This video made me realize that the popularity of dark academia is a reaction to the fact that most of us have had all of our educational experiences conducted under fluorescent lighting.
I used to frequent a coffee shop and it was soo cozy with red velvet booths and carpeted floors. They renovated it with white floor tile, grey granite countertops and of course the cool lighting... my welcomed and comfortable coffee shop, turned into a tired and rushed corporate office. I never returned after it re-opened.
Jeez, might as well take it all the way and have a drop-ceiling with ceiling-tiles. They did what saved them money up-front but don't realize that they're running off customers by ruining the vibe of the place. It's like saving money by putting the cheap motor oil in your car. Problem is, you're making it so that your car only lasts another 50,000 miles instead of 200,000 miles. So what did you save? NOTHING. I can picture the shop owner standing out front of the place locked-up, dark, for-sale sign in the window, saying, "This place use to be hopping, what happened?"
To anyone who doesn't just hate cool-toned light but also has an issue with "warm-toned LED" because they still make everything appear desaturated and sad: look for a high CRI! (Color rendering index) A high CRI (97 or higher) indicates that there is a good amount of red light, which will in turn bring out the warmer tones in your skin, your surroundings... once I changed my bathroom lightbulbs, I looked so much more alive and healthy, it was baffling. This is something that galleries and museums prioritise too, since showing colour well and evenly is important. I'd rather light my home like an art gallery than a hospital. A lot of companies do not indicate what the CRI even is. Steer clear and look for the ones who declare it, demonstrating that they actually care about light quality as much as you do!
You nailed this! I've been trying to figure out why I hate being in certain rooms even when bringing in warmer light. I'll have to look at the CRI for the bulbs (if it was even on the box)
Uh, I hope this helps me, for a year or so my dad has been replacing lights around here (and for savings reasons disabled the incandescent ones I used instead since they were the only ones that were comfortable for my eyes) and almost all rooms have this eerie vibe to them, and it became even worse when he bought some weird orange LEDs! I have a LED lamp that does okay but in general everything just makes me really uncomfortable and drained
Thank you. We literally went back to incandescent, because I realized that ALL of the LEDs are really unpleasant to me. But last year they actually BANNED incandescent bulbs, so it will be a limited time that I can still get them.... 😒 I feel bad for people who get headaches and stuff from weird lights.
A friend and I are using the same contractor for our renovations. My friend went with the builder grade potlights, while I specified much more expensive 97 CRI potlights, since I had horrible memories of 80 CRI potlights of the past. It turns out most current builder grade potlights are not 80 or 85 CRI, but are actually 90+ CRI. After comparing our two potlight grades in real finished rooms, I actually think the 90+ CRI potlight quality is very decent, and leaps and bounds better than the old 80 CRI potlights. My 97 CRI potlights may be a bit better but the incremental improvement is probably overkill for most people, especially given the much higher extra cost. (All is not lost though, since mine have a lifetime warranty, whereas the builder grade ones don't.) Interestingly, even though mine are 97 CRI, they don't actually advertise them as such. They are advertised as 90+, but if you dig down into their unadvertised 3rd party test results, at 3000K they are rated at 96.9. Also, another thing to remember is that the CRI scoring system itself is problematic in some ways. BTW, although some recommend kitchens, workspaces, and bathrooms, have higher colour temperature lights (like 4000K), we went with 3000K for all the potlights, and 2700K for some other lights like the kitchen island pendants. The main thing I don't like about LEDs is dimmed lighting usually stays the same colour temperature. I still prefer dimmed lighting to become warmer like incandescents. I may try some auto warming LEDs in the future, but those would be for light bulbs. It's too late now for the potlights.
The fact that I hadn't personally pinpointed this change in lightbulbs and connected it to the shift from wood to white/grey... AHHHHHHHHHHHH... I literally had ALL of this knowledge, some of it professionally... and never put it together. I knew it was a thing for ME to consider. Never put it together as part of larger trends. Thank you!
@@adora_was_takenprobably the plan to make us all like mindless sheep or robots, a la 1984. (conspiracy theories. I don't believe in it but I see it in some comments, connected with I**uminati, B*ilderberg grp, etc.)
Star Trek: The Next Generation went in the opposite direction. For the first two seasons, the show had a hard, high contrast lighting style. When Melvin Rush took over running the camera in Season 3, the lighting look for became more theatrical, with pools of light around the characters and more shadowy backgrounds. That became the signature look of the series.
Yes! I never noticed what changed but now that you mentioned it. Totally! The scenes when they played poker for example. Very different lighting in later seasons.
Wow, Next Generation was the first TV series I thought of. It turned into just an photon retina assault. As opposed to the original series, or the brooding dark of the first ST movie.
Ugh, I hate cold light indoors. Give me the old Gilmore Girls esthetic. When I'm at home by myself, my living room is lit by a single lamp with a warm bulb. Plus a reading light if I'm feeling retro and reading an actual book. If I should win the lottery and be able to feel comfortable about spending some real money on renovating my bathroom, I'm going for the warm look in there, too. And a tub, I guess, because in a bathroom like that, I wouldn't mind hanging out for a few hours.
Ah, you’re gonna wanna keep the neutral “white” (but not blue) lights in the bathroom though! It’s great to have a soft glow night light in there, but for daily use a “day” light is essential - to help wake you up in the morning but also to truly see your face and body in the mirror. You don’t want to miss a random hair or a spot or something on your teeth just due to poor lighting.
@@Liusila Proper lighting is also rather important where there is high risk (it may not seem like, but water makes anything slippery). That is why hospitals, factories and laboratories have bright white lights; seeing well helps reduce risks. I know I sound weird about it, but you are not supposed to "live" in the bathroom. Leave warm lights to where you actually stay: living room, bedroom, dining room... Maybe I am just kinda paranoid?
Ok I just realized why I always hated sitcoms even growing up--the lighting! It didn't encourage intimacy or realness no, it was cold one liners being delivered under a disorienting sky that made me feel like I was one of those yellow posts in-between worlds. The lighting and the characters somehow mirroring eachother's vapid souls that gave me existential crisis feelings even as a young kid. I have a million other reflections on lighting too that this sparked/validated inside my mood lighted soul. Spiritual!
Most sitcoms were filmed with a studio audience on a stage and used three cameras and a static array of fill-lights. That's why they were so flat looking and you only saw certain angles of the rooms.
You know where LED's make me the saddest? On my pre-lit christmas tree. I remember the magical sparkle of the tiny lights making the ornaments come alive back in the incandescent days. Now the lights light themselves, but the ornaments are in the shadows somehow, even amongst all that light. I know LED's have improved, but I don't know whether they can produce that glow and sparkle I remember.
We keep one of those fake birch trees in our living room year round and it has very small lights on each branch tip that look like candle light, so those LED's do exist. We just love the ambiance. : )
@@SweetStuffOnMonarchLane Yes, also if they're the main component, you can appreciate their sparkle, whether or not they are casting light on anything else. I hope they HAVE gotten better too, though.
Not just incandescent tree lights, but the variety and uniqueness of the colors of the bulbs, and their wider coverage vs. the way an led works. Don't get me started on "twinkling" lights that appear to be having a seizure at a disco. #Ihatethe21stcentury
Yeah, I agree. The light cast by fairy-light LEDs is very different in quality in a way that's not easily definable. In part, it's probably something to do with the spectrum, but I also think those tiny pinpoints of white light just aren't the same as a filament a couple of millimetres long. That difference in size I think has a huge effect on how the light is scattered. I find textured fairy lights to be better (e.g. that have a little jewel glass cover similar to the way the incandescent bulbs just had to) because they scatter the light better.
Okay, you’re spot on! This is something I’ve literally had to convince people of…and when they see it, it’s a game changer. I’m sensitive to light, and cold temp lighting is a soul sucking thing…grew up in the 80s where incandescent bulbs were still king, and that’s how I light my place today. Warm temp is so much nicer, and people who visit, feel cozy and comfortable here. Great vid, enjoy your content!
I foresee a faux-incandescent revolution on the horizon. I saw TruTone (i think its spelled that way), which are LED christmas lights that are made to look exactly like incandescents but of course more energy efficient and safer (less heating), and I was so happy. I think it will become much more popular soon!!!
I always notice how “cosy”, healthily warm light was prevalent in shows in the 90s and that’s partly what made shows like Friends or Buffy feel so welcoming and homely. I still come back to them for that warm feel, and I wish shows would come back to that now at least partially.
I do so agree with you here - when I moved into my apartment I couldn't figure out why I never wanted to be in my Kitchen, I cooked there and left, that's it. But then it dawned on me, it was painted white and had glossy white cupboards with only one strong light from above so it was just so cold and uninviting - So I painted it warm yellow and put lots of colourful pictures on the wall and put little warm lamps in every corner and now it's so cosy and warm and I love it there.
Truly! Years ago I was in a Victorias Secret store and horrified there were fluorescents in the changing room…nobody looks good under fluorescents…and you never wear lingerie in that kind of lighting!! Needless to say…I didn’t buy anything! I did go to a different lingerie store and they smartly had soft warm lighting in the dressing room, and I bought many items. 😀
Stores are beyond stupid. They spend millions on advertising and lose sales because they are too dumb to make the fitting rooms flattering and comfortable.
@@linmonPIE Men never hear women when we tell them anything. They automatically default to whatever other men do and stick with that. But there should be enough women in marketing now that, at this point, the dressing rooms are ridiculous. Macy's is on the brink of bankruptcy and they've had decades to get a clue.
@@JoaninFlorida You would think. Probably if anyone ever did speak up about it it wasn’t considered important enough so they defaulted to what they think is best for their bottom line, as always 🙄
We needed 2 new lightbulbs in our bathroom. My husband replaced all 6 bulbs in the fixture with a much whiter light, I immediately recoiled and he had to get new bulbs of a softer color. So I totally understand how you felt about your kitchen. The change must have been shocking and off putting.
Haha, my boyfriend "helped" me by replacing a burned out bulb in my bathroom with something insanely bright and white. He was miffed when I screamed in horror and immediately removed it.
The problem is, that the cool white LEDs that I saw installed in the late-2010s in buildings, looked off, honestly liked the cool white T8 fluorescent bulbs that they had before!
This video gave me an epiphany about my childhood. My family joined an Amish cult for a few years, and even though I'm aware that many aspects of our life then were messed up, I still remember the spaces I inhabited then as feeling very idyllic and warm. Guess what they were lit with? Sunlight, oil lamps, and Coleman-style gas lamps. Of course they felt cozy and magical.
These reasons are all why I swear my smart bulbs that have a wide range of colors. Yes, they are expensive, but when you get migraines and have lots of mental health problems, it’s great to have total control over the exact tone and brightness of your house lighting. I’m all for a warm yellowish light most of the time, though. This was such a great video!
@@m0kkn049 I like hue, but that’s just what I started with and stuck with it. I’m sure they’re all similar enough that it doesn’t really matter which brand. It’s definitely good to stick to one brand though so they’re easy to control as a unit
from a fellow migraine sufferer, try green light! studies showed that it was the only colour of light that didn’t make migraines worse, so i gave it a try and it’s had a hugeeee effect! it can be the difference between having to lie in bed in the dark and being able to actually open my eyes and function
I was just talking about this in another comment. LEDs are the bane of my existence as a migraine sufferer. For me it's both color temp and flickering, and so far Sengled and Roku smart bulbs are the only ones that seem to be flicker-free enough to where I don't feel like dying every day. I wish there was an ADA accommodation for migraines, I wish I could show my LED-exemption card at the hardware store and they'll bring out the stash of incandescents lol.
