If there's one room that strikes fear into home decorators, it's one that faces north. With its cool, indirect light, north-facing rooms can make paint colours appear flatter, darker and slightly greyer than they do on a paint chart. They also rely much more heavily on artificial lighting, so it's worth testing colours both in daylight and under your evening lamps before committing.
Let's make it simple. It's all about the undertones. Whites, neutrals and bold colours can all work beautifully in a north-facing room, provided they have warm undertones. Even blue gets the green light, just choose one with a yellow or red undertone.
If you're hoping to make the space feel brighter, opt for warm whites and neutrals and consider adding a mirror to help bounce natural light around the room. Or, instead of fighting the darker light, embrace it with deep, saturated colours that create a cocooning and intimate atmosphere. North-facing rooms are made for colour drenching, whether that's a rich red, deep aubergine or inky blue.
Now for the easy part. We've done the hard work for you, narrowing down the best white, neutral and bold paint colours from Britain's favourite paint brands. All that's left to do is pick your brand, choose a shade and start painting.
Farrow and Ball
Love warm neutrals? Have you ever wished you could keep the beautiful, chalky look of freshly plastered walls? Yes, then you're in good company. Farrow & Ball's colour curator, Joa Studholme, created Setting Plaster after a decorator whitewashed over the fresh plaster she'd fallen in love with. The result is a soft blush with subtle warm undertones that never feels overtly pink. As Joa explains, 'It's perfect in north-facing rooms because it warms it up,' adding that 'any room painted in this colour somehow feels like it's giving you a great big hug.'
Prefer white walls? Brinjal is a rich aubergine with red undertones that bring warmth to rooms with limited natural light. Go all over for a naturally cocooning feel, or as an accent on the underside of the bath or kitchen island.
Ready to embrace colour? White Tie is one of Farrow & Ball's softest whites. Its creamy yellow base and touch of black pigment stop it veering into magnolia territory.
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Little Greene
Prefer white walls? Silent White – one of Little Greene's most popular shades – has 'a little bit of yellow in it, so it brings a lovely warmth to a scheme – perfect for north-facing rooms,' advises creative director Ruth Mottershead. While it may be tempting to reach for a brilliant white, many have blue undertones that exaggerate cool northern light, making shadows feel harsh and stark.
Love warm neutrals? Masquerade is a soft, plaster-like neutral that's effortless to live with. Calm and understated, it works beautifully as an all-over colour, or pair it with lighter and darker shades from the Masquerade colour scale to create a failsafe tonal scheme with plenty of depth.
Ready to embrace colour? Tuscan Red proves that north-facing rooms can handle bold colour beautifully. Whether you colour drench the space or use it as an accent, its rich terracotta pigments create a cosy, cocooning scheme that feels warm and inviting from morning through to evening.
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YesColours
Love warm neutrals? Restful Peach is a muted plaster peach that's wonderfully easy on the senses. Described by YesColours as 'one for lovers of all things feminine and everyone who needs a familiar environment with a vintage feel', it's an effortless way to move beyond beige while keeping a north-facing room warm, soft and inviting.
Prefer white walls? Mellow Neutral lives up to its name. Inspired by the calm simplicity of Japandi interiors, it has the warmth of soft linen and the creamy richness of a frothy cappuccino. It's a beautifully balanced off-white that feels earthy and understated.
Ready to embrace colour? Mellow Teal brings an instant dose of energy to any space, but it's in a north-facing room where it really comes into its own. Its saturation holds beautifully in cooler light, creating a scheme that's rich, inviting and full of character.
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Lick
Ready to embrace colour? As Tash Bradley explained on the Your Home: A Designer's Guide podcast, blue isn't off the menu for north-facing rooms – the secret is choosing one with a warm, yellow undertone. Blue 05 does exactly that, creating a rich, inviting scheme that holds its warmth beautifully in cooler light.
Prefer white walls? White 03 has soothing yellow undertones that won't appear cold or clinical in a north-facing room. It's an easy choice if you're after a timeless scheme.
Love warm neutrals? Greige 02 is ideal for those that love grey but know it won't work in a north-facing room. Blending the softness of beige with the sophistication of grey, it's a happy compromise.
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Dulux
Prefer white walls? Timeless is one of Dulux's best-loved whites, and for good reason. Its creamy warmth keeps north-facing rooms feeling light and airy, making it an easy choice if you want a classic white.
Love warm neutrals? Blush Pink is one for those wanting to add a feminine touch to a room. With its soft, powdery warmth it pairs well with cool greys for a crisp modern effect.
Ready to embrace colour? True Joy. Sometimes all a north-facing room needs is a burst of sunshine. This warm, energising yellow instantly lifts a space whether it's used on a feature wall, woodwork, doors or window frames. As Marianne Shillingford, creative director and colour expert at Dulux, says,'It brings out the positivity in even the most neutral of shades and is the figurative glue that binds more daring colour stories together.'
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Graham & Brown
Prefer white walls? Baby Powder is anything but stark. Inspired by the softness of cotton and cashmere, this is a comforting off-white with red undertones.
Love warm neutrals? If beige isn't your thing, try Popsicle instead. Tipping into pink territory, this rosy neutral sits somewhere between blush and clay, bringing a gentle wash of colour that is wonderfully easy to decorate with.
Ready to embrace colour? Hot Mocha is made for colour drenching. With its warm, coffee tones it's a shade to wrap the north-facing walls in. To take it one step further, Paula Taylor, stylist at Graham & Brown, recommends colour capping: layering tonal shades from the same colour family and finishing with a deeper ceiling to enhance the cocooning effect.
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