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Paint colours can look different depending on the amount of natural light you have flooding into the room.
West-facing rooms are known for their afternoon glow, but they may feel a little cold in the mornings.
Paint specialist Benjamin Moore recommends opting for cool-toned colours to balance the amber tones that are likely to flood through the windows come the afternoon.
If you are opting for white paint, Benjamin Moore recommends:
- White Heron 0C-57
- White Wisp OC-54
- Winter White 0C-21
These whites have a blue-based undertone, known to be a cool undertone, that helps to balance out the warm cast of west-facing lighting.
Grey paints could be a great choice to “breathe elegance into the space”, with Benjamin Moore recommending:
- Moonshine OC-56
- Silver Chain 1472
- Coventry Gray HC-169
More beautifully neutral paint colours that would work well in a west-facing room include:
- Ashwood OC-47
- Hazy Skies OC-48
- Grant Beige HC-83
For the trim and ceiling, Chantilly Lace OC-65 is highly recommended as the “clean and crisp white paint colour will work well with all the paint colours”. Most importantly, you need to consider the time of day that you use the western-facing room.
In agreement, Sarah Lloyd – a paint expert at Valspar Paint – told House Beautiful: “It’s more important to understand when you’ll be using the space the most.
“For example, will you be using your west-facing room most in the morning and therefore need a brighter colour to attract any light? Or will you use it most in the evening when the sun is shining in and you can actually play with some darker colours?”
Paint brand Dulux said west-facing rooms require “extra consideration when picking colours” because of the way natural light flows into the space during the afternoon.
Dulux is also in favour of more cool-toned paints for a west-facing room.
From its range, Dulux recommends any of the following paint colours:
- Mint Macaroon
- Violet White
- Egyptian Cotton
- Tranquil Dawn.
Kate Wiltshire echoed how western-facing rooms “can have quite a dramatic colour change” in the afternoon. The designer agreed with cooler paint if you tend to use the room more in the afternoons.
Her best colours are: blue, cooler-toned greens, and grey, but the crucial key is that “you love the colour”.