I went to university in Glasgow so not only am i super familiar with Kelvin since everything ever is named after him, my enduring image of him is his sitting statue in Kelvingrove park that always and forever had a traffic cone on it (the university is right next door, also Glaswegians have a sense of humour), he always looked like a wizard on a throne.
I'm an electrician and I get a lot of customers that are unhappy with their LED lighting for the same reasons you describe in this video. LEDs can look just fine and create the right ambiance in your room if you install them correctly. They are also far safer, non-toxic, don't produce heat, and are up to 9x more energy efficient than older styles of light bulbs. I see a lot of homes where the wiring is burnt from halogen lights, causing a fire hazard. Due to the high power draw of incandescent bulbs, people overdraw their circuits, causing more fire hazards and costly repairs. Compact fluorescent bulbs contain mercury gas and are highly toxic if broken. Please just stick with LEDs. If you are unhappy with their appearance, consider the color temperature, lumen output, and diffusion of the LED bulb. Low color temperatures like 2700K or even 2100K can make a room much, much warmer. Higher ones like 5000K can look ultra bright and sterile like a hospital. Many LED fixtures can change their color temperature with the flick of a switch built in to the top of them. Read the lumen output on the box before buying your lightbulb. Lumens are a measurement of light output, but a lot of consumers don't understand what a lumen is, so manufacturers will say "65 watt equivalent" or such on the package so you can compare it to the light output of an incandescent. However, this a poor comparison. Just think of 250 lumens as dim, 500-600 as medium, and 1000 or more as bright. Finally, think about how the light is being diffused. Is the glass frosted or not? What shape is it? Is the lens glass or plastic? How thick is the plastic? Is there a baffle in front of the lens or diffuser that spreads the light? Please try to learn more about how to make LEDs work for you. Save your electric bill, save yourself from costly repairs and fire hazards, and save yourself from having annoying electricians like me show up to your door and lecture you for hundreds of dollars and hour.
Electrician working on our house put in all "daylight" LEDs. We all HAAAAAAATE them. Yeah, it's nice to see what I'm doing but it's adding to my already shtty mood (moving is insanely stressful) so we're swapping out for better bulbs very soon. Idk how much more of this I can take. I mentioned it to him and he was baffled and appalled that we didn't agree with his (shtty) opinion of "daylight" bulbs.
I always noticed that the lighting changed on GG, but never knew the details. The departure of the cinematographer midway during S5 is when my love for the show wanes. I think everyone looks good in amber lighting and my home is filled with bubbles of soft, warm light. So much so, that a friend who prefers to live in 10000K light said my place was a cave.
As a (probably too) passionate proponent of warm light I really enjoyed this, including the deep dive into the last 100 years of lightbulbs. Side note, Can we also acknowledge how disturbing the cool LED twinkle Christmas lights are? My kingdom for them warm incandescents!!
Every year I see my neighborhood's xmas lights become more and more LED/cool toned. It breaks my heart & I can't even fathom the future of xmas decor if everyone eventually goes to LED :( It's to the point that I want to drop off cookies w/ a note to all the neighbors that have really classic looking lights to hopefully encourage them to stay faithful to them 😅
I’m highly sensitive to colour temperature (well, to everything really) and being in spaces that are not warm feeling make me straight up depressed. I have been debating taking on the huge, expensive task of repainting since the lavender colour I chose hasn’t felt right, and too cool. Now I realise the issue might be with the lighting, not the wall colour, so thank you so much for another equally entertaining and informative video, and I will be replacing my bulbs.
Totally with you on that. I always felt like I had to over-explain that I wasn't exaggerating by saying that I found too cool-toned a space depressing. It extended to the fact that I was terribly dissatisfied with the first three cars I owned, because they had grey interiors, and I wanted a tan interior. FINALLY was able to get a car with a tan interior, and it honestly makes so much difference.
For my new apartment, all walls are white and the furniture dark/shades of grey/black. Then I can adjust the colours with the Hue lighting. That said, I'd probably use 6500K as standard and something deep red for preserving night vision and keeping away insects on the balcony. I wonder when the neighbors start complaining.
A friend and I moved into a new place in august and the lights in the kitchen had two bulbs out. I always prefer warmer lights so I bought the warm versions of the bulbs and when we turned them all on my roommate and I audibly gasped. It was just so much warmer and more inviting it was actually unbelievable!
I wonder if this bright, cool lighting helped contribute to the trend of organizing/displaying things in homes like a store (TikTok pantries, closets) or if the lighting was chosen because it's more store-like?
I bet! If you have a bright shiny white kitchens with white countertops and a white backslpash and bright white lighting, everything standing around will look like clutter. If you have cosy lighting you just won't see most of the clutter. It vanishes in the shadows. 😁 Great observation! 👍🏻
they switched out the streetlamp near my bedroom window with an LED a few years ago, and i’m still shocked by it some nights. it feels like there’s a helicopter search light outside, instead of the comforting honey-coloured light that was there before.
A church did that to the parking lot near me and now I know that god watches my every move!! He can see all, the whole night long and on cloudy days too. They are a hell fire and brimstone type church and I long for the homelike feel of the old hell.
I have a streetlamp like that where Iive. It's a basement apartment, so image the angle the light comes in. I haven't lived here long enough to know what was there a few years ago. I don't know why LED lighting designers love to make their lights to prickly pointy to stab our eyes like that!
@@rosevan7845 If Satan is truly in charge of Hell and isn't slacking off, he'll have LED lighting of the sort we had from ten years ago installed everywhere in the underworld.
@@DrunkenUFOPilot Satan may be in charge of hell now but in a few he will be given a run for his money with the incoming power mad bunch we are breeding.
That can be an especially jarring transition because older street lamps are typically high pressure sodium discharge lamps. They have a very very yellow kind of light, which comes out at something like 2000 or 2200K. Much yellower than even incandescents. Most warm LEDs are 2700K, so a fair bit "whiter", not to mention cool white LEDs.
I’m grateful that my parents hated overhead lights. We weren’t at all fancy but we ate dinner every night with a kerosene light in the center of the table. No, I’m not 150 years old 😂 my parents just liked the light. I don’t like overhead lights and fluorescent lights give me migraines. So I’m finding this fascinating. Thank you!
That's a great insight that cool LEDs led to the shift away from wood colors. I've been using 2700K LEDs everywhere since day 1 so I never made that connection.
You are absolutely brilliant! No pun intended. 😂 I can’t believe you made the transition from Gilmore Girls to light bulbs to Kelvin to homemakers! 🙌🙌🙌
Nice discussion! I think the other big impact that lighting can have is due to the lighting CRI or color rendering index. While there are some better metrics, this is the most common one that you can look for as a consumer, and it will tell you how well the bulb will show colors compared to an ideal light source like the sun or an incandescent bulb. Many cheap CFL and LED bulbs have terrible CRIs so everything looks dull and uninviting. Reds are especially dull under these lights. I strongly suggest that everyone looks for LED bulbs not only with the appropriate color temperature, but also with a high CRI. Phillips Ultra Definition are great bulbs all around, and they aren't that expensive either.
My biggest lighting advice? Turn off your overhead lights and get lamps and led strips. Ambient lighting instantly makes me feel more relaxed and makes me like my surroundings more. Also if you want warm lights that aren't yellow, i would recommend GE Reveal Led lights. They're pink tinted instead of yellow, but still warm and soft. Great video! Loved it as someone who's obsessed with lighting
I used to love the old GED Reveal incandescents, and I can't figure out which of the Reveal LEDs to get because they have different types now. Do you happen to know which ones you got?
When a cosy, local Italian joint renovated, they updated their chairs to the WORST back breaker (but esthetically pleasing) metal, made to look like wood. My friend group, who had previously hung out there countless times. We went back once, tipped well, went home and wrote polite cards predicting their downfall, and the reason. We wanted to stay. We wanted to try all the appies, order more wine off the lovely new cellar. We would have stayed for all the desserts and espressos and after dinner cordials. This was our joint, we adored it, and we WANTED to stay and bling out. But our backs and a$$es couldn't take it. Halfway through dinner we asked for to-go boxes and got the hell out of there as fast as we could. We reconnoitered at a coffee shop nearby and consoled each other. We resolved to each go back and let them know why we didn't enjoy what should have been a bomb-ass time together. Turns out, this was not a bug, but a feature. The new manager told one in our group that table turnover was too slow prior to the renovation, so they purposely purchased chairs that were less comfortable. Because they can't ask people to leave, only hint at it. We argued that the cost per patron should increase rather than try to turn the tables over like a greasy spoon diner. We didn't go there to feel chased away. They lost lifetime patrons over some shītty chairs and a dumb business idea. Out beloved cosy spot went under in less than 4 months. Rather than swap out the chairs, they rode that pony all the way to the grave. They had opened for the holidays and were closed by Easter. The food was fantastic! But it was torture to dine in. What a waste. Oh - the lighting in the renovation was designed by a local theater company - it was exquisite! But alas, not enough to ensure repeat customers.
I'm not really familiar with who you are or what your channel is about, but you slayed this. I can't stand the intensity of LEDs, especially in the workplace. Your soft tone, easy speaking cadence, presentation, is a pleasure to watch and listen. The subject is well researched, no loud music, or cuts, no agitating graphics or sensationalism, just really good information. Add some little sarcastic bits but nothing edgy or negative, and this is a winner. You have a gift for this and I hope your get really popular. If there are any CityNerd fans here, I want to highlight the shoutout to the "fine dining establishment" that is Cheescake Factory lol
It’s crazy that you posted this today. I generally believe the colder lights go with colder colors, so I was using cold lights in my kitchen where there’s a slight bluish tint to the paint. But I decided that I just like warm lights so much better and they go better with the wood in the floors anyway, so (just today, mind you) switched the bulbs out for warm bulbs.
Another bit of info: white LED light is a known trigger for migraines.I didn't know this until I thought I was being creative several years ago at Christmas. I twined a length of green garland with white LED Christmas lights and draped this around the large doorway into our living room. Had a migraine every day for a week. Turns out there are multiple articles out there on LED lights and migraine, and yet no warnings are listed on the labels. Something to consider if one is prone to migraines.
That is most likely because of poor construction. If LED lights are improperly wired and connected to AC, they will strobe at 50/60Hz (depending on mains frequency). That is too fast to notice when you look at them directly, but still perceptible in your peripheral vision. It can lead to a sense of unease or discomfort in most people, while most people are unable to articulate what exactly they think is wrong with the light except that it makes them unwell. It is pretty common for cheap Christmas lights, those often have no rectification at all.
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my gf has that very issue.. the bluelight part of the light is the issue.
As a lifelong sufferer of migraines (into my seventh decade) I had not actually noticed that about LED bulbs, but then again they are not my choice of bulb. What I did notice, decades ago, was that halogen bulbs would trigger my migraines.
Flicker is probably a big factor with that, cheap LED lights will have flicker due to a cheap driver circuit with less filtering. The higher CRI ones usually also have less flicker.
This channel is the most niche thing ever and I adore it. ❤❤❤ I bought the Not So Big House book I saw on one of her recent videos and I’m so glad I did. Literally 1/2 the reason I watch these videos is for the book recommendations.
I liked how you used your own kitchen as an example! It was also interesting to see how you analyzed Architectural Digest kitchens, Home Edit, and how brighter lighting makes decor "hard mode".
