Need help picking out a color for North facing room please!
Hi, I am looking for advice on what color to choose for my new apartment. Both
the livingroom and bedroom face north and are currently painted a light yellow. In the livingroom, there is a good bit of light coming in
from one side of the wall as there is a sliding door that leads to the balcony
and a window. The room is long although I do have mirrors on the other side of
the room to reflect some light. The bedroom is a bit darker as the window is
smaller. There is light colored carpeting in both rooms.
Everything I have read so far tells me I need dark paint colors to warm the
room up but I would like to go with the coastal, airy look. My preference is
for a light gray blue but everything online says I need an orange or yellow
based color - the two colors that I don't want. I don't like yellow. Does anyone have any recommendations of
Benjamin Moore or Behr paint colors that can make a North facing room look airy
and coastal? I'd like to stay away from green, oranges and red as well, if possible. White, pale
gray, pale blue or even a pale pink is fine. Has anyone had any success in making a North facing room look coastal and airy? Recommendations for ceiling
paint welcomed!
The pictures attached are not mine but from the previous
owner - I'm attaching it so you can see the size of the room and where the
windows are. I will be putting in my own furniture: white couches/sofas and dark coffee tables. Haven't decided on a dining table yet. My bedspread is a crisp white. Any ideas? Thanks!!!
Comments (15)
rebeccayliu
9 years agoRelated Discussions
Need help with dark, dreary north facing family room!
Comments (15)Ignoring the whole north-facing, dark room issue for a moment. How do you want your family room to look? Whatever you end up with, it has to be something that you like, not just what designers say you should do. All the color advice in the world is useless if you don't like the colors, shades or tones recommended. So my gut feeling is that if you mostly like creamy walls with white trim, then that's what you should do in this family room, instead of trying to embrace darker colors. Creamy, warm, white walls will certainly brighten this space, while darker walls may make you feel it is too dark. Short-term, a lighter colored area rug or two will brighten up the floor and make the room seems brighter and airier. Long-term, I'd invest in more lighting. Two chandeliers, if the room size is large enough. Wall scones, definitely. And a few floor and table lamps for task lighting. You've got dark floors. Stick to light colors on the walls and mid-tones for the furniture. I moved in to a house with one room painted a dark, navy blue. It wasn't cozy, it didn't warm up the room. The color just made the room dark. And no matter how many lamps I added to the room, the wall color just seemed to soak up all the light. It was either paint, or saw the room off the house. So my advice is that if you like light-colored walls, putting up a darker color in an already dark room will not work for you....See MorePicking a Color for a north facing room
Comments (22)Thanks to everyone, we are no where finished but we are getting there. We went with what is real close to BM Georgian, it was something I kept mixing up. Picture below was the dark teal we had. I am attaching what we have done and where we hope to go. We will also be painting the fireplace and brick wall probably the Classic Cream, I think it will really lighten everything up and give us a new look. Picture of the dinning room is my inspiration and that is why I painted the bottom of my entry white, because it will open up to dinning room. My Picture below is not a good picture. Overall it is much lighter. Paint actually has a lot more yellow in the green, than my pictures. I was so afraid of it being dark, I have probably gone to light, most of the room looks like a soft sage. I may do a darker wash over the wall behind the couch. As you can see I am still working on the wall behind the couch, I took down the dark picture and put up a mirror, I want to have shutters on both sides, but not sure if these are the ones. Shutters are turquoise and I am trying to decide if I should keep them, and do I want to paint them white weather also, like the mirror or black or dark red, to pick up the red in room and dinning room. What do you think?Above dinning room is my inspiration, it does appear to be a green with a yellow undertone. Thanks again, for your input....See MoreNorth facing family room - HELP PLEASE!
Comments (3)Sherwin Williams Kilim Beige would work well in your room. It works with all colors and does not have weird undertones. You have a very busy room. I suggest removing the striped wallpaper, make all walls the same color. Maybe you could remove some of the decor items like the heavy dark floral arrangement on the coffee table. Clear away some of the items and I think the room will look brighter. Don't be afraid to use your overhead lights. Well-lit rooms use layers of light. General, ambient and task lighting. Replace bulbs with LED bulbs, they don't get hot and they use little electricity. Look for warm light. You have heavy dark elegant furniture, play up the elegance by spotlighting them with your overhead lights. If you can arrange the furniture so that light shines on them it will help. You have a nice inviting room. Don't despair, try the Kilim Beige....See MoreHelp picking a basement paint color for a north facing low light room
Comments (5)My experience is that dark gloomy areas need a strong saturated color. You have to have the lights on when you use this room and artificial light murders lights and whites, so why not do a deeper color? I would paint everything, trim, walls one color so the room is not broken up by distracting trim. Relying on my monitor to make this S.W. suggestion, because this shade of green looks like a good backdrop for you darker sofas and rug. Don’t you rely on my monitor, though…the green/blue in the rug....See Morerebeccayliu
9 years agobrit5467
9 years agorebeccayliu
9 years agobrit5467
9 years ago
PROLori A. Sawaya
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoWow. That's some link. Incorrect and confusing. The parts where I do understand (I think) what the blogger is saying, I don't agree with the info. Especially that your only choices are dark and/or warm colors.
Choosing paint color for a north facing room is about nuance. You have to partner the right pitch of nuance with the inherent quality of light.
Nuance is the simultaneous consideration of a color's brightness (luminance) and saturation (grayness).
For a north facing room, you want to look for a color with an LRV greater than 50-ish and one that is not too grayed/dull/muddy. Something brighter and cleaner.
Colors that are bright to mid-value and muted to clean is what you want to look for.
You can choose any hue family you want. But keep in mind in a dim quality of light, red, yellow, orange appear darker. Blue and green look brighter.
rebeccayliu
9 years agorebeccayliu
9 years ago
divecaribbean
6 years ago
Sofia Akhter
3 years ago
Lori A. Sawaya