I like to keep my electronic music studio as modern looking as possible. I also like to set a mood. During my day job I came across these very cool lights from Philips called Livingcolors. They are LEDs that change colors. The original has a remote that has a color wheel in which you can select out of 16 million colors. The mini version has the color wheel on the lamp and lets you choose out of 256 colors. You can get the Philips 818564 LivingColors Mini on Amazon for $89 and the larger Philips 818566 LivingColors Translucent Changing LED Lamp with Remote for $190. I would say forget the lava lamp and live in twenty ten with one of these.

“Bright sunshine yellow when it’s grey outside. A pale leaf-green to relax you. Touch the color ring and LivingColors lights up your world in any shade you choose, from soothing pastel shades to rich, intense colors. 16 million colors possible. Dimming and adjustable color intensity. Intuitive remote control. Including automatic color changing.” – consumer.philips.com

If you have serious money and are building your studio new consider Go Energy’s GO FLL Planar Lighting GFS03T Troffer (your build it into the ceiling). It’s a 2×2 Foot panel made of LED light with a high CRI (Color Rendering Index) that allows you to change it’s color temperature and brightness by remote. These run about $600 each but if you see one in person you will appreciate the look.

The best part these lights are all energy efficient.

I’m building a new recording studio. For sound and security reasons I’m not putting in any windows. I have quiet mechanical mechanical ventilation installed to take care of my fresh air. To insure it’s not perpetual night inside the room I’ve chosen my lighting carefully. 3000K (Kelvin) T5 lamps are a good start to get the room a real daylight light. However, I am seriously considering the Reveal from Adam Frank to help trick my mind. It’s a projection that puts a fake window on your fall. I like the marketing hype for Reveal, “Multi-plane analog images create real depth of focus. Air currents through the projector create organic non-repeating movement in the trees. The lamp color closely mimics multi-spectrum sunlight.”. You can also choose a few different window and tree options. Maybe a projection of a cheering stadium of fans would be better?

“Reveal is a new type of ambient interior lighting. This product creates the impression of sunlight streaming through a window and onto an interior wall. A light breeze appears to move through trees in the cast image.” – adamfrank.com

Reveal is $380.00 USD. $50 for extra window/tree panels. For more info: adamfrank.com