What Color Light Is Best for a Dining Room?

Giovanni Valle is a licensed architect and LEED-accredited professional and is certified by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB). He is the author and managing editor of various digital publications, including BuilderSpace, Your Own Architect, and Interiors Place.

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A modern-day dining room is not just for formal dinners and celebrating special occasions. Decorating the dining room is about creating a beautiful and elegant space you can use daily. You want the furniture, colors, and lighting to be visually pleasing and functional.

The color light best for a dining room is a warm color. This recommendation is especially true if you’ll be using the space for entertaining. A warm color sets the mood for lively conversation and exudes a feeling of happiness and a generally upbeat spirit.

Although some homeowners opt to repurpose their dining room because formal dining isn’t a part of their lifestyle, some choose to keep the dining space while adding extra functionality to the room. We’ll go over what those functionalities are below. Based on what purpose you’d like your dining room to serve, we’ll help you choose what color lighting to install.

Different Uses for a Dining Room

Dining rooms need to be a multi-purpose space, especially in small houses or apartments. Adding extra functionality to your dining room would free up space elsewhere in your home. Below are some smart ideas for changing up your dining room to add more function.

Add bookshelves, one or two reading chairs, and a side table to your dining room. Doing so will allow your dining room to double as a quiet reading area. Choose bookcases that fit your space, ranging from short bookcases that work under a window to tall bookcases that are almost ceiling height. The armchair should be comfortable, not oversized. The accent table should be just big enough for a book and a cup of coffee.

Add a compact sofa, loveseat, or settee to one wall along with small end tables. It would be best if you designed this area for chatting and visiting, and not for lounging. Again, the furniture should not be oversized. The end tables should be large enough to hold a drink, an appetizer plate, and maybe even a small lamp.

Create the perfect room for entertaining by adding a small living room space in one half of your dining room. This strategy works best for less formal dining spaces. Such a space would work well for hosting game day get-togethers, book clubs, game nights, and other similar gatherings. To make your mini living room complete, you should include a compact sofa, accent chair, coffee table, end tables, and a television.

The Effects of Different Types of Light

Before exploring the effects of light in different colors, let’s take a closer look at how different lighting types affect a person’s mood and behavior. Studies have shown that bright lights heighten a human being’s emotions. They are less likely to keep their cool and a level head. Whether you’re feeling positivity or negativity, bright light intensifies that emotion.

Dim light generally makes you more relaxed. You will likely become less alert and will tend to slow down overall. For example, dim lighting used in a dining room might make you eat more slowly.

In addition to the sun, blue light has other sources in your life. Digital screens, LED, and fluorescent lights are the primary sources of blue light you expose yourself to daily. Blue light can make you more alert and productive. This quality would make it perfect for use in some rooms but not others, like in a bedroom.

Natural light makes you feel happier. It is essential to have windows large enough to allow in natural light to benefit your household members. Some believe that this type of light can help to relieve some of the symptoms of depression. Low light may also make you eat less food.

How Colors Affect Your Mood and Behavior

Warm and cool lighting have specific effects on your mood and behavior. Warm colors create a more stimulated, excited response. Cool and achromatic colors evoke calmer reactions. This rule is something to keep in mind, not only when choosing colors but also when choosing a light bulb type.

Cool, Warm, and Soft White Light

Cool or bright white lighting sometimes takes on a blue tone. This type of light is more neutral and does not drastically change the colors of its surroundings. You can find this type of neutral lighting in fluorescent light bulbs, which is likely why you often see fluorescent light in retail spaces.

Warm or soft white lighting is characteristic of incandescent bulbs. Warm light bulbs may cast a slightly orange tint, making the atmosphere feel welcoming and cozy. That’s why incandescent bulbs or LED bulbs that can replicate similar warm lighting are often the choice for homes.

Black and Purple Light

The psychological impact of colored lighting is powerful. In a dining room, black lighting would portray formality, elegance, and prestige. Purple lighting can elicit an impression of nobility, power, and luxury, but it also has been known to reduce stress. Purple and black lighting would go well together for a formal dining room.

Green and Blue Light

For a less formal dining room, green and blue might be the right choice. Green represents nature and elicits a feeling of tranquility and harmony. Blue promotes a sense of wisdom, intelligence, and air, sky, and water’s peacefulness. This room might be the dining room, where you can find a quiet spot to read or where your children can do their homework.

Red, Orange, and Yellow Light

If you plan on entertaining less formally, red, orange, and yellow light might be options you should consider. Red promotes passion, love, romance, and friendship. Orange elicits creativity and portrays a feeling of warmth, enthusiasm, happiness, and high energy. Yellow exudes warmth, joy, cheer, and laughter. This warmly lit dining room would be perfect for adding a sofa or a mini living room.

An Easy Way to Adjust the Mood in Your Dining Room

Even with a brief explanation of each color’s effect on you, your household members, and your guests, choosing a single-color lighting for your dining room is still challenging. This statement is especially so when you’ve decided to have multiple uses for your dining space. It would be much easier to have the ability to change the lighting color in the room to fit any given occasion. There are two ways to accomplish this end goal.

Choose a white plus one or two colors of light that are the best fit for your usage occasions and divide them between all the lighting sources in your dining room. You will need to have a hanging light fixture, like a chandelier, in addition to wall sconces and table lamps. The highly-rated Sunlite LED A19 Colored Light Bulbs are available in seven colors. These bulbs are available in single packs or multipacks of the same color.

Try using remote-controlled color-changing light bulbs in your multi-purpose dining room. Something like the Yangcsl LED RGB Color Changing Light Bulb would do the trick. These bulbs can change between ten colors, and they are dimmable. Although a remote comes with each bulb, you can use one remote to control them all. These bulbs are rated 4.7 out of 5 possible stars based on 3,466 customer reviews.

Final Thoughts

The best color lighting for an informal dining room is a warm color. This color spectrum is perfect for entertaining because it promotes happiness and positive relationships, whether it’s romance or friendship.

Warmer lighting, including soft white, are the better option for making your dining room feel cozy and inviting. You may also consider color-changing light bulbs or multiple-colored light bulbs for multi-purpose dining rooms.