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Paint Home Decorating Design Dilemma

F&B paint colour for north facing study

victorianrenov227

2 years ago

Hi all

I am hoping others may have some good insight on this. We have moved into a standard 3 bed victorian terrace, with the master bedroom facing south and the two smaller bedrooms/studies facing north. The sellers had painted all the rooms in F&B - the master bedroom is Blue Gray, and one of the bedrooms (originally a kid's bedroom) is Green Blue. Both look lovely.

The other bedroom (which gets the least light as the window is in a corner and a large wall blocks a lot of the light) is in India Yellow.. and we can't stand it. I suppose it was meant to be a statement colour study but it just feels too dark and moody.

We've been trying to think what to repaint it, and so far have sampled:

- Cromarty - but I think this looks too similar to the Blue Gray, and v grey-tinged in a north-facing room

- Borrowed light / skylight - look nice but I think we want a warmer vibe, and skylight in particular is quite grey

I'm thinking about trying new white or farrow's cream (to give a soft creamy vibe), but would be very interested in any other ideas! Basically want something warm and light that will also flow nicely with the blue gray and green blue.

I know there are other paint brands we could consider, but as the sellers did the whole house in F&B, I'm starting there just to be consistent with the texture etc..

Thanks so much

Featured Answer

Juliet Docherty

2 years ago

Try Masquerade by Little Greene. Its a nice dirty pink that glows even in a dull room and may look good next to your other colours.

Comments (11)

Daisy England
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
I like F&B colours but have them replicated by Johnstones at a portion of the price. I have Cromarty in my home office and like it. My room is south east facing and it presents itself as a green with a silver tint for me.
Beverley Alexander
2 years ago
Ammonite would work.
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Choosing the right colour for a north-facing room can be a bit challenging as it tends to receive less natural light and can appear cooler than other rooms in the house. Warm colours can help counteract the coolness of a north-facing room and create a cosy inviting atmosphere. Dark colours can be cosy and dramatic, they tend to absorb light and can make a north-facing room feel even darker. So if you do want to use dark colours, you can absolutely consider using them as you are suggesting, as accents or on a feature wall rather than throughout the entire room. With reference to the other colours in the room/hallway next to it then perhaps you might want to think about an all over colour (wall and ceiling) in a tonal grey. Grey tones can work well in north-facing rooms, as they can complement the coolness of the light. Consider using warm grey with a pink undertone or even a beige undertone to to add warmth and depth to the space whilst being cohesive with the other rooms. Thanks
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Sonia
2 years ago
I have Cromarty in my north east facing living room and I love it. It is very much a grey-green and shouldn’t work, but it does. Do you like dull pinks like Setting Plaster? The off whites like White Tie or Wimborne White look warm. First pic below is Cromarty and the other two are Setting Plaster.
Sarah U-S
2 years ago
One of my favourites is a colour called James White. It’s a lovely neutral with a slight lime green tinge. F&B recommend it for dark rooms too.
Jonathan
2 years ago
I think it depends on what else you have in the room. My Mum has a north facing room with lots of yew furniture- she painted it Vardo and it look superb. Given it’s a study it likely there is not much wall showing and plenty of furniture so I say choose a colour that works for you rather than a neutral then break it up with plenty of pics.

Separately I have always used Daiseys trick of getting Johnson’s to mix the Farrow and Ball Colour. I’m not sure you save that much but you do keep your decorator happy- I would add that during the pandemic the quality of the colour matching and the quality of the paint at Johnson’s has gone down. Right now I would buy the real Farrow and Ball paint.
Daisy England
2 years ago
You could always look at Mizzle. It’s a green grey that shows up differently in different lights.
ali270
2 years ago
We recently painted a north facing bedroom in slipper satin but mixed by Johnstones . It’s a light , warm colour and the quality of Johnstones paint is very good .
victorianrenov227
Original Author
2 years ago
Thanks so much all, really helpful! And good to know re Johnstones.

I love chromarty and mizzle - my one concern is that the study is right next to the room that's painted in blue gray, which looks very similar to both those colours on the F&B colour charts - so I don't know if it might be a bit matchy. But will try!

I like the pink but unfortunately my other half doesn't!

I was trying to avoid going too neutral but I think I'll need to reconsider.. especially if the colours will come off stronger in a north facing room. Lots of good suggestions here to try.

Has anyone ever tried new white or pale powder in a north facing room?
annavall
2 years ago
We went for Greige 02 by Lick in our small north facing study, it's really warmed the room up and is actually has a nice subtle dusty green tinge to it which looks lovely.
twamleyk
2 years ago
We have wimbourne white in our north-facing living room and I think it's lovely. We very nearly went for all-white though, which I thought was lovely with the tester.

Re the pink - we have been testing pinks for months now. If the light level is low (as it is in our hallway) setting plaster looks very dark, in my opinion.

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