Guiding light

North, south, east or west – choose the right shade for whichever direction your living room faces.

Light can make a big difference when choosing a colour for a room.

The trick to bringing out the best in your space is finding the right shades to complement the light, whether it’s cool or warm.

So when putting together a colour scheme for your living room, first of all consider the direction your room faces, then get stuck into the fun part: picking your colours.

South-facing living rooms are full of warm, natural light, so all colours can work here. For an airy feel, pick cool shades, such as blue, green and violet, to balance the intensity of the sunlight.

These shades can help you achieve a tranquil and breezy atmosphere in even the brightest of rooms (this goes for greys and whites, too).

For a playful spin on this trio of shades, get creative with colour block triangles.

We created our cool colour blocking by using Crushed Cotton 2, Highland Fall 5, as well as Clouded Pearl 1 and 4!

North-facing rooms have a cooler natural light, and generally less of it, so they can feel dark. Pick cocooning or glowing shades in pinks, such as this Blush Noisette 2 or golds and yellows that’ll add subtle warmth to your space.

The same goes for neutrals, those with hints of pink, gold or yellow such as Natural Taupe 3 shown here will keep the living space cosy.

Hello cosy nights in…

East- and west-facing living rooms need a little more tailoring. If your space is east-facing and mainly used in the morning, or west-facing and mainly used in the evening, then cooler colours containing hints of blue, green and heather, as here, will help balance the intensity of the sunlight. Why not try Heart Wood or Fresh Foliage with Drifting Cloud to tie it all together.