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The Colour Supplement
Home » Inspiration » North Facing Rooms

North Facing Rooms

North Facing Rooms

Deciding how to decorate a North facing room can be a conundrum. The lack of direct sunlight and resulting cooler muted light has earned North facing rooms the unfair reputation of being hard to decorate. But no longer! With helpful advice and inspiration from our colour consultants we can help you embrace North facing spaces.

There are two very different ways to tackle the North facing room. You can choose a soft and warm feel, painting with lighter colours that include yellow pigments, creating a light, mellow as honey ambience. Or you can embrace the natural darkness of the room and give it more of a cocoon feel, enveloping it with stronger dark pigment rich colours.

Milk White
Clove

A light colour with warm undertones will bring brightness and warmth to a cool space. Our Milk White uses yellow ochre and warms this kitchen beautifully. Our very popular spicy warm neutral, Clove,  is another excellent option for taking the coldness out of a room.

Bathroom in Nicaragua by Carlos Garcia Interiors. Photography by Paul Massey for House & Garden
Sitting Room in Sang de Boeuf. by Louise Roe Home.

Deeper tones can bring the wow factor feel to a room, consider going all out and drench the room by incorporating the skirting and ceilings in colours such a Sang de Boeuf or Nicaragua.  By painting in the skirting and any other woodwork in the same colour,  you will conversely make the room feel larger.

  • Milk White

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  • Clove

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  • Nicaragua

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  • Sang de Boeuf

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Contrary to another common misconception, blue colours don’t have to be cold.  We recommend picking out ones that include warmer base notes, such as Azurite or Indigo. Azurite, with its strength and depth looks spectacular here in Edward Bulmer’s  dining room, jewel like at night and colourful in the day.

Indigo bedroom
Azurite dining room

The light in a North facing room enhances green tones in any colour, so a good option is to start with a pigment rich green tone. Pomona, our cheerful apple green looks spectacular here in the music room in Edward Bulmer’s home. Aquatic sits between blue and green, a chameleon colour that will change with the Northern light. For a slightly calmer tone, Cerullian Blue has a hint of grey and will bring harmony to any room.

Pomona Sitting Room
Cerullian. Design: Amy Eld, Photography: Cathy Pyle
Aquatic. Design: Amy Eld, Photography: Cathy Pyle

Once you have picked your colour and painted your room, there are some additional steps you can take to create the perfect finish. Adding mirrors to reflect more light will make a room feel larger and brighter. Consider replacing traditional light bulbs that can be unforgiving with kinder, daylight ones. These will add a soft natural light, removing any unnecessary harshness. Adding lamps around the room will also add additional pools of light and pockets of warmth. Furniture colour is key in a North facing room. Dark, heavy furniture can bring the room mood down, consider lighter wood or painted furniture. A couple of coats of our water based eggshell can really help a piece of old dark furniture to reach new heights.

You can now sit back and enjoy your newly finished North facing room.

  • Indigo

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  • Azurite

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  • Pomona

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  • Cerullian Blue

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  • Aquatic

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The Colour Supplement

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How much paint do I need?

We have created this calculator to help you estimate the amount of paint you will need for your project. Please note that this is only an estimate, based on normal surfaces with two coats of paint.

Please check our practical painting advice - if you are painting onto a very absorbent surface, you may need more paint, and for best results, you may need to prime your surfaces.

If you end up with any leftover paint, get inspired with ways to use any excess paint - it's even compostable!

What are you painting?

Estimated
Painted Wall/Ceiling Area

Our natural matt emulsion is perfect for interior walls and ceilings.

0 litres

0 m2

This estimate is based on the dimensions of your room, minus the space taken by average doors and windows.

For this area, we suggest would be adequate.

Estimated
Woodwork Area

Our water based eggshell or gloss is ideal for woodwork or metalwork.

0 litres

0 m2

This estimate is based on skirting and the doors/windows you tell us about. 1 litre should cover 2-3 doors or 20m of skirting.

For this area, we suggest would be adequate.

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