North-facing spaces receive the least amount of natural light of all the room orientations, but adorning the walls with the best paint color for north-facing rooms can do wonders in making these naturally darker spaces feel cozy and welcoming.
"These rooms have that cool, steady light all day long, which can make colors look a bit flat or grayed out," says Tash Bradley, director of interior design at paint brand Lick. "So, choosing shades that bring in a touch of warmth is key to creating a space that feels inviting and comfortable. When it comes to painting a north-facing room, I always tell my clients: you can have any color you want — it’s just about understanding how the room’s natural light will work with it."
Whether you want to counter the darkness by using light neutrals paints, or prefer to embrace the limited light with dark and moody hues, these light-limited rooms welcome no fewer paint color ideas than any other orientation. To help you pick, we've rounded up the best paint colors for north-facing rooms, as recommended by interior color experts.
1. Cozy Beiges
When decorating with neutrals in north-facing rooms, choose paint colors with warm undertones rather than cool. Colors like beige can add warmth and create a cozy feel, helping to counteract the limited and cooler daylight.
"Many people think of north-facing rooms as cold or dark, due to the lack of warm yellow light," explains Ruth Mottershead, creative director at Little Greene. "To counteract this, you can inject warmth using harmonious light neutrals with a warm base tone."
One of the specific paint colors Ruth recommends for north-facing rooms is Little Greene's Travertine, an earthy and warm beige paint that was used on the panelled wall in this neutral living room, shown above.
Tash Bradley of Lick also recommends warm neutrals in these rooms, especially taupe and soft browns. She adds: "These richer tones create a cocooning, cozy feel that’s perfect for spaces you want to feel snug and inviting. Just avoid anything with too much gray — warmth is your best friend here!"
Travertine is a warm-toned neutral paint color that can help to balance the cool and dimmer light in north-facing rooms.
2. Warm-Toned Whites
Decorating with white can also be one of the best paint colors for north-facing rooms if you aim to brighten the space as much as possible, perhaps in social spaces such as kitchens. "Look at whites that offer a yellow or red undertone, as this will lift the space and stimulate a feeling of warmth," advises Helen Shaw, color expert at Benjamin Moore.
While cool whites can work well to balance the strong sunlight in south-facing rooms, it's best to avoid them in north-facing rooms as they will feel even cooler due to the lack of warm light. As Helen suggests, warm whites will counter the coolness and make the room feel more inviting.
Tash Bradley agrees that warm white paints are one of the best paint colors for north-facing rooms. "Look for shades that have no gray in them, so they feel soft and welcoming," she advises. "Lick's White 03, White 05, and White 06 are perfect examples — these creamy whites reflect the light beautifully and stop the room from feeling cold."
Go for a soft, off-white paint in north-facing rooms such as White 06, which has subtle pink undertones.
3. Dark and Moody Shades
While soft, warm-toned neutrals work well to counter the lack of light in north-facing rooms, leaning into the darkness and creating a moody feel with dark color trends is the alternate way to go. "In spaces such as snugs or cloakrooms, which don’t benefit from a lot of light, you can lean into a rich, saturated palette," says Helen Shaw.
"Cooler light will enhance the rich hues and create a warm and inviting look and feel," she adds, while recommending color-drenching these rooms by taking the paint all-over for a cohesive finish.
When choosing the best dark colors for north-facing rooms, you can choose whichever color you're most drawn to. Patrick O'Donnell, Farrow & Ball's color expert, recommends using deep blue paints such as its infamous Hague Blue or Railings, whereas Little Greene's Ruth Mottershead points towards the dark brown Chocolate Colour (used in this bathroom) or even Baked Cherry, a deep shade of red.
Create a cozy and cocooning feel in a north-facing room by embracing the darkest paint colors, such as Chocolate Colour, a rich and dramatic brown.
4. Saturated Greens
If you want to embrace a more colorful scheme in your north-facing room, Tash Bradley recommends choosing mid-tones with warm undertones. She says that green paints can work well, but warns against using those with cool undertones, which can feel flat in these light-limited rooms.
"For greens, look for those with a heavy yellow undertone — avoid sage greens with gray bases or blue-based greens, as these will feel too cold," she adds. "Instead, rich, saturated greens like our Green 05 really come alive in this type of light."
In this green living room, Farrow & Ball's Sap Green was used on the walls, a rich olive green that offers enough depth and warmth to be one of the best paint colors for north-facing rooms.
For a more colorful scheme, use Sap Green to boost warmth in north-facing rooms.
5. Teals
Similarly, decorating with teal can also work effectively to add character to north-facing rooms, especially warm shades of teal, which can help balance the cooler light. Be wary of those with cool undertones, however, which can feel drab in north-facing rooms.
While teal is a great way to lean into a rich and colorful scheme, you can also use warm-toned blue paints if you prefer something softer. "I always advise going for blues with a heavy yellow undertone to bring in that bit of warmth," Tash Bradley explains. "Warm blues like Blue 15 or Blue 03 are perfect for this, or you can lean in even more with a rich navy like Blue 07, which creates a warm, cocooning space that still feels fresh and sophisticated."
If you want to make more of a statement in a north-facing room, look no further than the uplifting Teal 06.
FAQs
What Is the Best Color for a North-Facing Room?
"North-facing rooms receive little to no direct sunlight and therefore have the coolest light in the home, which means the light can feel flat or even cold," explains Paula Taylor, stylist at Graham & Brown. "Avoid using blues and grays to stop the room from feeling cool and stark."
Instead, Paula says that the best paint colors for north-facing rooms are warming neutrals and soft colors that add coziness to the space: "The key to decorating these rooms is adding warmth and depth through warm beige neutrals, soft pinks like Aliza, and oranges so the space feels welcoming rather than cold or shadowy."
What Is the Best Paint Finish to Use in a North-Facing Room?
The right paint finishes can enhance your chosen wall color, and in north-facing rooms, determining which one is best is all about the mood you want to create. If you're using soft neutrals such as warm whites, finishes that help bounce light around the room, like gloss or semi-gloss, can make the room feel brighter.
On the other hand, if you're leaning into the darkness and creating a moody, cocooning space with rich paint colors, a matte paint finish can work well, offering more depth of color and a chalky finish.
How Do I Brighten Up a North-Facing Room?
One of the best ways to brighten a north-facing room is to use light neutral paint colors on the walls with warm undertones. However, it's important to avoid bright whites with cool undertones, which can feel overly cool in these spaces.
That said, you should keep in mind that paint can appear differently in different spaces, so it's worth sampling shades first to find the perfect one, warns Tash Bradley: "No matter which direction you’re working with, remember: no color exists in isolation. Your floors, your furniture, and even what’s outside your window will all play a part in how the color looks and feels. So, get those samples, move them around the room, and see how they change throughout the day."
Although north-facing rooms aren't flooded with light at any part of the day, they can make wonderfully calming rooms thanks to their mellow, subdued feel. And with the right paint color on the walls, especially warm tones, they can feel just as inviting as any other.
Beyond painting the walls, you may also want to consider how to brighten a dark room through clever decor ideas.
