North Facing Paint Colors: Warm, Light Shades That Work
North-facing rooms get cool, indirect light all day, so the best paint colors for them are warm and fairly light. The four wall colors here have a warm yellow undertone and an LRV between 45 and 79. Two deep colors are included for furniture, wood and accents, or for a cocooning, dark room.
Quick answer
Put Warm Cream or Soft Linen on the walls of a north facing room for the most light. Use the deep chestnut and olive brown for wood, furniture and accents.
Every color on this page was measured from one of these public-domain paintings.
Wall colors
#F0E5D0LRV 79
Warm Cream
The best wall color here for a dim north facing room. With an LRV of 79 and a warm yellow undertone, it bounces light and offsets the cool daylight. Measured from Antonio Mancini's "Resting" (c. 1887).
A light wall color for a room that needs warmth but not a bright white. Its LRV of 66 still reads light, and the warm yellow undertone keeps it from turning gray. Measured from Camille Pissarro's "Young Peasant Having Her Coffee" (1881).
A mid-light color for a bold piece, such as a painted cabinet, a door or one chair. At LRV 50 it adds color without the weight of a dark shade. Measured from Ricard Canals y Llambí's "Cigar Making in Seville" (1899).
A calm, light-to-mid color for textiles such as curtains, a rug or cushions. Its LRV of 45 means it will not bounce much light, and its warm yellow undertone keeps it soft. Measured from Johannes Vermeer's "Young Woman with a Water Pitcher" (ca. 1662).
A very dark, warm red-orange brown for wood, a door or a heavy table. At LRV 4 it absorbs light, so use it in small doses or for a deliberately dark room. Measured from Amedeo Modigliani's "Jacques and Berthe Lipchitz" (1916).
A deep color with a warm yellow undertone, good for a large sofa, an armchair or a built-in. Its LRV of 7 anchors a pale room. Measured from Constant Troyon's "Unfinished Study of Sheep" (c. 1850).
The same paint reads differently in cool north light, warm south sun and under evening lamps. Find the column closest to your room.
Color
Neutral daylight
North light
South light
Evening lamps
Warm Cream
Soft Linen
Khaki Straw
Warm Stone Gray
Try these colors in a room
Pick which color goes on the walls, the big furniture and the bold piece. Floors, shadows and trim follow your choice.
The framed picture on the wall is Resting.
How do you choose paint for a north facing room?
North light is cool and indirect, so a color can look grayer and darker on the wall than it does on the chip. The fix is to start with warmth and a higher LRV.
For most north facing rooms, choose from the four wall colors. Warm Cream (LRV 79) is the brightest and bounces the most light. It suits a small room, a hallway or a room with one small window. Soft Linen (LRV 66) is a little deeper and still reads light. Both have a warm yellow undertone that offsets the cool daylight.
Khaki Straw (LRV 50) and Warm Stone Gray (LRV 45) sit in the middle. They give you visible color and a calmer feel, but they will not bounce much light. Use them in a larger room, or one with good lamps. Below an LRV of about 20, a color reads very dark. Keep the two deep colors for furniture, wood and accents, unless you want a cocooning room.
What is the best white for a north facing room?
Choose a warm white. Warm Cream has an LRV of 79 and a warm yellow undertone, which keeps a white wall from looking chilly in cool north light. Its closest matches are Sherwin-Williams SW 7556 Crème, Behr HDC-NT-11A Warm Marshmallow and Farrow & Ball No. 59 New White. All three are near-identical to the measured color.
If a true white feels too bright, step down to Soft Linen at LRV 66. It reads as a light neutral. The closest matches are Sherwin-Williams SW 9109 Natural Linen, Behr N240-2 Adobe Sand and Farrow & Ball No. 241 Skimming Stone, also near-identical.
These are the closest matches we measured, not a promise of an exact match. Always check a sample in your own room. A white that looks soft on a chip can read stronger once it covers four walls.
What should you pair with these colors?
Keep the palette warm from floor to ceiling. For the ceiling, Warm Cream is a good choice even over deeper walls, because it sends the most light back into the room. For trim, you can match the walls for a soft, blended look, or use Warm Cream against Soft Linen walls for gentle contrast.
For flooring, warm wood tones work well. Dark Chestnut (LRV 4) is a useful guide for a dark floor, door or table. Deep Olive Brown (LRV 7) suits a large sofa or armchair, where one dark shape anchors a pale room.
Khaki Straw works for a bold piece, such as a painted cabinet or a single chair. Warm Stone Gray suits curtains, a rug or cushions. Both are mid-light, so they add color without making the room darker. If you go fully dark, use lamps and warm bulbs, since little light will bounce off the walls.
How do you test north facing room paint colors?
Test on the wall, not on a chip. Paint sample boards or large patches at least two feet square, and leave a white border around each one so the old wall color does not change how you see it.
Move the samples around the room. A north facing room can look different on the wall beside the window than on the wall opposite it. Check each sample in the morning, at midday, in the evening and at night under your own lamps. Cool light all day can make a pale color look flat, so watch whether it stays warm.
Compare the LRV as well as the color. If a sample looks too dark, try the next step up in LRV rather than a cooler shade. Live with your top two choices for a few days before you buy gallons.
FAQ
What are the best colors for north facing rooms?
Warm, light colors with a yellow undertone, such as Warm Cream (LRV 79) and Soft Linen (LRV 66). They offset the cool light and bounce more of it around the room.
Can you use dark paint in a north facing room?
Yes, if you want a cocooning room. Dark Chestnut (LRV 4) and Deep Olive Brown (LRV 7) reflect very little light, so they work best on wood, furniture or an accent, or in a room you use mostly in the evening.
What is the best white paint for a north facing room?
A warm white. Warm Cream, with an LRV of 79 and a warm yellow undertone, is the closest match to Sherwin-Williams SW 7556 Crème, Behr Warm Marshmallow and Farrow & Ball New White.
Why does paint look gray in a north facing room?
North light is cool and indirect, so it can pull a color toward gray. A warm undertone and a higher LRV help balance that.
Should trim match the walls in a north facing room?
Either works. Matching the walls gives a soft, blended look. Warm Cream trim against Soft Linen walls adds gentle contrast and keeps the room bright.
Save these colors
A card with every color on this page, its LRV and the paintings it comes from. Pin it, or take it to the paint store.
Painting images: The Art Institute of Chicago, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, public domain (CC0).
Colors measured by Light & Pigment. Paint names belong to their brands and matches are approximate. Colors look different on screen than on a wall, so always test a sample.
From Resting, Antonio Mancini
