Our Bali Buddha heads come in five shine finishes at 25cm: gold, silver, blue, green and red. In a photograph they look like the same piece in different colours. In a room they behave completely differently, because a shine finish does not sit still. It picks up whatever light is falling on it and changes through the day.
Here is how each one actually behaves, and which room tends to want which.
Why finish matters more than colour here
A matt object shows you its colour. A shine finish shows you its colour plus a reflection of the room. That means the same head reads warm in a south facing sitting room in the afternoon and much cooler in a north facing hallway, and it changes again under a lamp in the evening.
The practical consequence is that you are not choosing a colour to match a cushion. You are choosing how much the piece will move about visually as the day goes on. Gold and silver move the most. Blue, green and red hold their character more steadily.
Gold
The gold shine finish is the traditional register, closest to the temple imagery most people picture, and the warmest of the five. It suits rooms with wood, warm whites, terracotta, and any scheme built on natural materials, which covers a great many British living rooms.
It is also the most reactive to light. In afternoon sun it glows; in a dim north facing room it can look flat unless you give it a lamp. If your room is dark and you want gold, plan the light at the same time as the piece.
Silver
The silver shine finish is the contemporary choice and the most forgiving in a cool room. It sits well with grey, chrome, glass and the greige palettes that dominate newer British interiors, and it does not fight modern furniture the way gold sometimes does.
Silver is also the quietest of the five, which makes it the right answer for a minimalist scheme where the piece needs to be the only object on the shelf rather than one of several. Our guide to where a Buddha head sits well covers that kind of placement.
Blue
The blue shine finish is the coolest and the calmest, and it is the one people most often choose for bedrooms. It works with navy, teal, soft grey and the muted coastal palettes that suit British light, which is flatter and cooler than the Mediterranean light most interiors photography is shot in.
Blue is also the least traditional reading of the five, which is either a drawback or the entire point depending on whether you want the piece to look devotional or decorative.
Green
The green shine finish is the one that suits plants, and given how many British homes now have more houseplants than seating, that matters. It sits comfortably with foliage, botanical prints and the deep greens that have dominated British paint charts for several years.
Green also works in a conservatory or garden room better than the metallics, which can look showy against daylight and glass.
Red
The red shine finish is the boldest and the least easy to place, which is precisely why it is the most striking when it lands. It suits warm eclectic rooms, dark walls, and schemes that already contain a strong colour rather than schemes trying to stay neutral.
Red is a poor choice for a room you want to feel restful and a very good one for a hallway or a study you want to feel alive. Choose it deliberately rather than because the photograph looked good.
Matching to the light your room actually gets
A short rule that saves most of the trouble. South facing rooms take gold and red comfortably, because there is enough warm light to justify them. North facing rooms, which is a great many British hallways and back rooms, suit silver, blue and green, because those finishes do not depend on warm light to look their best.
If you are choosing for a room you cannot picture in both morning and evening light, silver is the safe answer and gold is the ambitious one.
Questions people ask
Which Buddha head colour is most traditional?
Gold, which is closest to the temple imagery most people picture. Blue is the least traditional and the most decorative reading of the five.
What finish suits a modern grey room?
Silver. It sits comfortably with grey, chrome and glass, and it is the quietest of the five finishes, which suits a minimal scheme.
Which colour works in a dark room?
Silver, blue or green, because they do not depend on warm light to look their best. Gold in a dark room needs a lamp to work properly.
Do the shine finishes change through the day?
Yes, noticeably. A shine finish reflects the room as well as showing its own colour, so it reads warmer or cooler as the light moves. Gold and silver change the most.
Which colour suits a bedroom?
Blue is the usual choice, being the coolest and calmest of the five. Silver runs it close in a room with a grey or greige palette.
