Making a shop look warm in winter: light color, materials and flames on screen
In winter the days are short and it is already dark outside by evening. For someone coming in from the cold, whether the shop looks "warm" matters more than you might think. This article looks at how to make a shop look warm in winter, starting from how light works.
How warm a room looks depends a lot on the color of light
Lighting has a measure of color called color temperature. The lower the number, the redder and warmer the light; the higher, the bluer and whiter. For household lighting, warm "soft white" is around 3000 K and white "daylight white" is around 5000 K. The flame of a candle or campfire is lower still, and much redder.
White light makes things easy to see and feels clean. On a winter night, though, it can look a little cold. Adding warm light to even part of a waiting area or seating area changes the impression.
Five ways to make a shop look warm in winter
- Lower the color of the light: you do not have to replace everything. Just making indirect lights or table lamps warm adds warm color to the room. With adjustable lighting you can make it a little warmer from the evening.
- Put light low: not only ceiling light; lamps near tables and the floor make the room calmer.
- Add fabric and wood: blankets, cushions and wooden items look warm.
- Add a flame (without a real fire): a flickering flame is a classic sign of warmth. Where a real fire is difficult, there are electric fireplaces, LED flames and flames on a screen.
- Add a seasonal scene: a winter night sky or an evening scene with lights, shown on a screen, is another way.
Keep it going in the busy season
The end of the year is also the busiest time for a shop. Choose decoration that adds no daily work, such as something you turn on once in the morning, so that it lasts (a checklist for screens that stay on all day).
keensense, for comparison
keensense is a service run by the people who wrote this article. It shows natural scenery in a web browser. The campfire and the candle calculate the movement of flame, sparks and smoke on the spot. The night sky shows the real sky for that date, so in winter you see winter constellations.
- Setup: open a dedicated URL in the browser of a TV, tablet or PC you already have. No account, sign-up, installation or special hardware (an internet connection is required).
- Scenes: campfire, candle, forest (five times of day), beach, park (cherry blossoms in spring, autumn leaves), night sky and a sea of clouds. A venue can choose one, or let the scene change automatically every 15, 30 or 60 minutes.
- Price: $69 per month or $690 per year. One license covers one location, with any number of screens inside that facility. A 7-day money-back guarantee applies if it doesn't work on your equipment or network.