best paint colour for a north facing living room?
Sophie Donnelly
4 years ago
Our living room is well overdue a freshen up.
It's north westerly facing with a big box bay window. it gets the sun across the box bay late in the afternoon. The house in a late Georgian semi in South East England.
Three walls are currently painted in Dulux timeless and the one behind the leather sofas is just on brilliant white as this was a newly plastered wall after doing some works to move the doorway.
Any tips on paint colour to warm it up? I've got a swatch of f&b dimity which I wasn't overly keen on at first but it's now growing on me. I was wondering if a more bold colour would help? the rest of the house is more neutral though and I want it to flow nicely.
The mirror is changing to an overmantle mirror. I'm thinking about making new Roman blinds that aren't cream but still neutral. Swatch of fabric added as a photo below.
All furniture and the rug will be staying.
All advice much appreciated!
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Sophie Donnelly
4 years agoRelated Discussions
Good soft colours for north/west facing living room
Comments (1)Forgot to say room is living room and north/west facing...See MoreHelp with colours for north facing living room
Comments (14)Midcenturylass, I would definitely go for a warmer white if you are open to this! I would personally look for something between the two whites, as the Linen Wash is almost bordering a Beige. Post some photos up once you've painted, i'd love to see the outcome! :) As for your husband show him these two images that i've found online (attached). I'm sure he can understand that a Full red room, will make the room look small and with the lack of light coming into the room from being North facing this will create a very dark space. I hope this help you to suade him against full red!...See MoreCohesive paint colour scheme for north facing open plan rooms
Comments (2)Hi. I might look at something with warm green undertones. Perhaps f&b cord or string? You add deep red accents as shown or green. For Little Greene I'd look at Portland stone or Stone pale cool but I think they have a few colours that will work with new white...See MoreWarm white paint for a dark North facing living room in England
Comments (37)Hi Evie. The reason I've been slow to post photos is because my house is very much still a building site and work in very slow progress. I have flung paint on walls a relief from 1927 plaster and peeling wallpaper that went up decades ago. I haven't hung pictures yet as the walls are so hard - picture hooks break - and the friend who is going to do the task hasn't yet been. So, none of these photos will persuade you to use colour - the walls are bleak. But I'm posting them in the right spirit. As for feature walls, I have never liked them. For info, Kate Watson-Smyth said, in a recent post, that they are "so ova". I associate them with the 1970s, which is when I believe they first emerged. I like all over colour; I find it much less intrusive than one wall that stands out awkwardly. As for my furniture, it's mostly interim - on loan as I had nothing after chucking out my two sofas which I bitterly regret. Anyway, with all those embarrassing provisos, here we go. Terracotta sitting room: Caravan by Paper & Paint Library (it's not a current colour; my local independent paint shop keeps records of previous colours and identified it for me); it goes up to the picture rail; I haven't yet found the colour I want above it and on the ceiling; the picture rail, window frames, doors and door frames will all be Caravan, too; the room is really bitty (four doors, jutting out bits, fussy door and windows into the garden, a big fireplace, original tiles around the fire area that I wanted to complement but tone down, and a busy stained glass window) and needs blanket coverage to make it seem less busy. .Green bedroom: Sanderson Laurel below the picture rail; Goblin Green above it and on the ceiling; picture rail and all other woodwork not yet painted; I might do them in a linen colour to tie in with the bed frame though I hate the bed frame and am desperate for a new one. You can see that I'm work in progress by the undealt-with and unpainted grille covering the hole where the fireplace was. Hideous and offensive; longing to put it right. Lots of pictures/paintings to be hung all over. Blue bedroom: This blue is a bit flat but it was only after painting it that I discovered the colour I really want - Abigail Ahern's Bowery Blue which despite being intense has a real lift to it giving it life and vibrancy. The ceiling in here is the wrong blue (bought in haste); I will use a lighter blue. The unhung painting on the right (sorry it's not more visible) is so much more vibrant against this blue than it was against the pale yellow of the wall it was hung on in my previous home. I will have mirrors above the bedhead and a gallery wall opposite plus a mirror near the small window to throw a bit more light in this seriously dark bedroom (dismally dark before I painted it interestingly dark). Bronze shower room: Impossible to photograph this as it's a tiny room; the tiles in the shower area are subtly jazzy and moody. I love having it open (I grew up in India where all showers were in the middle of the room so I've never understood the closed-in box version or the fiddly over the bath option). The bronze tiles are much richer in colour than the photo conveys; the walls are Sanderson Brick Light which looks pale and peculiar in this photo; it is a lot more interesting than on the paint card and picks up on colours streaking through the tiles; it's not such a stark contrast as the photo conveys. That's it. The bedroom that will be a mustardy yellow isn't painted yet so I can't show the walls in there. And, again, apologies for the really unsophisticated furniture and mismatched upholstery, etc. Lots still to be done!...See MoreSophie Donnelly
4 years ago
Esma
4 years agoSophie Donnelly
4 years ago
Esma