Picking a paint color can be tricky. Painting is an investment of money, time, and energy. You want to make sure you will be satisfied with the results after you are finished. It is especially important to consider how a color will interact with the lighting in the room.
If you paint a north-facing room and a south-facing room the same color, they will look completely different depending on the hues of natural light in each room. Natural light provides a balance between yellows (warm) and blues (cool), where incandescent and halogen lights highlight reds and yellows, and mute blues and greens.
Choosing Your Palate
In order to determine which color palate will be best in a room, first determine the direction the windows in the room face. For example, it’s best not to paint a north-facing room a light hue, as they receive very little sunlight. The natural light that comes in north-facing windows tends to be a blue-hued light, rather than bright yellow-hued sunshine you’ll see coming in through south-facing windows. This light is calm, soft, and quiet, and you might pick colors to compliment this type of light. Strong colors will compliment it best, rather than a white. You might also consider the function of a room, whether to choose a strong yellow, green, or red. In a bedroom, a green may be more warm and comforting, whereas in a north-facing living room you might go with a saturated warm lavender, to give it an inviting and warm look.
Or, you might go in another direction and use very bright colors to bring in the light in a north-facing room. Whether you choose a strong gray or bright orange, warmer colors such as oranges, reds, greens, and purples are best in north-facing rooms, where you don’t get as much help from natural light to brighten the space. A satin or shine finish is ideal in north-facing rooms, as it will reflect light and give the perception of more light in a room. You want to bring in warmth with your paint, since you’re not getting it with sunlight.
In contrast to the warmer colors best in north-facing rooms, stick with cooler colors in rooms with south-facing windows. The bright sunlight coming in south-facing rooms provides lovely natural light, especially in the winter months. Painting the room with cooler colors will tone down the brightness of the natural light when needed. Generally you want to go with a muted color that is light and airy. You might try a soft blue, mid-tone gray, or a tinted white to keep the feel airy and allow the natural light to play, yet to tone down extremely light days. In south-facing rooms, go with a matte finish or satin, to soak in the sunlight and not reflect it.
Working with Natural Lighting
Of course, there are some colors which can work well in any room. These include gray-greens, blue-grays, mauves, lavenders, taupes, and grays. In a north-facing room, these colors will bring in warmth, whereas in a south-facing room they will highlight the bright light and tone it down when necessary. East- and West-facing rooms are more of a combination of warm and cool hues of sunlight, changing dramatically over the course of the day. In the east, the light is slightly more blue so you might choose a green or blue to compliment it. You’re going to get quite a bit of light in a west-facing room, which will be well-served with a white tone or something with a red hue to it, but keeping it lighter and more neutral will get you the best result.
In choosing your paint colors, be sure to bring home swatches or paint samples and actually try them in the room you are planning to paint before starting. Look at each sample throughout the day and evening, and ideally on days that are both sunny and cloudy, to get a good idea of how the light will work with the color. Be sure to also check the colors at night, with lamps or overhead lights on to see how you like it.
“Image Credit: flickr.com”
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