As a home stager and interior redesigner, I often recommend paint colors to homeowners looking to "stage to sell" or "design to dwell", so I need to be in the space where the paint color is going before I can make a recommendation.
Among other reasons, I need to be in the space to see how the lighting, both natural and artificial, will affect the paint color.
Natural light definitely affects the way a color on the wall is viewed.
The color will look differently at various times of the day.
Also, the exposure of the room, i.
e.
, north, south, west and east, will also affect our perception of the color.
But one important thing to remember is that artificial lighting also affects paint color.
That is why it's important to paint a small swatch of color on the wall, and then view it at various times of the day before making a color choice, as well as view it near the artificial lighting source.
Here are some tips for choosing a paint color when considering the lighting in the room:

• When choosing a color, paint a small swatch against a gray surface.
  
• Look at a color vertically against the wall, not horizontally in your hand.
  
• According to a color and lighting seminar I attended at the Benjamin Moore showroom in New York City, two colors that may appear to match in one light source may not match under another light source.
  This is known as metamerism.
  
• Look for a Light Reflective Value (LRV) of 50% or more in paint to be used for residential interiors.
  LRV is the amount of light reflected from a painted surface (0% is the blackest black and 100% is the whitest white).
  The LRV for Benjamin Moore paint colors is listed in the index at the back of the Benjamin Moore "fan decks" (available through your paint store or design professional).
  
• When choosing a light bulb, try to get a Color Ranking Index (CRI) of 80% to 85% in order to show true and saturated colors.
  The CRI should be on the box.
  
• Incandescent light bulbs have a CRI of 100% but unfortunately will be totally phased out of production by 2014.
  100 watt (W) bulbs will not be produced effective January 1, 2012, followed by 75W on January 1, 2013 and then 40W and 60W bulbs on January 1, 2014.
  
• Halogen light bulbs have the next highest CRI but they too will probably go the way of incandescent bulbs according to the Benjamin Moore folks.
  
• Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulbs have a lower quality of CRI - 75%.
  
• LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes, which are what you see in alarm clocks) are the newest form of lighting but have a very low CRI.
  However, they are great for outdoor lighting.
  

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