# Color Temp in kitchen



## Switched (Dec 23, 2012)

Yours or a customers?

You.... who cares, just go every other one and then put them on separate switches!

Customer... present them with both and let them pick. I have had to take them, not the Lotus ones, out and change the color because I assumed I knew what they would like.


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## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

HackWork said:


> For 4" Lotus style LED lights, should I got with 3,000K or 4,000K in a kitchen?


I picked warm for my cherry/copper and stainless kitchen.
I picked out cool for a customer with white, black grey.


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## Switched (Dec 23, 2012)

What type of mood are you going for? What colors do you want to bring out in the finishes?


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## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

For me, that 4000 is closest to neutral, 5000 is cool.


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## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

It depends on where the decor sits on the visual spectrum. Browns, reds, yellows are warm, greys and blues are cool. I carry a sample of both with a cord attached and let the customer decide.


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## B-Nabs (Jun 4, 2014)

Personally I don't think 4000K or cooler belongs in a home. But at the end of the day it comes down to the customer's preference.


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## sbrn33 (Mar 15, 2007)

I never use anything above 3000K in a residence, ever. I try to use 2700 whenever I can. 
Anything over just seems to give a lab effect. In industrial I use 5000K every time I get a chance. Color does not matter there.


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## chicken steve (Mar 22, 2011)

The only place(s) i can recall it mattered are doctors offices, and meat counters 

~CS~


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## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

I have a GC who insists on warm white for everything and nobody complains. The last kitchen I did where the customer decided was greys and blues and she decided the cool white was better with her tile and countertop.


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

B-Nabs said:


> Personally I don't think 4000K or cooler belongs in a home. But at the end of the day it comes down to the customer's preference.





sbrn33 said:


> I never use anything above 3000K in a residence, ever. I try to use 2700 whenever I can.
> Anything over just seems to give a lab effect. In industrial I use 5000K every time I get a chance. Color does not matter there.


I thought the same thing, that you should use 2700K in houses since they would be using normal light bulbs which are warm anyway.

But I thought I read a lot of people here, including you Sabrina, say that kitchens and bathrooms should be 4000K for better visibility (versus just ambient light like in a living room which is better if warmer).


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

HackWork said:


> I thought the same thing, that you should use 2700K in houses since they would be using normal light bulbs which are warm anyway.
> 
> But I thought I read a lot of people here, including you Sabrina, say that kitchens and bathrooms should be 4000K for better visibility (versus just ambient light like in a living room which is better if warmer).


For kitchens and baths or any work area in a house I like the 4000K more than anything less.


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## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

HackWork said:


> I thought the same thing, that you should use 2700K in houses since they would be using normal light bulbs which are warm anyway.
> 
> But I thought I read a lot of people here, including you Sabrina, say that kitchens and bathrooms should be 4000K for better visibility (versus just ambient light like in a living room which is better if warmer).


Yes, old fashioned incandescent bulbs were yellow but color choices - soft, cool, daylight, etc. - have been available for all lamp types for a long time. If you're concerned with matching color temp with existing, you need to see what is existing. Color difference is obvious when side by side, the same as mixing warm and cool in an office or mixing MH with HPS.


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## 3DDesign (Oct 25, 2014)

This conversation should also include the CRI, (color rendering index) of the lamp.
Is the kitchen white, oak, cherry? What color?


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## RePhase277 (Feb 5, 2008)

For work lighting, like a kitchen, I think 4000 K is good. For accent lighting 3000 K.

I just did a kitchen with 4000 K cans and 3000 K under cabinet strips.


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## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

3DDesign said:


> This conversation should also include the CRI, (color rendering index) of the lamp.
> Is the kitchen white, oak, cherry? What color?


Yes! That's why old fashioned incandescent bulbs were so great. They had a warm feel but represented color extremely well. Lotus CRI is in the low 80's which isn't all that good. The reason we choose color temp according to decor color isn't because it picks up those colors any better, it just kind of blends in better.

Lighting can be psychological. That's why I like to leave the choice up to the customer.


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## sbrn33 (Mar 15, 2007)

HackWork said:


> I thought the same thing, that you should use 2700K in houses since they would be using normal light bulbs which are warm anyway.
> 
> But I thought I read a lot of people here, including you Sabrina, say that kitchens and bathrooms should be 4000K for better visibility (versus just ambient light like in a living room which is better if warmer).


Nope not me. I think anything above 3000K looks cheap and diyish to me.


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