New subscriber. You are iconic! Love the Gilmore Girls examples. I think a large change in the seasons lighting also had to do with their transition from film to digital which happened in season 6-7 I believe. ASP held out for quite a while, and the look makes a difference.
Hello! Thank you for being here!! I am not sure the camera actually shifted, just a tighter budget. In 2009, Supernatural (also on the CW) switched to digital. Gilmore Girls last episode was in 2007. So I think GG and digital cameras just missed each other
When we moved into our new place a couple of years ago, we gave a lot of thought to the lighting when renovating. Basically, we have two types of lights: 2700K lights and 4500K lights. When we need to see things clearly or want to be more awake, we use the 4500K lights. In the early mornings and evenings, though--especially when it is approaching bedtime--we exclusively use the 2700K lights. We also use the 2700K lights when we have guests over because we don't want our flat to look like an office. We have both types of light in the bathroom as well, because if I happen to wake up in the middle of the night and need to use the bathroom, I don't want to be blinded. I use the 4500K light when I am taking my shower to help me wake up.
There are 3000k lights, which are not quite as yellow as the 2700k, but are MUCH warmer than 4500k or 5000k. I prefer the 3000k because when you look at something white under them, it appears white rather than yellow. At the same time, they still are plenty warm. We have 3000k all through the house other than in the bedroom, where 2700k helps us get ready to sleep at night. In our bathroom the lights are on dimmers so you can just enough light to see when you go there in the middle of the night.
I have smart bulbs with an app that lets me change the color temperature. So I set them for a little cooler early in the evening and warmer and a little dimmer later at night.
Thank you for adding another voice to those of us who have been screaming from the top of our kitchen countertops that lighting matters! I could never understand why so many people wanted to live in the prison world from THX 1138. Between Freshman and Sophomore year the college went through and replaced all the soft diffuse incandescent lighting in the dorm rooms with a single 4 foot dual fluorescent 565 equivalents. Constant flickering and having a roommate coming in late flip on light that singed through your eyelids meant you seldom got to sleep through the night. And yet, so many students wanted this new lighting everywhere! To this day, I push back every time someone claims we are getting better and better light with LED. True natural light is sunlight which includes Infrared radiation. It warms you and you feel it. True natural nighttime light always came from fire which includes infrared radiation. We feel it. That is why LEDs are NOT a replacement for incandescent lighting and will never mimic actual sunlight. This better light campaign is all about money and environmentalism and has nothing to do with better light or our mental and physical health.
Your videos continue to be a gem in my subscription list. I wish there was a reason for you and Technology Connections to do a colab but it would be 20 minutes about very strong christmas light opinions.
Loved this video! I remember my mind being blown the first time I saw someone with a really cute lamp on their kitchen countertop… I was like “wait… yes… cozy!!!” Most of my time going into the kitchen is to make a cup of coffee or tea, to grab a snack, or to get water. It’s nice to make it a super cozy and relaxing space for that! Why not treat it, at least part of the time, like a part of your home that you want to feel relaxed in?
The term “fill light” is a method which brings out the shadows. White balance is what changes the yellow in a picture, bringing it up from blue.. So it seems to me Season 7 has too much fill and the white balance changed. And I agree, because I like soft yellows too, Adding to this fluorescents, oh my! They flicker and I’m highly sensitive to that. I have a headache if I’m in a room with a fluorescent and no one can understand why. Then the LED hurts my eyes.
This is fascinating. I’d noticed cooler lights trending and the cold/white/minimalist trend but never connected the two! It makes sense though that as cool LED bulbs get into homes, people shift to cool-toned decor. I think the rise in social media and people taking photos of themselves has made a big difference too- while in person warm lighting is cozy and pleasant, in photos it can easily be too dark and make you look jaundiced, while bright cool lighting works better for trendy Instagram pics. A hotel in my hometown that did a lot of conventions actually changed their carpeting and lighting to be bluer/cooler because of how much people complained about their photos turning out poorly! I’m definitely going to play with lighting more in my new apartment, warm lighting is a lifesaver in the long winter months here too
I always thought this when my house switched from yellow to fluorescent lighting around 2006 when I was 12. My dad always seemed to think of it as an upgrade because of the energy saving, lets just say he's a lot less sensitive about aesthetics than i am.
Oh there's an equivalent of Lahaina Noon I found - ""daylight"" in the polar circle during the dark month of the year. Because sunlight reflects around the clouds and snow, it scatters and becomes really even. Even if the sun never actually rises, there's still light, and it's this hazy no shadows as if you turned off the graphics kinda light.
Very glad someone did a video on this as thoroughly as you did. After rehabbing (literally removing mold and asbestos) my basement, I spent days researching new lighting fixtures. I wanted something warm, color accurate, and NOT OMNI-DIRECTIONAL. PAR lights - often used in floodlight scenarios - pointing downwards illuminates the floor and surfaces but leaves contrasting pools of shadow above and on the walls. It's been a wonderful addition and I'm thoroughly happy down there, now. For rooms where you aren't afforded unfettered access to basement joists so you can tabula-rasa install light fixtures and wiring, track lighting has been a really helpful retrofit solution for all the damned boob-lamps in the home. With PAR or even MR type bulbs, they cast rays of light onto surfaces and leave contrasting shadows on the top of the walls and the ceiling. It's moody. Amber lighting has been really hard to find, though. I bought a set of lightbulbs that were marketed as amber but really just had an orange film on the lens.
I always use warm lighting in my living room. But I noticed that when. I am crafting. I constantly feel like it's too dark. Once I changed my light bulbs to a more blue toned light, it suddenly felt brighter.
It might be worth looking smart bulbs! Although I don't find them as cozy as classic warm light bulbs, they allow you to change the color from cool to warm & adjust brightness. They have become much more affordable recently as well. Just a thought!
With cold lighting (as in low colour temperature, often falsely labeled "warm") you miss out most of the colors. Even if it's bright, you don't see everything. And your brain must work overtime to do the white balancing.
I don’t know if you’re going to see this but one of the most beautifully lit TV shows in history is “That ‘70s Show”. Absolutely gorgeous use of light that Gen-xers like myself are very nostalgic for b/c warm and sunny interiors are what we grew up in.
This video was fabulous, thank you! My mother and I have these long, rambling, incoherent conversations every time we're in the light bulb aisle because we both definitely understand that you need the "right" bulbs, but neither of us has any clue how to pick. This video should be played on repeat on little screens in every light bulb retailer worldwide, it would save so many people so much difficulty!
Architecture and design were never something I thought about or noticed much prior to watching your channel but now I consider it often, thanks for sharing your knowledge and enthusiasm for the topic.
As someone who had severe body dysmorphic disorder from like 12-about now (just starting to get over it at 32), I know everything & anything about warm lighting & the perils of 'cool' daylight (such to the extent I 'accidentally' broke/said it didn't work anymore a $5 cool daylight globe "whoops", oh but look I have already bought a warm white replacement - and suddenly everyone in the family was saying how much better everything looked). I truly wish it was illegal (or v. difficult) to buy cool daylightbulbs, they are so awful & unnatural, they' give me panic/depression attacks if i had to walk through an area lit by them. Horrible, aeful things, as are the people that claim you need to have super bright lighting for your employees to work (at night, no less). Ugly & anxiety inducing coldness!
I'm working on my house and its decoration so that's such a very informative video ! I understand better why I prefer warmer tones for everything. Warmer lights, unpainted wooden furniture, beige and wood-like wallpaper,... Wouldn't change a thing ! I live for the cosy vibes.
That's the type of vibe I love too. Sort of a 1930's aesthetic. I'm so sick of everywhere nowadays being overly bright and sterile like the inside of a laboratory or something.
The change in lighting brings to mind some other trends I've noticed over the last decade or two. There seems to be a fear of pauses, shadows and gaps influencing some artists. In the GG examples, the background is brought up, filled in, made even with the main subjects. Lamps and fireplaces subdued to match brightness. Nothing stands out! Reminds me of the "Loudness Wars" in audio production. Mix engineers were bringing up the singer, bringing up the guitar solo, bringing up the little drum bit, bringing up the slick synth intro, bringing up the piano in the background between the singing and solos, bringing up EVERYTHING so that nothing stood out. Incessant acoustic power, no relaxed pause between highlights. Made boomboxes seem more powerful. Maybe it was a marketing thing to increase sales among young people with no taste, I suppose. Then in editing, especially what I notice with TH-cam videos, is a style of editing where there's not the tiniest pause between the end of one sentence and the start of the next. No time to mentally swallow what I just heard and already the next bit is shoved in. A fear of gaps? My fellow students and I learned in radio/TV production school to "edit tight!" but not like what I'm hearing. It's unnatural for a speaker to not take a quick breath every few words, and it's just as unnatural for the listener to take in continuous talk with nary a millisecond to absorb it. Likewise, our eyes need a bit of relief in the scene. Michael Price (and almost all competent cinematographers, photographers, and artists) knew how to use a few small-area lights to light the subjects, with shadows, with side lighting, and let the background be visible but subdued, in the background except a few small highlighted objects to make a pleasing composition. A few dark blotchy areas of no-content to help define the important elements of the scene. And let the lamps and fire burn out, clip the signal, to stand out as bright! Seasons 6 & 7 have what looks like more front lighting, not from the side to emphasize contours, but broad area lights illuminating everything fully, clinically, and with too high a color temperature. Lighting of the background that competes with the stars of the show. Ugly!
When we moved into my current place right before the pandemic started, I quickly looked through all the lights in the house that I could and replaced them with LEDs if there were any incandescents (or too cool toned LEDs) still around for keeping costs down (and cooling excess heat). We have this big gaudy mid 90s chandelier in the staircase that has way more lightbulbs than is necessary, and all the bathrooms have the 5-6 socket light fixtures above the large mirror. I only kept around two of those lightbulbs in use, spread out on the edges of the sockets for best lighting. When I ran out of warm LED light bulbs and only had some cooler older LED lights left, it was a game of swap/match to strategically remove extra light bulbs from unnecessary spots like the chandelier, match bulb colour tones and designate any cooler toned LEDs that were still necessary lighting to places like the outside patio light we just turn on to do recycling or the storage hallway corner that gets packed with stuff so the light gets dimmed anyways. We also have 4 smaller versions of the crystal gaudy chandeliers our main floor that still had incandescent bulbs for the first year 'cause they weren't the standard bulb size but instead two different smaller bulb sizes. 😒 The first summer in the place we avoided using those light fixtures at all because with 4-6 bulbs per fixture, you could *feel* the added heat radiating from those bulbs soon after turning them on. Thankfully IKEA had a warm-toned LED lightbulb sale the following year with the right sized smaller lightbulbs around 25 cents USD each. We got so many bulbs! And am very glad we were able to replace them affordably.
Those fluorescent lights at the grocery store give me a headache, I try to get in and out of there fast. I never allow cold light inside my home, it’s gotta be cozy even if it’s a bit dimmer.
Ive removed all of the cold lightbulbs in my apartment. They were all replaced with warm/yellow lights. It's made every portion of the apartment feel cozy and comfortable. Friends and family always feel good whenever they visit. Lighting color is hugely important. Great video!
I accidentally switched out a lightbulb in my room with a LED one and recoiled in horror. The color of my room with that light on was SO unsettling. I learned a valuable lesson about using warmer temps.
