it comes to mood lighting, you can paint a space with practically any color, but it’s important to understand the effects of particular colors on the moods of occupants.
The psychology of color and light
According to the 2022 study, “Effects of Colored Lights on an Individual’s Affective Impressions in the Observation Process,” “[j]ust like other design elements in the space, different colors of light have a rich impact on the mood state of the emotional experience.”
Colors have common associations:
- Red recalls passion
- Blue denotes calm
- Green is healing
- Yellow feels optimistic
However, this study identifies negative associations with some of the colors: Red and blue light can increase irritation and reduce relaxation and stability. Red light can also reduce feelings of calm and pleasure while increasing nervousness.
Determining the best colors to use has a lot to do with the function of a space. Offices and medical facilities require a more nuanced and subtle approach to incorporating mood lighting and color, while hospitality settings like restaurants, retail, fitness centers or spas can benefit from a more dramatic approach.
Advanced lighting controls
Commercial interiors benefit from built-in flexibility when it comes to lighting. As the day passes, the way natural light enters spaces shifts, or perhaps the use and function of the space itself changes. Advanced lighting controls allow occupants and staff to dim fixtures, alter the color temperature or change the color of the light—recasting surfaces within the space.
Office workers often spend their entire day within a workspace, and the ability to adjust light fixtures can give the individual a sense of ownership and boost morale. Hospitality settings, such as restaurants, can gain added value from a shift in atmosphere between lunch and dinner service, for example. Dimmer lights and warmer colors invite patrons to relax while dining.
Mood lighting within commercial spaces is a means of heightening the experience for employees and customers alike. Color can be used to reinforce a brand, assist in wayfinding or infuse a sense of drama. As designers, one can strive to create spaces that are functional while also making time spent there moving and memorable. Colorful mood lighting can be extremely useful for creating the happiest or calmest space.
