Picking out light fixtures for your home can be a bit tricky at times. Apart from the size, design, and placement of a light fixture, what some struggle on their light fixture shopping trip is deciding what color(s) to opt for.

Black seems to be the color people are most attracted to when it comes to light fixture finishes. However, many are afraid to venture out to something brighter like white, let alone, any non-neutral color.

But instead of settling on black, why not take the time to explore what color(s) your space would be most compatible with? While colorful light fixtures are not ideal for every interior or exterior design, do keep in mind that many homeowners aren’t letting their design flourish to its best potential by just considering neutral lights. But what will your space need?

To help you decide if you should select neutral or colored light fixtures, we’ve come up with some tips to help you out:

Think about the color scheme in your design.

One of the first things you should do when deciding what fixtures would be most suitable in your space is to think about the current colors present in your design. Do you already have plenty of color? Does your space seem to be composed of mostly neutrals?

If you have a lot of color going on in your design , whether that means you have several colors in your design or have a lot of one or two colors present, you might want to consider going on the neutral route when it comes to picking out your light fixtures. Attempt to break up heavy color by adding white, black, brown, beige, tan, or other neutral-colored fixtures.

However, if your space tends to have mostly or only neutral colors , decide if adding a bit of color is what you want. When it comes to neutral-toned spaces, some homeowners want to keep this. Not every homeowner enjoys a lot of color.

If you’re ready to break free from your strictly neutral design but still want to go cautious with color, consider navy or forest green fixtures. These colors are more Earth-y, and thus, are less obnoxious in a design.

The important thing to remember in the end is that it is not always a good move to get too match-y with the colors in your design and the colors of your light fixtures. Think how you can complement your light fixture finishes to your rest of your space.

Think of color like a relationship: While opposite individuals can attract, being too opposite can cause conflict. While similar individuals can attract, being too similar can get stale. However, individuals who have a mix of similarities and opposites can sometimes connect with one another the most, while at the same time, filling in the other partner can’t in the relationship. It’s the same with color.

Another important piece of advice is to never select a fixture color just because you like the color . You have to see the big picture. If you only selected things for your interior design that you like by themselves but hate when put together, you’re not going to be pleased with the outcome!

Decide what your goals are when opting for new light fixtures.

Apart from thinking about the current colors your space has and what colors it may need, decide what your intent is when purchasing light fixtures.

Consider the following:

• If you want your space to be brighter… go for a bolder-colored fixture. The eyes are most sensitive to and drawn towards the colors yellow and red. White is another ideal color for brightening up your design.
• If you want your space to be calmer… consider adding blue or green fixtures to your space. These are colors proven to be most relaxing.
• If you want your space to be more masculine or industrial… opt for fixtures with a metallic finish. Metals tend to be a bit on the rustic side.
• If you want your space to be softer on the eyes… go for pale colors or neutrals or even consider selecting matte fixtures (as opposed to ones with a shiny or metallic finish).

Brainstorm similar things to the above depending on what your specific goal(s) are. You can accomplish a plethora of goals in your interior design just by adding the right light fixtures alone. Get creative with your plan to meet these goals.

Borrow some creativity from other designs.

Light fixtures aren’t easy to implement in every design. For many, it’s tricky to add colored light fixtures to a space, especially if it already contains touches of color here and there. But whenever you get stuck, remember that it’s okay to turn to professional interior designers for help or look at pictures online to get inspiration.

Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, and other social media platforms can help you out. There are also plenty of interior design photos from many professional interior designers’ and bloggers’ websites. It can be great to get some different perspectives.

When picking out the right colors for your design, try to avoid relying on your own opinion of how a fixture’s finish appears in your space. Ask a family member, neighbor, friend, spouse, children, and so on what color(s) of fixture(s) they think would be most attractive in your design. It’s not a bad thing to get others’ opinions.

Apart from this, you can also turn to a color calculator to help you decide what specific colors would additionally look great in your design, especially when it comes to light fixture finishes. Colormind is a free, online color calculator that is user-friendly to operate.

Here are some instructions for how to use Colormind, which can be useful when deciding what fixture color would complement your design’s color scheme:

• Attempt to match some of the colors in your space to the calculator as much as possible. There are five color slots total; only add up to four. (You’ll see why in a moment.)
• Click the lock button under the four colors you add on the calculator that are present in your design. You may wish to only add one or a few colors instead of four. This is okay too, but only lock the ones you add.
• Click the gray ‘Generate’ button. If you added four colors and clicked the lock button, these should not have changed. However, the fifth color slot that you never locked should have a different color. This color generated is an example of a color that would look great with the rest of the colors you selected.
• If you aren’t happy with the outcome, simply click the ‘Generate’ button again to achieve a new result until you’re happy.
• Don’t pay so much attention to the exact color shade(s) the calculator generates. Chances are, you won’t be able to get a fixture that is featured in that exact color, but the calculator can give you a good idea of what you need.
• You can also use this color generator to select colors for your interior or exterior design in general.

Conclusion

When it comes to selecting the finish(es) of your light fixtures, it is important to consider potentially selecting colored fixtures rather than simply neutral ones. Through deciding what fixture finishes to pick from, consider the current colors in your design, think about your goals when it comes to adding light fixtures to your space, and even get some inspiration if you are unsure.

It seems complex to pick out the perfect light fixtures, but in the end, if you want the best lights for your space, you’re going to want to go a little slower with the process. Rushing with picking out your fixtures is not your most convenient option as lighting is more important aspect of a design than people may realize.

You may think it’s difficult to find quality light fixtures in the finish you want. However, we offer many great finishes from bronze to red on Cocoweb.com.