Paint colour advice for North facing lounge

7 years ago

I'm re-decorating my lounge and really need some advice on paint colours. The room does have large patio doors which let in a lot of light but the room doesn't get any sun. I can't decide if the walls should be light in colour or if I could go with a deep blue colour on one wall (and if so what wall?) and a pale grey on the other walls? We've ordered a grey leather sofa (photo attached, although it looks beige in the photo it is grey), which will go against the wall opposite the doors, the chaise will be the end where the patio doors are. On the wall between the doors we are having an Opti-V fireplace built into a unit with the TV on top. We're having wooden floors and the doors are being changed. I will probably get rid of the vertical blinds and replace with curtains. I haven't thought about lighting yet. I like contemporary design. Any advise you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

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shelleyuk

7 years ago

I decided to go with the darkness and make my North facing snug snuggly. I used Malm which is a fired earth colour and was really pleased with it. it feels like a really cosy space and its a warm grey rather than a cold one.

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Comments (14)

Cakelady
Original Author
7 years ago
I like the blue in the attached photos but I'm not sure if either would work. Unfortunately don't know the name of the blue in the second photo.
christal99
7 years ago
How about F&B skimming stone on the walls with Elephants Breath as the feature wall? These colours are a warm grey/beige.
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We also have a North facing lounge for which we wanted a warm, cosy feel as we only really use it in the evenings... We painted it Hague Blue and love the result! In the dining room we painted the ceiling Hague Blue too. Our kitchen is Green Smoke which is also a gorgeous colour and may go better with the grey sofas...? There are a couple of other greens I’ve seen and liked too but will have to find the names!
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christal99
7 years ago
Here are the two colours if you wanted to go down the grey line.
littlesongs8
7 years ago
Elephants breath is a tricky colour. In all of the spaces I have used or seen it used, it has changed dramatically with the light. It can look grey, it certainly had lilac/purple/heather undertones in my well lit bathroom. A friend had it throughout her hallway and when she saw it in my bathroom, couldn't identify it at all when I asked her to guess the colour! Always do a colour sample patch as I would say this colour changes the most from the F&B range; it looks nothing like the colour on the card!
Ellie
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Ignore the fireplace monstosity that I posted about yesterday......

This lounge is northfacing so does seem dark compared to rest of house.

Walls - below the picture rail is Dulux Chic Shadow and above is Dulux Polished Pebble, both grey shades. The Chic Shadow does sometimes look a bit lilac to me depending on the light.
Claire Bending
7 years ago
I completely agree with the suggestion of F&B Skimming Stone - it's a lovely light colour but has warmth in it which is needed for your North facing room. I've used it in a bedroom and can vouch for the fact it's a beautiful soft colour. Considering it for my North facing snug...
minnie101
7 years ago
Hi Emma. For a long narrow room (relatively speaking as it isn't narrow!), you could paint the 2 short walls the dark colour as this will "correct" the room's proportions rather than paint the long wall as it will accentuate the length. Alternatively you'd normally paint the fireplace wall to highlight the feature. I think as you've got doors it should break it up a bit but I'd do the doors in the same colour. I would probably go for something a bit richer than pitch blue, like Hague blue. I know whose room that is you've pictured in the 2nd pic so will try and find the colour but am sure it was a valspar paint! You could also try downpipe which works well in a north facing room. I'd probably put these with warm whites/neutrals rather than grey. Elephants breath can work really well in a north facing room but can also just look grey and agree with littlesongs comments! You could also go dark on all walls and layer the lighting, add mirrors etc. Or if you decide light then people can make colour suggestions for that :)
shelleyuk
7 years ago
A word of warning if you're thinking of a dark blue. we have two bedrooms upstairs painted navy blue and white. I thought it would be better than a pale colour because the dirt wouldn't show (children's bedrooms). I was completely wrong. When the paint gets knocked it scratches and then of course with the walls being so dark and the underneath being pale it is really obvious. I touch it up with a felt tip pen but wouldn't go for such a dark colour again.
Cakelady
Original Author
7 years ago
Thank you all so much for your advice, you've given me lots to think about. I'm going to get testers in the colours you've all recommended. I will let you know how it goes!
Cakelady
Original Author
7 years ago
I'm going out to get paint testers today and can't decide whether to try F&B skimming stone and elephants breath as they are often described as greige and I really don't want anything beige looking. I will get a tester of downpipe for the fireplace wall but what light colour can I put on the other walls? I like the grey's you have in your room mr mr. Also I was wondering whether to try a deep purple on one wall rather than blue (the wall between the doors where the fireplace will go) or is that a bad idea? thanks
minnie101
7 years ago
Hi Emma. They're not beige. You may find they look more grey in your room rather than greige but hard to tell as the colours change so much with the light. You could try shaded white with downpipe which is a lovely warm grey (it looks rather yellow if you view it on the website but it isn't). If you want a purple I'd look at brinjal with skimming stone.
Cakelady
Original Author
7 years ago
We went with F&B Elephant's Breath and are really pleased with it. We still need to paint the woodwork and add some pictures and a mirror but we're getting there. Thanks for all your advice.
malthouse interiors
7 years ago
hi have just moved from north facing lounge with one patio window,lived there for 10 years ,we had a pale colour but a trick i learned was to put a medium sized mirror opposite the window, plant up the garden and it looks like another window ,i would put a big orchid as well in your room be nice with the cushions.