I recently discovered your channel and I am incredibly impressed with how capturing your topics and specifically your research is. Thank you so much for answering questions I never had but now I wanted to have - keep up the great work! xoxo
Thank you for making the point that it's not the LED technology as such, but the ingrained "highest number is best" shopping impulse. I switched from a mix of incandescents and CF bulbs to warm-toned LEDs that are nicely close in tone and lighting ability to 60W incandescents. Just as well, since almost all my walls are yellow!
"Highest number is best" reminds me of an odd marketing phenomenon some years ago, when McDonald's offered a 1/3 pounder burger. It failed because many customers thought the 1/4 pounder was bigger, because 4 > 3. Dyoop dyoop duh!
Great video and makes so much sense! When we moved into my apartment, my landlords put bright white lights in every hardwired light fixture. Needless to say I NEVER turn any of them on unless there's, like, an emergency. I've spent a lot of money on lamps and warm lights, worth every penny! The thing is that our building was built in the early 1900s/1910s, and originally had gas lighting. I think it must have been so gorgeous with that lighting, especially since I've found remnants of warm dark red paint and linoleum, and really dark stained wood molding and floors from that early era. I've also found remnants of midcentury pale blues and green paints, which is actually what I have repainted the walls to be now. In the early 2000s, the apartments were all painted white, and so on. So you can totally see the layers of paint colors matching up with what was used for lighting at the time.
Yeah *face* the electrician working on this house put it all "daylight" LEDs. We have a vaulted ceiling (which I detest) with recessed lighting (which, up there, I loathe) so getting him to swap them for nicer bulbs is going to be interesting. He's already insulted that we don't share the same (shtty) opinion that "daylight" bulbs are the best.
Interesting video Kendra - nice of you to quote a book by Christopher Alexander. Lighting goes hand in hand with making a space feel “ alive” which is what Alexander touches on in one of his books
yep! i realized this a couple years ago when really bright lights in my classes and rooms would just give me headaches, i switched over to those strip led lights for my bedroom and if i needed extra lighting i found a lamp, BAM! my bedroom is now awesome to be in :) whenever i turn on the overhead light i recoil in horror
Can always tell the newer younger apartment condo residents moving in...they put 6000k LED bulbs in everything, and every window looks like there is some sort of construction project going on inside!
We put in a 3000k light in our kitchen, and it was one of those drop ceiling panel lights. Holy shit, I can’t imagine what the CRI was, but everything was GREEN. Now I have nice warm spotlights, what and insane difference it made in the winter months.
When the switch to LED light bulbs happened, my family stocked up on traditional light bulbs because everyone hated the new white light. Now some LEDs have warmer light but it's still not quite right. So now the lampshades are often tinted with a warm yellow-beige which gives the overall effect a warm light bulb did. Of course, there are lots of cold-light lamps too, for people who like it. I have yet to see them in a family home, they seem to be more of a bachelor/young couple thing
Back in 2006 here, it was the start of the CFL craze, as that was before the LED lamps. The earliest-confirmed LED street light installation I know of, was probably the early-2010s. Springfield, Vermont, had some by late-2011, with most of them replaced with LED by 2012 and then Bellows Falls, Vermont in 2013. Then LED lamps suddenly appeared on store shelves by the mid-2010s.
Thank you so much for bringing this topic to light. When I moved to my current home, the previous home owners had 5000K LED lights in every room. The house felt like you were walking around a hospital. I quickly changed them out for 3500K incandescent bulbs, since the LED flicker hurts my eyes. Anyway, if you're feeling like you can't relax in your home, check to see if your bulb temperature is too high.
This was a really fun episode. More wit and humor than usual. Also very informative. I finally understand the obsession with millenial grey and its relation to cold LED lights. It all makes sense. For a second there I thought I was watching a Technology Connections episode 😊
Necessary topic! I bought my first warm light for my bedroom’s table lamp last year, and It makes a difference when I want lights just to not be in completely dark (which is my favourite mood 🖤). The white one is perfect for when I’m searching for a clothing inside the wardrobe, but when I was just in my bed, it made the walls around me look so monumental it felt claustrophobic. I am biased to say, as I love antiquity, but I really love amber tones, golden, yellow, brown… And for me, amber lights had an affective memory: it was the colour of the street lamps in my childhood (I’m talking about the early 2000, believe me 😂), and I saw the progressive transition of yellow for super bright blue LED lights, so when I pass by a street that still has yellow lamp lights, I feel nostalgic. In addition to the misunderstood people have thinking that super bright lights are nice inside home, here I also need to explain them that “warm lights” are actually cooler than “cold” ones as they expend less energy, because this is a warm country, so no one wants to “warm” up their houses.
Thanks! Just moved into a new apartment with the largest kitchen I’ve had in 20 years-and I hate it. I feel like it’s tiny and cramped. Been trying to figure out why. Should have known you and a Pattern Language would have an answer! Seriously, the sheer white cupboards, black countertops, stainless steel appliances and giant overhead light fixture make me feel like a visitor to the morgue.
In my kitchen, the chair has scratched the paint on the wall, but I don’t want to repaint or move the chair away from the wall. Those slight imperfections make it a home. ❤
You. Need. To. Do. Standup. Also, I predict your channel someday has over 2m followers. You are brilliant, hilarious, and make online life worth living.
Great video - thank you!! A few years back I bought some $10 smart bulbs on Amazon, they let me totally dial in the temperature and it's made such a difference in vibe and feel
My overhead kitchen light has a switch for 3 different settings. I put it on the "coldest" though since I like that. Though a good idea you mentioned, since I'll be selling soon I'll switch it to the warmest to make it more inviting 😀 I also have LEDs throughout the house in other fixtures, and they are colored based on the time of day -- circadian coloring. So they start out warm at 6am, turn cold by noon and by sunset they're warm again.
I am SO glad people are talking about color temperature. Technology Connections has lots of videos about this sort of thing, and he’s charmingly pedantic about color temperature. I’d recommend his channel if you’re interested in learning more about lighting. Also, I agree with him entirely on color temperature! There’s a reason I bought a few cases of 60W incandescent bulbs before the ban in August. Also, be warned: color temperature isn’t a be all end all for whether a bulb will look good in a given space! For kitchens and other places where you might eat, I’d recommend looking into the CRI (color rendering index, a 100 point scale where 90-100 is ideal) of any bulbs you might buy. Incandescents and halogens have a perfect flat spectrum (they contain all frequencies of light, just like sunlight), giving them a perfect 100 CRI, but all fluorescents and many LEDs just have a few spikes at specific frequencies (usually red, green, and blue, or thereabouts). Those spikes can trick your brain into seeing white, but they can often make food (or, as other commenters have pointed out, people) look weird. This is a whole thing! There’s a lot to this and I’m glad people are talking about it. Stay safe out there, and don’t buy any bulbs with a CRI below 80!
I'm surprised people wouldn't notice how light changes a space and our moods. Then again, I'm autistic. Lighting has always been important to me, it angrily blares at me wherever I go. I grew up in a world of incandescents, I have to wear colored glasses to chill the lighting in public. I remember the first time a roommate brought an LED home in like 2011, and put in the overhead light of the living room. It immediately made me extremely anxious and hurt my eyes. So I got some orange acrylic and painted it. Did the trick to mellow it. I've always lit my rooms with dusk-like lighting with Christmas lights and covered lamps. Warm, track-like, yet less even light. Fluorescents don't just flicker when they're turning on, they flicker constantly. The electricity is not dispersed evenly in the gas at any one time, so they flicker at a very high rate which adds to its discomfort. LEDs also flicker at a high rate, it's usually not noticeable unless the bulb is getting too much or too little power or it's uncovered to disperse the light evenly. It's a pretty shitty curse to be so sensitive to lighting. The transit system in Portland changed a bunch of its bulbs to a harsh blue, and it's awful. It's really stressful for me.
Here's a little tip to check if LED's flicker: If you have a phone that can film in slow-motion, turn it in that mode and walk around your room/house. Cheap LED's that flicker will show up then. Not all LED's flicker; price is a good indicator (not always of course). I don't wanna promote anything but in my own experience Philips makes LED's that don't have any flicker, and are also high CRI (color rendition index) and have accurate color temperature. They're easy on the eyes and mind. :)
You have the most concise and impactful writing style, like god damn! I walk away from a 10 minute video feeling like I have hours of follow up research to commence!
Kendra Gaylord: Thank you SO MUCH. For the “bright light incoming” warning you put up at like 13:15 ish. People don’t take photosensitivity seriously, and boy have I been struggling with it since I nearly died from blood poisoning. I enjoyed this video so much. Xx
Ok, my dad work in this area of develoment lights; so our home has this sistem of lights that change their tone and colors with the phone app. He explained with chickens, and how the light afects animals life cicles, and also us. There is a type of lighthing that helps to stay active and the cozy one to chill, even the lighs start to go down when its an apropiate time to sleep. Its a facinating subject cause i have see the weird effect ligthing cause on people in a biological manner.
![[UNCUT] “ช่อ พรรณิการ์” ปะทะเดือด “มัลลิกา” ชี้หน้า สั่งหยุด! I คนดังนั่งเคลียร์ I 22 ส.ค. 67](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/cJ_z_bHnvIE/mqdefault.jpg)
This video made me realize that the popularity of dark academia is a reaction to the fact that most of us have had all of our educational experiences conducted under fluorescent lighting.
this is such an interesting point!
Makes sense!
Omg yes dude. The romanticism of writing an essay by candlelight. Or an oil lamp. So intimate and yet solitary. Journeying inward
It makes no sense whatsoever why children are forced to get their education at a hospice looking monstrosity
Astute observation! 🤔
I used to frequent a coffee shop and it was soo cozy with red velvet booths and carpeted floors. They renovated it with white floor tile, grey granite countertops and of course the cool lighting... my welcomed and comfortable coffee shop, turned into a tired and rushed corporate office. I never returned after it re-opened.
I believe this is the reason why coffee shops are dying in the USA.
Light and noise, the dual horrors of modern spaces. I dont go out anymore, i invite people to my warmly lit place with wood and soft furnishings.
@@0.-.0At least part of it, yes.
tell them
Jeez, might as well take it all the way and have a drop-ceiling with ceiling-tiles. They did what saved them money up-front but don't realize that they're running off customers by ruining the vibe of the place. It's like saving money by putting the cheap motor oil in your car. Problem is, you're making it so that your car only lasts another 50,000 miles instead of 200,000 miles. So what did you save? NOTHING. I can picture the shop owner standing out front of the place locked-up, dark, for-sale sign in the window, saying, "This place use to be hopping, what happened?"
To anyone who doesn't just hate cool-toned light but also has an issue with "warm-toned LED" because they still make everything appear desaturated and sad: look for a high CRI! (Color rendering index)
A high CRI (97 or higher) indicates that there is a good amount of red light, which will in turn bring out the warmer tones in your skin, your surroundings... once I changed my bathroom lightbulbs, I looked so much more alive and healthy, it was baffling.
This is something that galleries and museums prioritise too, since showing colour well and evenly is important. I'd rather light my home like an art gallery than a hospital.
A lot of companies do not indicate what the CRI even is. Steer clear and look for the ones who declare it, demonstrating that they actually care about light quality as much as you do!
