Lighting Stone Correctly: Colour Temperature, Angle and Backlighting

Clients rarely complain that a stone was wrong. They complain that it looks different at home, which is a lighting problem wearing a stone problem costume.

Colour temperature and CRI

• 2700K: Warm. Flatters cream and bronze veining, mutes grey and blue tones into brown.
• 3000K: The residential default. The safest condition to judge a slab in.
• CRI above 95: Non-negotiable over stone. Low-CRI sources collapse the subtle mineral colour that justified the material cost.

Angle determines texture

Light raking across a leathered or honed surface reveals its texture; light striking it straight on erases it. Position under-cabinet fixtures toward the front edge of the cabinet, not against the wall, or the backsplash reads as a bright band above a dark counter.

Backlighting translucent stone

Onyx and high-quartz-content quartzite transmit light. Backlighting a slab needs an even diffused source at consistent distance behind the stone; a single LED strip produces hot spots that emphasise every fissure.