It’s understandable that choosing the right paint colours for your home can feel overwhelming. There are a myriad of brands out there who have hundreds of colours between them, giving us almost too much choice! Take your time to understand the space and the atmosphere you wish to feel in the room and this will help in your decision making. Also, by looking at your paint samples at different times of day and in different lights, this will enable you to see how they work and which ones you are drawn to.

Natural light is one of the biggest factors affecting how colour appears in the home and as light changes throughout the day, so will the appearance of the paint colour you choose.

North Facing Rooms

People seem to find north facing rooms the trickiest, as they are probably the most unforgiving. Get the paint colour wrong in here and the room can appear cold and stark.

The general rule in a north facing room is to go for something more neutral, shades with a pink or yellow undertone with a warmer base tone to counteract the natural blue light that is making the room feel cold. Examples such as Farrow & Ball’s ‘White Tie’ or ‘New White’ or Little Greene’s 'Rolling Fog' or 'Stock' provide an uplift when used in an all-over scheme. Another approach is not to fight nature, but instead to embrace the cooler light and choose darker wall colours such as Farrow & Ball’s ‘Railings’ and give the space a moody, cosy vibe.

South Facing Rooms

South facing rooms filled with warm light from dawn until dusk makes them among the easiest rooms to choose a palette for. Using colours with cool undertones like blue, green and purple will counteract the warm quality of the light to create a very tranquil feel to the room. South facing rooms tend to experience warmer light, so colours can often appear more yellow. This means that cooler whites such as Little Greene’s ‘French Grey Pale’ or ‘Gauze’ will read as more neutral whites. Warmer whites such as ‘White Lead’ or ‘First Light’ will appear quite cream in tone. Blues, such as Farrow & Ball’s ‘Pavilion Blue’ and ‘Borrowed Light’ create a calming aquatic feel.

West Facing Rooms

West facing rooms see a dramatic change in light throughout the day. This is what makes them beautiful but tricky to decorate. A top tip would be to think about what time of day you will use the room most. Light in west facing spaces is cooler in the morning and brighter in the afternoon. If it’s a room that’s used most later in the day and you are a lover of a neutral palette, then you could try tones like Neptune’s ‘Shell’ or ‘Snow’. They will feel fresh early on but then neutralise in the evening by the warmth of the natural light. Alternatively, embrace the changing nature of these spaces with a chameleon shade like Farrow & Ball’s ‘Light Blue’, which subtly shifts between blue and silver depending on the light.

East Facing Rooms

Avoid using paint colours that are overly warm, as these can appear too intense in the morning natural light of east-facing rooms. Blue and green paint colours are usually considered good options for decorating an east facing room. Consider blue paint colours that don’t contain too much grey, as this can sometimes ‘flatten’ the space in neutral to cool east facing light. Embrace the cooler evening light with light blues and greens which can have a beautifully soft and calming effect, like Farrow & Ball’s ‘Blue Ground’ or ‘Teresa’s Green’. If the bedroom or perhaps kitchen faces East, then make the most of the morning light with a strong or radiant colour to wake up to. Neutrals with a cool, blue or green undertone will help to create balance and will appear more subdued and restful in the evening light.

I hope that’s been helpful. If you’re stuck with a paint dilemma, then I’d love to help. Please do get in touch!