It's no secret that choosing paint colours for north-facing rooms can often be a challenging task. The light in these spaces tends to be on the cool, blue side, so picking the right paint shade is crucial to avoid that unwelcoming, almost sterile look in a room like this.
So, without further ado, here's our handy guide on choosing the right paint colour for your north-facing room.
Deep and warm colours are the key to making a north-facing room look and feel cosy and comforting, and our Mellow Neutral paint colour is an excellent option for such space.
1. It's all about the warmth.
When it comes to decorating a north-facing room, perhaps the most important rule is to embrace warmer colours or colours with warm undertones. This will help to counter balance the cooler light that's usually present in a north-facing space and make the room look and feel more comfortable and inviting.
Some tried and tested paint colour options for a north-facing room are warm peaches, such as our Fresh Peach paint colour, pale yellows like our Fresh Yellow paint colour, warm cappuccino-toned neutrals like our Mellow Neutral paint and generally anything with a warmer undertone.
2. Time to get rich.
Don't worry, we're not going to invite you to a pyramid scheme here. We're talking about colours, of course. Rich, deep colours and darker tones help to add drama and depth to any space and hold up really well in the tricky north-facing light.
To create a feeling of drama and 'oomph', have a look at our Mellow Teal paint colour. This is the perfect dark-warm green colour for a north-facing room as it has warmth, depth and saturation, which will give the space some much-needed energy and fun.
Alternatively, you could also try our warm, bronzy Loving Orange paint colour. This one is guaranteed to make any space look and feel cosy and cocooning and is a shade that's never going to look washed out.
Our Loving Orange paint colour is warm, cosy and cocooning — perfect for north-facing spaces such as living rooms, dining rooms and bedrooms.
3. It's cool to not be cool.
Another important rule when it comes to decorating north-facing rooms is to try and avoid cool tones, such as lavender and cool green hues. Cool paint colours are only going to make the space look colder, which, naturally, is the last thing we want in a north-facing room. If you do like cooler tones and definitely want to use one in this particular space, try one with a little bit of extra warmth to soften it.
4. Test, test, test.
We won't get tired of this one and it's perhaps one of the most important pieces of advice for decorators old and new. Always use a colour swatch or paint sample. Every room reacts to light differently — the space you're decorating may not be completely north-facing, it might have some east-facing light in there or you may use a lot of artificial light (or all the above). This is why testing the paint colours before committing to The One is really important, and we cannot stress this enough.
See our handy step-by-step guide on testing paint samples here.
5. Get in the mood.
One more thing to add to your to-do-list for when you're decorating a north-facing room is to consider the mood you want to create.
If what you're after is a warm, cosy, soft and relaxing feel, go for lighter and warmer paint colours and tones (and don't forget to implement that in your soft furnishings and home accessories too).
To create an immersive and luxurious mood with lots of depth, naturally, focus on deeper paint colours and a more saturated overall colour scheme. Think about how you want to feel in that space and how the colours you use there can support it.
And if you need any help with choosing the colours for your space, simply book a colour consultation with us and we'll sort your colour puzzle in no time. It's easy, it's fun... and there's a free option available too.
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