interesting observation about paint

**ladykemma2** · 01-18-2010, 11:01 AM

i recently remodeled and hired professional painters to come into my home and repaint and fix up some rooms in my house. it was worth it.

i chose a cheery satin yellow paint for the great room/kitchen with refrigerator white flat paint for the ceiling. (sherwin williams "Picket Fence") -- it is very bright.

the point of bringing this up is I notice that the bright white ceilings are so bright that i do not need to turn lights on during the daytime at all. before i always had the kitchen lights on all day long.

so I am observing and need to prove that my electricity bill will be lower with the white white white paint on the ceilings.

**Debbie-cat** · 01-18-2010, 11:04 AM

Congrats on a newly painted rooms! I too find that bright white ceilings are helpful. Enjoy!

**JerryG** · 01-18-2010, 11:09 AM

Yes, paint on ceilings and walls can greatly change lighting output. I built a new school and the lunch room had very high ceilings. Lots of windows. The interior decorator decided on dark blue ceilings to match that school's colors. Once the interior was painted, the lights were in. During school's first evening meeting, in the lunch room, it was discovered that it was too dark to read! Evaluated the lumens for the lighting that was installed and it was proper (to spec). School ended up having the ceilings re-painted - cheaper than having to put in new light fixtures.

The windows improved the lighting during the day, so it was not noticeable. It wasn't until they held a meeting in there at nite, that they found out how dark it was.

**ladykemma2** · 01-18-2010, 11:23 AM

yes, dreary 15 year old "builder's beige" was dreadful. really affected my mood.

**dcompton** · 01-18-2010, 11:34 AM

Paint is one downside of renting apartments. Beige it is. Once, just once, I had an aparment that was painted all white with white counters and fixtures. It was wonderful. In my next life, I will live in white.

**Russ** · 01-18-2010, 11:56 AM

We used to have all white in our house but the wife has been painting with color the past few years. The main bath is a light peach and the master bedroom is a light green.

It would be all white if I had a choice.

**mauimagic** · 01-18-2010, 02:50 PM

I love white - it is so refreshing!! Only problem for me is the oh so many shades of white!! Need to paint our upstairs - main floor - and am having trouble choosing the shade of white!!

Mahalo for this info - will make me think it over more!!

**Lady_V** · 01-18-2010, 04:53 PM

Colors definitely make a difference!

The bathroom walls and ceiling is painted one color, it's a titanium like color, there are no windows and it's only 7'x5' -- and that includes the tub. It made the room feel 'not as small' and the light reflects nicely.

My bedroom on the other hand is not painted a dark color, but it's far from bright. The walls and ceiling is painted in a color called DaVinci's Canvas (a sort of muted green) and the trim is a darker green. The curtains are thick and blocks a lot of light. It's our bedroom and we WANT it to be darker and sleep inducing.

The biggest change was the living-room. We had Navajo White for so long that I decided I wanted to paint it a Moroccan Red! We painted the one lonely wall that is the visual separation for the kitchen/living room/hall. We stopped there. That area was SO dark that I couldn't see myself in a room that dark all the time. We only have a slider on this side of the house, and it's covered with a thick curtain (ground floor living). We painted the remaining 3 walls a crisper white. It's still a cave, but a wee bit brighter of one.

**monkeywrangler71** · 01-18-2010, 05:42 PM

I thought all ceilings were white. Guess I've led a sheltered life.

**ladykemma2** · 01-18-2010, 06:31 PM

Originally Posted by monkeywrangler71

I thought all ceilings were white. Guess I've led a sheltered life.

this one was a 15 year old dirty faded dark beige. i hate beige

**shoiji** · 01-19-2010, 04:16 PM

Guess that is a better way to view my antique white walls and ceilings!!! If this was my own place there definately would be more color!

**MomToTwoBoys** · 01-19-2010, 07:42 PM

We're repainting our interior to make it brighter and alas, we'll be using various shades of white. When we sell the house, we want people to picture whatever they want in whatever color they choose. We feel that white really does brighten a room.

I'd love to repaint our ceilings and get rid of the stucco. I think DH will have to succumb to the idea of removing the stucco when we renovate the interior of the house.

I love color but being the only woman in the house, it's hard to get girly colors when I'm being vetoed by a bunch of men.