🫡
You nailed this! I've been trying to figure out why I hate being in certain rooms even when bringing in warmer light. I'll have to look at the CRI for the bulbs (if it was even on the box)
Uh, I hope this helps me, for a year or so my dad has been replacing lights around here (and for savings reasons disabled the incandescent ones I used instead since they were the only ones that were comfortable for my eyes) and almost all rooms have this eerie vibe to them, and it became even worse when he bought some weird orange LEDs! I have a LED lamp that does okay but in general everything just makes me really uncomfortable and drained
Thank you. We literally went back to incandescent, because I realized that ALL of the LEDs are really unpleasant to me. But last year they actually BANNED incandescent bulbs, so it will be a limited time that I can still get them.... 😒 I feel bad for people who get headaches and stuff from weird lights.
A friend and I are using the same contractor for our renovations. My friend went with the builder grade potlights, while I specified much more expensive 97 CRI potlights, since I had horrible memories of 80 CRI potlights of the past. It turns out most current builder grade potlights are not 80 or 85 CRI, but are actually 90+ CRI. After comparing our two potlight grades in real finished rooms, I actually think the 90+ CRI potlight quality is very decent, and leaps and bounds better than the old 80 CRI potlights. My 97 CRI potlights may be a bit better but the incremental improvement is probably overkill for most people, especially given the much higher extra cost. (All is not lost though, since mine have a lifetime warranty, whereas the builder grade ones don't.) Interestingly, even though mine are 97 CRI, they don't actually advertise them as such. They are advertised as 90+, but if you dig down into their unadvertised 3rd party test results, at 3000K they are rated at 96.9. Also, another thing to remember is that the CRI scoring system itself is problematic in some ways.
BTW, although some recommend kitchens, workspaces, and bathrooms, have higher colour temperature lights (like 4000K), we went with 3000K for all the potlights, and 2700K for some other lights like the kitchen island pendants.
The main thing I don't like about LEDs is dimmed lighting usually stays the same colour temperature. I still prefer dimmed lighting to become warmer like incandescents. I may try some auto warming LEDs in the future, but those would be for light bulbs. It's too late now for the potlights.
The fact that I hadn't personally pinpointed this change in lightbulbs and connected it to the shift from wood to white/grey... AHHHHHHHHHHHH... I literally had ALL of this knowledge, some of it professionally... and never put it together. I knew it was a thing for ME to consider. Never put it together as part of larger trends. Thank you!
Yes!
Yep. Part of The Plan :-/
@@katie7748 ...the plan?
@@adora_was_takenprobably the plan to make us all like mindless sheep or robots, a la 1984. (conspiracy theories. I don't believe in it but I see it in some comments, connected with I**uminati, B*ilderberg grp, etc.)
Star Trek: The Next Generation went in the opposite direction. For the first two seasons, the show had a hard, high contrast lighting style. When Melvin Rush took over running the camera in Season 3, the lighting look for became more theatrical, with pools of light around the characters and more shadowy backgrounds. That became the signature look of the series.
Yes! I never noticed what changed but now that you mentioned it. Totally! The scenes when they played poker for example. Very different lighting in later seasons.
Wow, Next Generation was the first TV series I thought of. It turned into just an photon retina assault. As opposed to the original series, or the brooding dark of the first ST movie.
Ugh, I hate cold light indoors. Give me the old Gilmore Girls esthetic. When I'm at home by myself, my living room is lit by a single lamp with a warm bulb. Plus a reading light if I'm feeling retro and reading an actual book. If I should win the lottery and be able to feel comfortable about spending some real money on renovating my bathroom, I'm going for the warm look in there, too. And a tub, I guess, because in a bathroom like that, I wouldn't mind hanging out for a few hours.
Ah, you’re gonna wanna keep the neutral “white” (but not blue) lights in the bathroom though! It’s great to have a soft glow night light in there, but for daily use a “day” light is essential - to help wake you up in the morning but also to truly see your face and body in the mirror. You don’t want to miss a random hair or a spot or something on your teeth just due to poor lighting.
@@Liusila Proper lighting is also rather important where there is high risk (it may not seem like, but water makes anything slippery). That is why hospitals, factories and laboratories have bright white lights; seeing well helps reduce risks.
I know I sound weird about it, but you are not supposed to "live" in the bathroom. Leave warm lights to where you actually stay: living room, bedroom, dining room... Maybe I am just kinda paranoid?
Ok I just realized why I always hated sitcoms even growing up--the lighting! It didn't encourage intimacy or realness no, it was cold one liners being delivered under a disorienting sky that made me feel like I was one of those yellow posts in-between worlds. The lighting and the characters somehow mirroring eachother's vapid souls that gave me existential crisis feelings even as a young kid. I have a million other reflections on lighting too that this sparked/validated inside my mood lighted soul. Spiritual!
Most sitcoms were filmed with a studio audience on a stage and used three cameras and a static array of fill-lights. That's why they were so flat looking and you only saw certain angles of the rooms.
You know where LED's make me the saddest? On my pre-lit christmas tree. I remember the magical sparkle of the tiny lights making the ornaments come alive back in the incandescent days. Now the lights light themselves, but the ornaments are in the shadows somehow, even amongst all that light. I know LED's have improved, but I don't know whether they can produce that glow and sparkle I remember.
We keep one of those fake birch trees in our living room year round and it has very small lights on each branch tip that look like candle light, so those LED's do exist. We just love the ambiance. : )
@@SweetStuffOnMonarchLane Yes, also if they're the main component, you can appreciate their sparkle, whether or not they are casting light on anything else. I hope they HAVE gotten better too, though.
Not just incandescent tree lights, but the variety and uniqueness of the colors of the bulbs, and their wider coverage vs. the way an led works.
Don't get me started on "twinkling" lights that appear to be having a seizure at a disco.
#Ihatethe21stcentury
Yeah, I agree. The light cast by fairy-light LEDs is very different in quality in a way that's not easily definable. In part, it's probably something to do with the spectrum, but I also think those tiny pinpoints of white light just aren't the same as a filament a couple of millimetres long. That difference in size I think has a huge effect on how the light is scattered. I find textured fairy lights to be better (e.g. that have a little jewel glass cover similar to the way the incandescent bulbs just had to) because they scatter the light better.
theatrical lighting designer here and i love this! color temperature affects our lives in so many ways!
Yes and that's exactly why They are doing this to us :-/
Yes, really.
Yes. Not enough colour temperature is rage inducing when you try to see something.
Okay, you’re spot on! This is something I’ve literally had to convince people of…and when they see it, it’s a game changer. I’m sensitive to light, and cold temp lighting is a soul sucking thing…grew up in the 80s where incandescent bulbs were still king, and that’s how I light my place today. Warm temp is so much nicer, and people who visit, feel cozy and comfortable here.
Great vid, enjoy your content!
I foresee a faux-incandescent revolution on the horizon. I saw TruTone (i think its spelled that way), which are LED christmas lights that are made to look exactly like incandescents but of course more energy efficient and safer (less heating), and I was so happy. I think it will become much more popular soon!!!
I always notice how “cosy”, healthily warm light was prevalent in shows in the 90s and that’s partly what made shows like Friends or Buffy feel so welcoming and homely. I still come back to them for that warm feel, and I wish shows would come back to that now at least partially.
The fact that most TV was shot on celluloid film adds to the warmth as well.
I do so agree with you here - when I moved into my apartment I couldn't figure out why I never wanted to be in my Kitchen, I cooked there and left, that's it. But then it dawned on me, it was painted white and had glossy white cupboards with only one strong light from above so it was just so cold and uninviting - So I painted it warm yellow and put lots of colourful pictures on the wall and put little warm lamps in every corner and now it's so cosy and warm and I love it there.
The worst lighting situation is always fluorescents in changing rooms.
Truly! Years ago I was in a Victorias Secret store and horrified there were fluorescents in the changing room…nobody looks good under fluorescents…and you never wear lingerie in that kind of lighting!! Needless to say…I didn’t buy anything! I did go to a different lingerie store and they smartly had soft warm lighting in the dressing room, and I bought many items. 😀
Stores are beyond stupid. They spend millions on advertising and lose sales because they are too dumb to make the fitting rooms flattering and comfortable.
@@JoaninFloridaProbably because it’s men in charge of that sort of thing and they don’t even think to think about these kind of things.
@@linmonPIE Men never hear women when we tell them anything. They automatically default to whatever other men do and stick with that. But there should be enough women in marketing now that, at this point, the dressing rooms are ridiculous. Macy's is on the brink of bankruptcy and they've had decades to get a clue.
@@JoaninFlorida You would think. Probably if anyone ever did speak up about it it wasn’t considered important enough so they defaulted to what they think is best for their bottom line, as always 🙄
We needed 2 new lightbulbs in our bathroom. My husband replaced all 6 bulbs in the fixture with a much whiter light, I immediately recoiled and he had to get new bulbs of a softer color. So I totally understand how you felt about your kitchen. The change must have been shocking and off putting.
Haha, my boyfriend "helped" me by replacing a burned out bulb in my bathroom with something insanely bright and white. He was miffed when I screamed in horror and immediately removed it.
i use hue, i can choose dim candle for early mornings, warm white for getting ready and 6000k for cleaning, all within a button press
The problem is, that the cool white LEDs that I saw installed in the late-2010s in buildings, looked off, honestly liked the cool white T8 fluorescent bulbs that they had before!
This video gave me an epiphany about my childhood. My family joined an Amish cult for a few years, and even though I'm aware that many aspects of our life then were messed up, I still remember the spaces I inhabited then as feeling very idyllic and warm. Guess what they were lit with? Sunlight, oil lamps, and Coleman-style gas lamps. Of course they felt cozy and magical.
I am not entitled to answers, but if you ever want to elaborate on that story I have a few questions.
@@thepinkestpigglet7529 Sure! What would you like to know? /gen
These reasons are all why I swear my smart bulbs that have a wide range of colors. Yes, they are expensive, but when you get migraines and have lots of mental health problems, it’s great to have total control over the exact tone and brightness of your house lighting. I’m all for a warm yellowish light most of the time, though. This was such a great video!
What's your smart bulb of choice?
@@m0kkn049 I like hue, but that’s just what I started with and stuck with it. I’m sure they’re all similar enough that it doesn’t really matter which brand. It’s definitely good to stick to one brand though so they’re easy to control as a unit
Dimmers also work for this
from a fellow migraine sufferer, try green light! studies showed that it was the only colour of light that didn’t make migraines worse, so i gave it a try and it’s had a hugeeee effect! it can be the difference between having to lie in bed in the dark and being able to actually open my eyes and function
I was just talking about this in another comment. LEDs are the bane of my existence as a migraine sufferer. For me it's both color temp and flickering, and so far Sengled and Roku smart bulbs are the only ones that seem to be flicker-free enough to where I don't feel like dying every day.
I wish there was an ADA accommodation for migraines, I wish I could show my LED-exemption card at the hardware store and they'll bring out the stash of incandescents lol.
I went to university in Glasgow so not only am i super familiar with Kelvin since everything ever is named after him, my enduring image of him is his sitting statue in Kelvingrove park that always and forever had a traffic cone on it (the university is right next door, also Glaswegians have a sense of humour), he always looked like a wizard on a throne.
Switching out all the bulbs in my apartment was the best decision ever. Now everything is warm & everyone looks pretty lol.
I'm an electrician and I get a lot of customers that are unhappy with their LED lighting for the same reasons you describe in this video. LEDs can look just fine and create the right ambiance in your room if you install them correctly. They are also far safer, non-toxic, don't produce heat, and are up to 9x more energy efficient than older styles of light bulbs. I see a lot of homes where the wiring is burnt from halogen lights, causing a fire hazard. Due to the high power draw of incandescent bulbs, people overdraw their circuits, causing more fire hazards and costly repairs. Compact fluorescent bulbs contain mercury gas and are highly toxic if broken.
