Choose paint colours by the light your room actually gets

The paint chip you fell in love with in the shop will look different on your wall. The reason is light — the colour temperature, intensity, and direction of light your room actually receives.

The basics

Daylight has a colour temperature. Morning is warmer (more yellow); midday is neutral; late afternoon is warm again; overcast is cool blue. Indoor lighting adds another layer (warm yellow LED, cool white LED, daylight LED).

By orientation

North-facing room (cold light)

Indirect light, cool blue tone, no direct sun all day. Greys and pale blues look colder. Whites can look grey.

Choose: warm whites (with a hint of yellow), warm greys, warm terracotta. Avoid pure cool blues.

South-facing room (warm light)

Direct sunlight most of the day, warm golden tone. Most colours look better than their chips suggest.

Choose: almost anything works. Cool blues calm the warm light. Warm whites become luminous. Bold dark colours come alive.

East-facing room (warm morning, cool afternoon)

Bright warm light until lunchtime, then indirect cool light.

Choose: warm neutrals that read well in both temperatures. Avoid pure cool or pure warm extremes.

West-facing room (cool morning, warm afternoon)

Indirect cool light until lunchtime, then orange golden light.

Choose: warm whites, sage green, dusty blue. The afternoon golden hour will make rich warm colours look spectacular.

Sample first, always

Our Color Sample Tester Kit (€35) has 16 colours and movable A4 test boards. Paint a board for each candidate colour. Move the boards around the room at 8am, 1pm and 6pm before deciding.

Quick palette suggestions

• North-facing bedroom: warm cream walls, deep terracotta accent wall
• South-facing living room: muted sage green walls, anything on trim
• East-facing kitchen: warm beige walls, deep navy below the chair rail
• West-facing dining room: dusty rose walls, deep charcoal trim

Get the Color Sample Tester Kit →