Jeannie01 offers a great example of how any hue family can work in a north-facing room. It's so strange what's happened with the north-facing room and white paint commentary on blogs. There's no scientific basis or reasoning for any of it. In fact, there's actually plenty of examples like Jeannie's to counter what I consider "new urban legends of color". Donald Kaufman said something in one of his books about white paint and dim rooms. And it is true to a certain degree. A can of white paint base with one or two shots of colorant is not going to have a very interesting spectral reflectance curve - or color fingerprint to work with and partner with the unique quality of light in a dim, north-facing room. The solution is to find the right white. Maybe easier said than done. Quality of light refers to spectral distribution - the bundle of wavelengths that make up the light in a space. So, you have two parts that need to work together. Spectral reflectance - a color's fingerprint and the spectral distribution - the bundle of wavelengths or atmosphere. North light is spectrally balanced when you look at its fingerprint/spectral distribution. It is typically heavy in the blue wavelength department but it's balanced out enough that north-facing rooms is preferred by artists in the know about color. Artists like north facing rooms for the spectral wavelength balance but also because north light is indirect light. Natural, north light never beams directly into a space. Rather it bounces, tumbles and spills in. Any hue family can work in north facing rooms. Including blues, blue-greens. The secret is nuance. Nuance is how light or dark plus how vivid or dull. Nuance is about considering those two color characteristics at the same time. How that shakes out is light to midtone colors that lean more clear and crisp are usually good candidates for north facing rooms. Paint colors that are midtone to deep are good candidates for north facing rooms if you want to create some drama and moodiness in the space. Lastly, I never recommend looking at color formulas because they provide no tangible direction whatsoever and it's a complete waste of time. The only thing that matters is what the color looks like when it's dry. However, I have one exception. And that's yellow paint colors for north facing rooms. You want to avoid yellows mixed using black colorant. When you mix yellow colorant and black colorant you (can) get olive green. Yellow paint colors with black in the formula tend to have a green-yellow hue bias. No black will land you squarely in the yellow hue family neighborhood and/or more towards an yellow-red hue bias.

My choice for North light is usually B.M. Goldtone. It is an off-white and not as strong as this sample. You have to see a sample. I have some suggestions if you budget allows. Change the chandelier as the nickel finish is too cold for the room. The collage…cute, but hung too close together. What if you hung them, in tandem, over the window? Hang a mirror where the collage is now.

Did you decide? I'm surprised you find the colour so bad... I actually really like it. It looks very seaside cottage / beachy and it works with the counter tops and back splash I think, which look like sand. If I were you, I'd paint the fireplace bricks the same colour as your trim, and extend the blue into the livingroom. I think it will look great. Good luck!

Why do you feel you need to consider colors that you dont like? Houses are to be enjoyed by the people that live there. You dont have to be trendy. Personally, I dislike anything tan, or beige, greige or green, so no matter how trendy, I wouldnt use them anywhere in my house. I do like gray, but that gray paint must look gray, and if any undertones, they must be blue, not the purple or green that some grays have. Put colors on your wall, that appeal to you, and that will make you smile. I use a lot of turquoise in different shades, because it makes me happy. Apparently, it makes others happy too, since I recently had someone tell me, they liked coming in my house, and found themselves staying longer than they meant to because, the colors make them happy and make them feel good.