Please just stick with LEDs. If you are unhappy with their appearance, consider the color temperature, lumen output, and diffusion of the LED bulb. Low color temperatures like 2700K or even 2100K can make a room much, much warmer. Higher ones like 5000K can look ultra bright and sterile like a hospital. Many LED fixtures can change their color temperature with the flick of a switch built in to the top of them. Read the lumen output on the box before buying your lightbulb. Lumens are a measurement of light output, but a lot of consumers don't understand what a lumen is, so manufacturers will say "65 watt equivalent" or such on the package so you can compare it to the light output of an incandescent. However, this a poor comparison. Just think of 250 lumens as dim, 500-600 as medium, and 1000 or more as bright. Finally, think about how the light is being diffused. Is the glass frosted or not? What shape is it? Is the lens glass or plastic? How thick is the plastic? Is there a baffle in front of the lens or diffuser that spreads the light?
Please try to learn more about how to make LEDs work for you. Save your electric bill, save yourself from costly repairs and fire hazards, and save yourself from having annoying electricians like me show up to your door and lecture you for hundreds of dollars and hour.
Love this! The solution is not to return to the old bulbs but to be more thoughtful about using new and demonstrably better technology.
thank you!
Thanks so much for this information!
This is the correct take - LEDs aren't necessarily sterile. Figure out what look you're going for and work from there.
Electrician working on our house put in all "daylight" LEDs. We all HAAAAAAATE them. Yeah, it's nice to see what I'm doing but it's adding to my already shtty mood (moving is insanely stressful) so we're swapping out for better bulbs very soon. Idk how much more of this I can take. I mentioned it to him and he was baffled and appalled that we didn't agree with his (shtty) opinion of "daylight" bulbs.
I always noticed that the lighting changed on GG, but never knew the details. The departure of the cinematographer midway during S5 is when my love for the show wanes. I think everyone looks good in amber lighting and my home is filled with bubbles of soft, warm light. So much so, that a friend who prefers to live in 10000K light said my place was a cave.
As a (probably too) passionate proponent of warm light I really enjoyed this, including the deep dive into the last 100 years of lightbulbs. Side note, Can we also acknowledge how disturbing the cool LED twinkle Christmas lights are? My kingdom for them warm incandescents!!
Every year I see my neighborhood's xmas lights become more and more LED/cool toned. It breaks my heart & I can't even fathom the future of xmas decor if everyone eventually goes to LED :( It's to the point that I want to drop off cookies w/ a note to all the neighbors that have really classic looking lights to hopefully encourage them to stay faithful to them 😅
Yes! I can't stand those kind of Christmas lights!
Yes! I can't stand those kind of Christmas lights!
Don’t fall into despair! There is a movement of LED lights starting to (faithfully) replicate incandescents! Look up Tru-Tone lights!
technology connections made a fantastic video about christmas light colors!! i'd definitely recommend it if you liked this video :)
I have noticed this. I really feel like this is part of why the world feels so different from my childhood, everywhere.
I’m highly sensitive to colour temperature (well, to everything really) and being in spaces that are not warm feeling make me straight up depressed. I have been debating taking on the huge, expensive task of repainting since the lavender colour I chose hasn’t felt right, and too cool. Now I realise the issue might be with the lighting, not the wall colour, so thank you so much for another equally entertaining and informative video, and I will be replacing my bulbs.
Totally with you on that. I always felt like I had to over-explain that I wasn't exaggerating by saying that I found too cool-toned a space depressing. It extended to the fact that I was terribly dissatisfied with the first three cars I owned, because they had grey interiors, and I wanted a tan interior. FINALLY was able to get a car with a tan interior, and it honestly makes so much difference.
For my new apartment, all walls are white and the furniture dark/shades of grey/black.
Then I can adjust the colours with the Hue lighting.
That said, I'd probably use 6500K as standard and something deep red for preserving night vision and keeping away insects on the balcony. I wonder when the neighbors start complaining.
At least for me, it's not just depressing, it's also annoying and migraine-inducing.
A friend and I moved into a new place in august and the lights in the kitchen had two bulbs out. I always prefer warmer lights so I bought the warm versions of the bulbs and when we turned them all on my roommate and I audibly gasped. It was just so much warmer and more inviting it was actually unbelievable!
I wonder if this bright, cool lighting helped contribute to the trend of organizing/displaying things in homes like a store (TikTok pantries, closets) or if the lighting was chosen because it's more store-like?
I bet! If you have a bright shiny white kitchens with white countertops and a white backslpash and bright white lighting, everything standing around will look like clutter. If you have cosy lighting you just won't see most of the clutter. It vanishes in the shadows. 😁 Great observation! 👍🏻
15:40 “the heart of where the magic happens in the home” 😂 I see we still have PTSD from all the AD home tours
they switched out the streetlamp near my bedroom window with an LED a few years ago, and i’m still shocked by it some nights. it feels like there’s a helicopter search light outside, instead of the comforting honey-coloured light that was there before.
A church did that to the parking lot near me and now I know that god watches my every move!! He can see all, the whole night long and on cloudy days too. They are a hell fire and brimstone type church and I long for the homelike feel of the old hell.
I have a streetlamp like that where Iive. It's a basement apartment, so image the angle the light comes in. I haven't lived here long enough to know what was there a few years ago. I don't know why LED lighting designers love to make their lights to prickly pointy to stab our eyes like that!
@@rosevan7845 If Satan is truly in charge of Hell and isn't slacking off, he'll have LED lighting of the sort we had from ten years ago installed everywhere in the underworld.
@@DrunkenUFOPilot Satan may be in charge of hell now but in a few he will be given a run for his money with the incoming power mad bunch we are breeding.
That can be an especially jarring transition because older street lamps are typically high pressure sodium discharge lamps. They have a very very yellow kind of light, which comes out at something like 2000 or 2200K. Much yellower than even incandescents. Most warm LEDs are 2700K, so a fair bit "whiter", not to mention cool white LEDs.
I’m grateful that my parents hated overhead lights. We weren’t at all fancy but we ate dinner every night with a kerosene light in the center of the table. No, I’m not 150 years old 😂 my parents just liked the light.
I don’t like overhead lights and fluorescent lights give me migraines. So I’m finding this fascinating. Thank you!
Maybe the migraines are from sucking down kerosene fumes all childhood
@@EricLS No. Flourescent lights trigger migraines in many people and I have a family history of. Your comment is mean and ignorant.
That's a great insight that cool LEDs led to the shift away from wood colors. I've been using 2700K LEDs everywhere since day 1 so I never made that connection.
You are absolutely brilliant! No pun intended. 😂 I can’t believe you made the transition from Gilmore Girls to light bulbs to Kelvin to homemakers! 🙌🙌🙌
1910s Ladies Home Journals are a DAMN GOOD TIME
Nice discussion! I think the other big impact that lighting can have is due to the lighting CRI or color rendering index. While there are some better metrics, this is the most common one that you can look for as a consumer, and it will tell you how well the bulb will show colors compared to an ideal light source like the sun or an incandescent bulb. Many cheap CFL and LED bulbs have terrible CRIs so everything looks dull and uninviting. Reds are especially dull under these lights. I strongly suggest that everyone looks for LED bulbs not only with the appropriate color temperature, but also with a high CRI. Phillips Ultra Definition are great bulbs all around, and they aren't that expensive either.
Great point on CRI! I will have to test out the bulbs you mentioned!
THANK YOU for posting this, I've felt depressed by LED bulbs for years but no-one else seemed to notice, now i can get better bulbs!
And since skin tones have tons of red, those crappy bulbs make people look tired or unhealthy.
My biggest lighting advice? Turn off your overhead lights and get lamps and led strips. Ambient lighting instantly makes me feel more relaxed and makes me like my surroundings more. Also if you want warm lights that aren't yellow, i would recommend GE Reveal Led lights. They're pink tinted instead of yellow, but still warm and soft. Great video! Loved it as someone who's obsessed with lighting
I used to love the old GED Reveal incandescents, and I can't figure out which of the Reveal LEDs to get because they have different types now. Do you happen to know which ones you got?
@@MeredithDomzalskiThey had a ton of those at Lowe's in 2019, IIRC.
When a cosy, local Italian joint renovated, they updated their chairs to the WORST back breaker (but esthetically pleasing) metal, made to look like wood. My friend group, who had previously hung out there countless times. We went back once, tipped well, went home and wrote polite cards predicting their downfall, and the reason.
We wanted to stay. We wanted to try all the appies, order more wine off the lovely new cellar. We would have stayed for all the desserts and espressos and after dinner cordials. This was our joint, we adored it, and we WANTED to stay and bling out. But our backs and a$$es couldn't take it. Halfway through dinner we asked for to-go boxes and got the hell out of there as fast as we could. We reconnoitered at a coffee shop nearby and consoled each other. We resolved to each go back and let them know why we didn't enjoy what should have been a bomb-ass time together.
Turns out, this was not a bug, but a feature. The new manager told one in our group that table turnover was too slow prior to the renovation, so they purposely purchased chairs that were less comfortable. Because they can't ask people to leave, only hint at it. We argued that the cost per patron should increase rather than try to turn the tables over like a greasy spoon diner. We didn't go there to feel chased away. They lost lifetime patrons over some shītty chairs and a dumb business idea.
Out beloved cosy spot went under in less than 4 months. Rather than swap out the chairs, they rode that pony all the way to the grave. They had opened for the holidays and were closed by Easter. The food was fantastic! But it was torture to dine in. What a waste.
Oh - the lighting in the renovation was designed by a local theater company - it was exquisite! But alas, not enough to ensure repeat customers.
I'm not really familiar with who you are or what your channel is about, but you slayed this. I can't stand the intensity of LEDs, especially in the workplace. Your soft tone, easy speaking cadence, presentation, is a pleasure to watch and listen. The subject is well researched, no loud music, or cuts, no agitating graphics or sensationalism, just really good information. Add some little sarcastic bits but nothing edgy or negative, and this is a winner. You have a gift for this and I hope your get really popular.
If there are any CityNerd fans here, I want to highlight the shoutout to the "fine dining establishment" that is Cheescake Factory lol
This video is one half typical Kendra Gilmore Girls content and one half Technology Connections. 10/10
It’s crazy that you posted this today. I generally believe the colder lights go with colder colors, so I was using cold lights in my kitchen where there’s a slight bluish tint to the paint. But I decided that I just like warm lights so much better and they go better with the wood in the floors anyway, so (just today, mind you) switched the bulbs out for warm bulbs.
I love how this video came together. I need to buy some lightbulbs.
Another bit of info: white LED light is a known trigger for migraines.I didn't know this until I thought I was being creative several years ago at Christmas. I twined a length of green garland with white LED Christmas lights and draped this around the large doorway into our living room. Had a migraine every day for a week. Turns out there are multiple articles out there on LED lights and migraine, and yet no warnings are listed on the labels. Something to consider if one is prone to migraines.
Yes. They trigger migraines for me too
That is most likely because of poor construction. If LED lights are improperly wired and connected to AC, they will strobe at 50/60Hz (depending on mains frequency). That is too fast to notice when you look at them directly, but still perceptible in your peripheral vision. It can lead to a sense of unease or discomfort in most people, while most people are unable to articulate what exactly they think is wrong with the light except that it makes them unwell. It is pretty common for cheap Christmas lights, those often have no rectification at all.
my gf has that very issue.. the bluelight part of the light is the issue.
As a lifelong sufferer of migraines (into my seventh decade) I had not actually noticed that about LED bulbs, but then again they are not my choice of bulb. What I did notice, decades ago, was that halogen bulbs would trigger my migraines.
Flicker is probably a big factor with that, cheap LED lights will have flicker due to a cheap driver circuit with less filtering. The higher CRI ones usually also have less flicker.
This channel is the most niche thing ever and I adore it. ❤❤❤ I bought the Not So Big House book I saw on one of her recent videos and I’m so glad I did. Literally 1/2 the reason I watch these videos is for the book recommendations.
This makes me so happy!
I liked how you used your own kitchen as an example! It was also interesting to see how you analyzed Architectural Digest kitchens, Home Edit, and how brighter lighting makes decor "hard mode".
New subscriber. You are iconic!
Love the Gilmore Girls examples. I think a large change in the seasons lighting also had to do with their transition from film to digital which happened in season 6-7 I believe. ASP held out for quite a while, and the look makes a difference.
Hello! Thank you for being here!!
I am not sure the camera actually shifted, just a tighter budget. In 2009, Supernatural (also on the CW) switched to digital. Gilmore Girls last episode was in 2007. So I think GG and digital cameras just missed each other
When we moved into our new place a couple of years ago, we gave a lot of thought to the lighting when renovating. Basically, we have two types of lights: 2700K lights and 4500K lights. When we need to see things clearly or want to be more awake, we use the 4500K lights. In the early mornings and evenings, though--especially when it is approaching bedtime--we exclusively use the 2700K lights. We also use the 2700K lights when we have guests over because we don't want our flat to look like an office. We have both types of light in the bathroom as well, because if I happen to wake up in the middle of the night and need to use the bathroom, I don't want to be blinded. I use the 4500K light when I am taking my shower to help me wake up.
There are 3000k lights, which are not quite as yellow as the 2700k, but are MUCH warmer than 4500k or 5000k. I prefer the 3000k because when you look at something white under them, it appears white rather than yellow. At the same time, they still are plenty warm. We have 3000k all through the house other than in the bedroom, where 2700k helps us get ready to sleep at night. In our bathroom the lights are on dimmers so you can just enough light to see when you go there in the middle of the night.
I have smart bulbs with an app that lets me change the color temperature. So I set them for a little cooler early in the evening and warmer and a little dimmer later at night.
Thank you for adding another voice to those of us who have been screaming from the top of our kitchen countertops that lighting matters! I could never understand why so many people wanted to live in the prison world from THX 1138. Between Freshman and Sophomore year the college went through and replaced all the soft diffuse incandescent lighting in the dorm rooms with a single 4 foot dual fluorescent 565 equivalents. Constant flickering and having a roommate coming in late flip on light that singed through your eyelids meant you seldom got to sleep through the night. And yet, so many students wanted this new lighting everywhere! To this day, I push back every time someone claims we are getting better and better light with LED. True natural light is sunlight which includes Infrared radiation. It warms you and you feel it. True natural nighttime light always came from fire which includes infrared radiation. We feel it. That is why LEDs are NOT a replacement for incandescent lighting and will never mimic actual sunlight. This better light campaign is all about money and environmentalism and has nothing to do with better light or our mental and physical health.
Your videos continue to be a gem in my subscription list. I wish there was a reason for you and Technology Connections to do a colab but it would be 20 minutes about very strong christmas light opinions.
Loved this video! I remember my mind being blown the first time I saw someone with a really cute lamp on their kitchen countertop… I was like “wait… yes… cozy!!!” Most of my time going into the kitchen is to make a cup of coffee or tea, to grab a snack, or to get water. It’s nice to make it a super cozy and relaxing space for that! Why not treat it, at least part of the time, like a part of your home that you want to feel relaxed in?
The term “fill light” is a method which brings out the shadows. White balance is what changes the yellow in a picture, bringing it up from blue.. So it seems to me Season 7 has too much fill and the white balance changed. And I agree, because I like soft yellows too,
Adding to this fluorescents, oh my! They flicker and I’m highly sensitive to that. I have a headache if I’m in a room with a fluorescent and no one can understand why. Then the LED hurts my eyes.
This is fascinating. I’d noticed cooler lights trending and the cold/white/minimalist trend but never connected the two! It makes sense though that as cool LED bulbs get into homes, people shift to cool-toned decor.
I think the rise in social media and people taking photos of themselves has made a big difference too- while in person warm lighting is cozy and pleasant, in photos it can easily be too dark and make you look jaundiced, while bright cool lighting works better for trendy Instagram pics. A hotel in my hometown that did a lot of conventions actually changed their carpeting and lighting to be bluer/cooler because of how much people complained about their photos turning out poorly!
I’m definitely going to play with lighting more in my new apartment, warm lighting is a lifesaver in the long winter months here too
you're "oh... i'll let him know" during the kelvin bit was impeccable
I love your videos on a more human approach to architecture, Kendra 💚
I always thought this when my house switched from yellow to fluorescent lighting around 2006 when I was 12. My dad always seemed to think of it as an upgrade because of the energy saving, lets just say he's a lot less sensitive about aesthetics than i am.
Late-'00s= The era of "barf-yellow" warm CFLs!
Oh there's an equivalent of Lahaina Noon I found - ""daylight"" in the polar circle during the dark month of the year.
Because sunlight reflects around the clouds and snow, it scatters and becomes really even. Even if the sun never actually rises, there's still light, and it's this hazy no shadows as if you turned off the graphics kinda light.
You are my favorite creator, bar none. Where you LED, I will follow.
Very glad someone did a video on this as thoroughly as you did. After rehabbing (literally removing mold and asbestos) my basement, I spent days researching new lighting fixtures. I wanted something warm, color accurate, and NOT OMNI-DIRECTIONAL. PAR lights - often used in floodlight scenarios - pointing downwards illuminates the floor and surfaces but leaves contrasting pools of shadow above and on the walls. It's been a wonderful addition and I'm thoroughly happy down there, now.
For rooms where you aren't afforded unfettered access to basement joists so you can tabula-rasa install light fixtures and wiring, track lighting has been a really helpful retrofit solution for all the damned boob-lamps in the home. With PAR or even MR type bulbs, they cast rays of light onto surfaces and leave contrasting shadows on the top of the walls and the ceiling. It's moody.
Amber lighting has been really hard to find, though. I bought a set of lightbulbs that were marketed as amber but really just had an orange film on the lens.
I always use warm lighting in my living room. But I noticed that when. I am crafting. I constantly feel like it's too dark. Once I changed my light bulbs to a more blue toned light, it suddenly felt brighter.
Yep, I've always had the warm lights and it's been so dark. Recently put in the blue toned bulbs in a few spots and can see so much better.
It might be worth looking smart bulbs! Although I don't find them as cozy as classic warm light bulbs, they allow you to change the color from cool to warm & adjust brightness. They have become much more affordable recently as well. Just a thought!
Yeah that's what I have, smart bulbs. They're super versatile! I love them, especially for throwing parties
With cold lighting (as in low colour temperature, often falsely labeled "warm") you miss out most of the colors. Even if it's bright, you don't see everything. And your brain must work overtime to do the white balancing.
I don’t know if you’re going to see this but one of the most beautifully lit TV shows in history is “That ‘70s Show”. Absolutely gorgeous use of light that Gen-xers like myself are very nostalgic for b/c warm and sunny interiors are what we grew up in.
"now thats a power bottom" the gasp i gusp
This video was fabulous, thank you! My mother and I have these long, rambling, incoherent conversations every time we're in the light bulb aisle because we both definitely understand that you need the "right" bulbs, but neither of us has any clue how to pick. This video should be played on repeat on little screens in every light bulb retailer worldwide, it would save so many people so much difficulty!
Oh my gosh!! You just explained the rise and fall of gray.
Architecture and design were never something I thought about or noticed much prior to watching your channel but now I consider it often, thanks for sharing your knowledge and enthusiasm for the topic.
Last year I changed all my light bulbs and nightlights to yellow/amber and it has been actually life changing
This video was fascinating. Thank you
As someone who had severe body dysmorphic disorder from like 12-about now (just starting to get over it at 32), I know everything & anything about warm lighting & the perils of 'cool' daylight (such to the extent I 'accidentally' broke/said it didn't work anymore a $5 cool daylight globe "whoops", oh but look I have already bought a warm white replacement - and suddenly everyone in the family was saying how much better everything looked). I truly wish it was illegal (or v. difficult) to buy cool daylightbulbs, they are so awful & unnatural, they' give me panic/depression attacks if i had to walk through an area lit by them. Horrible, aeful things, as are the people that claim you need to have super bright lighting for your employees to work (at night, no less). Ugly & anxiety inducing coldness!
What a fabulous recap of how homes got less cozy! I love love love this video - thank you!
I'm working on my house and its decoration so that's such a very informative video ! I understand better why I prefer warmer tones for everything. Warmer lights, unpainted wooden furniture, beige and wood-like wallpaper,... Wouldn't change a thing ! I live for the cosy vibes.
That's the type of vibe I love too. Sort of a 1930's aesthetic. I'm so sick of everywhere nowadays being overly bright and sterile like the inside of a laboratory or something.
I swear you are one of the best channels i follow!
The change in lighting brings to mind some other trends I've noticed over the last decade or two. There seems to be a fear of pauses, shadows and gaps influencing some artists. In the GG examples, the background is brought up, filled in, made even with the main subjects. Lamps and fireplaces subdued to match brightness. Nothing stands out!
Reminds me of the "Loudness Wars" in audio production. Mix engineers were bringing up the singer, bringing up the guitar solo, bringing up the little drum bit, bringing up the slick synth intro, bringing up the piano in the background between the singing and solos, bringing up EVERYTHING so that nothing stood out. Incessant acoustic power, no relaxed pause between highlights. Made boomboxes seem more powerful. Maybe it was a marketing thing to increase sales among young people with no taste, I suppose.
Then in editing, especially what I notice with TH-cam videos, is a style of editing where there's not the tiniest pause between the end of one sentence and the start of the next. No time to mentally swallow what I just heard and already the next bit is shoved in. A fear of gaps? My fellow students and I learned in radio/TV production school to "edit tight!" but not like what I'm hearing. It's unnatural for a speaker to not take a quick breath every few words, and it's just as unnatural for the listener to take in continuous talk with nary a millisecond to absorb it.
Likewise, our eyes need a bit of relief in the scene. Michael Price (and almost all competent cinematographers, photographers, and artists) knew how to use a few small-area lights to light the subjects, with shadows, with side lighting, and let the background be visible but subdued, in the background except a few small highlighted objects to make a pleasing composition. A few dark blotchy areas of no-content to help define the important elements of the scene. And let the lamps and fire burn out, clip the signal, to stand out as bright!
Seasons 6 & 7 have what looks like more front lighting, not from the side to emphasize contours, but broad area lights illuminating everything fully, clinically, and with too high a color temperature. Lighting of the background that competes with the stars of the show. Ugly!
This is another reason "What we do in the shadows" is so great. So "warm" and soothing.
When we moved into my current place right before the pandemic started, I quickly looked through all the lights in the house that I could and replaced them with LEDs if there were any incandescents (or too cool toned LEDs) still around for keeping costs down (and cooling excess heat).
We have this big gaudy mid 90s chandelier in the staircase that has way more lightbulbs than is necessary, and all the bathrooms have the 5-6 socket light fixtures above the large mirror. I only kept around two of those lightbulbs in use, spread out on the edges of the sockets for best lighting.
When I ran out of warm LED light bulbs and only had some cooler older LED lights left, it was a game of swap/match to strategically remove extra light bulbs from unnecessary spots like the chandelier, match bulb colour tones and designate any cooler toned LEDs that were still necessary lighting to places like the outside patio light we just turn on to do recycling or the storage hallway corner that gets packed with stuff so the light gets dimmed anyways.
We also have 4 smaller versions of the crystal gaudy chandeliers our main floor that still had incandescent bulbs for the first year 'cause they weren't the standard bulb size but instead two different smaller bulb sizes. 😒 The first summer in the place we avoided using those light fixtures at all because with 4-6 bulbs per fixture, you could *feel* the added heat radiating from those bulbs soon after turning them on. Thankfully IKEA had a warm-toned LED lightbulb sale the following year with the right sized smaller lightbulbs around 25 cents USD each. We got so many bulbs! And am very glad we were able to replace them affordably.
Those fluorescent lights at the grocery store give me a headache, I try to get in and out of there fast. I never allow cold light inside my home, it’s gotta be cozy even if it’s a bit dimmer.
Ive removed all of the cold lightbulbs in my apartment. They were all replaced with warm/yellow lights. It's made every portion of the apartment feel cozy and comfortable. Friends and family always feel good whenever they visit. Lighting color is hugely important. Great video!
I accidentally switched out a lightbulb in my room with a LED one and recoiled in horror. The color of my room with that light on was SO unsettling. I learned a valuable lesson about using warmer temps.
I recently discovered your channel and I am incredibly impressed with how capturing your topics and specifically your research is. Thank you so much for answering questions I never had but now I wanted to have - keep up the great work! xoxo
Thank you for making the point that it's not the LED technology as such, but the ingrained "highest number is best" shopping impulse. I switched from a mix of incandescents and CF bulbs to warm-toned LEDs that are nicely close in tone and lighting ability to 60W incandescents. Just as well, since almost all my walls are yellow!
"Highest number is best" reminds me of an odd marketing phenomenon some years ago, when McDonald's offered a 1/3 pounder burger. It failed because many customers thought the 1/4 pounder was bigger, because 4 > 3. Dyoop dyoop duh!
Great video and makes so much sense! When we moved into my apartment, my landlords put bright white lights in every hardwired light fixture. Needless to say I NEVER turn any of them on unless there's, like, an emergency. I've spent a lot of money on lamps and warm lights, worth every penny! The thing is that our building was built in the early 1900s/1910s, and originally had gas lighting. I think it must have been so gorgeous with that lighting, especially since I've found remnants of warm dark red paint and linoleum, and really dark stained wood molding and floors from that early era. I've also found remnants of midcentury pale blues and green paints, which is actually what I have repainted the walls to be now. In the early 2000s, the apartments were all painted white, and so on. So you can totally see the layers of paint colors matching up with what was used for lighting at the time.
Yeah *face* the electrician working on this house put it all "daylight" LEDs. We have a vaulted ceiling (which I detest) with recessed lighting (which, up there, I loathe) so getting him to swap them for nicer bulbs is going to be interesting. He's already insulted that we don't share the same (shtty) opinion that "daylight" bulbs are the best.
Interesting video Kendra - nice of you to quote a book by Christopher Alexander. Lighting goes hand in hand with making a space feel “ alive” which is what Alexander touches on in one of his books
yep! i realized this a couple years ago when really bright lights in my classes and rooms would just give me headaches, i switched over to those strip led lights for my bedroom and if i needed extra lighting i found a lamp, BAM! my bedroom is now awesome to be in :) whenever i turn on the overhead light i recoil in horror
Can always tell the newer younger apartment condo residents moving in...they put 6000k LED bulbs in everything, and every window looks like there is some sort of construction project going on inside!
We put in a 3000k light in our kitchen, and it was one of those drop ceiling panel lights. Holy shit, I can’t imagine what the CRI was, but everything was GREEN.
Now I have nice warm spotlights, what and insane difference it made in the winter months.
I literally ran out to buy warm bulbs after watching this, my husband loves the atmosphere already!
im just happy that my favorite lighting and gilmore girls youtuber is also based and walkable-pilled
When the switch to LED light bulbs happened, my family stocked up on traditional light bulbs because everyone hated the new white light.
Now some LEDs have warmer light but it's still not quite right. So now the lampshades are often tinted with a warm yellow-beige which gives the overall effect a warm light bulb did.
Of course, there are lots of cold-light lamps too, for people who like it. I have yet to see them in a family home, they seem to be more of a bachelor/young couple thing
Back in 2006 here, it was the start of the CFL craze, as that was before the LED lamps. The earliest-confirmed LED street light installation I know of, was probably the early-2010s. Springfield, Vermont, had some by late-2011, with most of them replaced with LED by 2012 and then Bellows Falls, Vermont in 2013. Then LED lamps suddenly appeared on store shelves by the mid-2010s.
I love this unexpected insights on topics of day to day life, you really can make any probable boring topic to a really interesting and funny one.
Thank you so much for bringing this topic to light. When I moved to my current home, the previous home owners had 5000K LED lights in every room. The house felt like you were walking around a hospital. I quickly changed them out for 3500K incandescent bulbs, since the LED flicker hurts my eyes. Anyway, if you're feeling like you can't relax in your home, check to see if your bulb temperature is too high.
We see what you did there ... "bringing this topic to light." 💡
This was a really fun episode. More wit and humor than usual. Also very informative. I finally understand the obsession with millenial grey and its relation to cold LED lights. It all makes sense. For a second there I thought I was watching a Technology Connections episode 😊
There are so many iconic lines in this video but one of my favorites is, "Is this post in the ground or is this an episode of Blue's Clues?"
Necessary topic! I bought my first warm light for my bedroom’s table lamp last year, and It makes a difference when I want lights just to not be in completely dark (which is my favourite mood 🖤). The white one is perfect for when I’m searching for a clothing inside the wardrobe, but when I was just in my bed, it made the walls around me look so monumental it felt claustrophobic.
I am biased to say, as I love antiquity, but I really love amber tones, golden, yellow, brown… And for me, amber lights had an affective memory: it was the colour of the street lamps in my childhood (I’m talking about the early 2000, believe me 😂), and I saw the progressive transition of yellow for super bright blue LED lights, so when I pass by a street that still has yellow lamp lights, I feel nostalgic.
In addition to the misunderstood people have thinking that super bright lights are nice inside home, here I also need to explain them that “warm lights” are actually cooler than “cold” ones as they expend less energy, because this is a warm country, so no one wants to “warm” up their houses.
Thanks! Just moved into a new apartment with the largest kitchen I’ve had in 20 years-and I hate it. I feel like it’s tiny and cramped. Been trying to figure out why. Should have known you and a Pattern Language would have an answer! Seriously, the sheer white cupboards, black countertops, stainless steel appliances and giant overhead light fixture make me feel like a visitor to the morgue.
In my kitchen, the chair has scratched the paint on the wall, but I don’t want to repaint or move the chair away from the wall. Those slight imperfections make it a home. ❤
Thank you for elucidating this topic so well. Love your content!
You. Need. To. Do. Standup. Also, I predict your channel someday has over 2m followers. You are brilliant, hilarious, and make online life worth living.
Great video - thank you!! A few years back I bought some $10 smart bulbs on Amazon, they let me totally dial in the temperature and it's made such a difference in vibe and feel
My overhead kitchen light has a switch for 3 different settings. I put it on the "coldest" though since I like that. Though a good idea you mentioned, since I'll be selling soon I'll switch it to the warmest to make it more inviting 😀
I also have LEDs throughout the house in other fixtures, and they are colored based on the time of day -- circadian coloring. So they start out warm at 6am, turn cold by noon and by sunset they're warm again.
I am SO glad people are talking about color temperature. Technology Connections has lots of videos about this sort of thing, and he’s charmingly pedantic about color temperature. I’d recommend his channel if you’re interested in learning more about lighting. Also, I agree with him entirely on color temperature! There’s a reason I bought a few cases of 60W incandescent bulbs before the ban in August. Also, be warned: color temperature isn’t a be all end all for whether a bulb will look good in a given space! For kitchens and other places where you might eat, I’d recommend looking into the CRI (color rendering index, a 100 point scale where 90-100 is ideal) of any bulbs you might buy. Incandescents and halogens have a perfect flat spectrum (they contain all frequencies of light, just like sunlight), giving them a perfect 100 CRI, but all fluorescents and many LEDs just have a few spikes at specific frequencies (usually red, green, and blue, or thereabouts). Those spikes can trick your brain into seeing white, but they can often make food (or, as other commenters have pointed out, people) look weird. This is a whole thing! There’s a lot to this and I’m glad people are talking about it. Stay safe out there, and don’t buy any bulbs with a CRI below 80!
I'm surprised people wouldn't notice how light changes a space and our moods. Then again, I'm autistic. Lighting has always been important to me, it angrily blares at me wherever I go. I grew up in a world of incandescents, I have to wear colored glasses to chill the lighting in public. I remember the first time a roommate brought an LED home in like 2011, and put in the overhead light of the living room. It immediately made me extremely anxious and hurt my eyes. So I got some orange acrylic and painted it. Did the trick to mellow it. I've always lit my rooms with dusk-like lighting with Christmas lights and covered lamps. Warm, track-like, yet less even light. Fluorescents don't just flicker when they're turning on, they flicker constantly. The electricity is not dispersed evenly in the gas at any one time, so they flicker at a very high rate which adds to its discomfort. LEDs also flicker at a high rate, it's usually not noticeable unless the bulb is getting too much or too little power or it's uncovered to disperse the light evenly. It's a pretty shitty curse to be so sensitive to lighting. The transit system in Portland changed a bunch of its bulbs to a harsh blue, and it's awful. It's really stressful for me.
Here's a little tip to check if LED's flicker: If you have a phone that can film in slow-motion, turn it in that mode and walk around your room/house. Cheap LED's that flicker will show up then. Not all LED's flicker; price is a good indicator (not always of course). I don't wanna promote anything but in my own experience Philips makes LED's that don't have any flicker, and are also high CRI (color rendition index) and have accurate color temperature. They're easy on the eyes and mind. :)
When I moved into my house every single bulb was a different temperature including fixtures with multiple bulbs 😂
You have the most concise and impactful writing style, like god damn! I walk away from a 10 minute video feeling like I have hours of follow up research to commence!
Kendra Gaylord:
Thank you SO MUCH. For the “bright light incoming” warning you put up at like 13:15 ish.
People don’t take photosensitivity seriously, and boy have I been struggling with it since I nearly died from blood poisoning.
I enjoyed this video so much. Xx
So glad it helped! I had trouble while editing that clip so I knew it was too bright and needed a warning.
The copper pipe pan rack is fabulous. Wish I'd thought of it.
Ok, my dad work in this area of develoment lights; so our home has this sistem of lights that change their tone and colors with the phone app. He explained with chickens, and how the light afects animals life cicles, and also us. There is a type of lighthing that helps to stay active and the cozy one to chill, even the lighs start to go down when its an apropiate time to sleep. Its a facinating subject cause i have see the weird effect ligthing cause on people in a biological manner.
I remember back in the 70's, how the blue light in the kitchens fluorescent tubes was something i loved.