12 Top Colors for Night Owls

scarbowcow I'm really attracted by the terracotta in the first picture and the apricot-blush in the second picture. But my big, unanswered question is: how would these colors work in a north-facing room that only gets a glancing hit of direct sunlight early in the morning in summer time, but no direct sunlight in any other season? I'm really stumped for a color for a dining room that has one window due north and another facing east, but under an overhang about a meter deep. It's also the first room that you look into (across an entry hall) when you come into the house, so it needs to seem warm, inviting and attractive at first glance - a room people want to head for immediately, only to be steered to the living room instead.

I wish some expert here would explain what colors work best in rooms that get little or no sunlight, rooms that get full sunlight almost all day, and rooms with varying sunlight. Surely there's some rule about paint colors for 'cold' and 'warm' rooms?

jayewo That chocolate room really got to me! I wonder if it would be good...or bad for a diet.

Kathryn Peltier Design @scarbowcow: it sounds like you like a warm palette of colors. Sometimes it works to play up a dark, north-facing room by making it dark and moody (a la the 3rd photo). Using warm colors in these rooms, however, will help to warm them up visually. You don't say what your preferred color palette is, but if you like that apricot, go with it. The intensity and saturation of the color you use should be balanced with the same qualities of other aspects of the room. If you have big, beefy woodwork and dark floors, for instance, you will want to go with a more saturated color; a paler color just will not provide enough substance (however, if you have light finishes, you can go dark or light). If you are using different colors in different rooms, keep the aforementioned saturation and intensity the same, and repeat colors from one room to the next (i.e. if the color is apricot in the dining room, and the adjacent room is green, use the opposite color in each room through upholsteries, accessories, etc.) The best way to decide on a color is to buy a sample size and paint a fairly good patch on the wall. Look at it during different times of day to make sure it isn't too intense at one point, and too pale in another. In a north facing room, this is not going to be too big of a problem because your light is pretty constant all day long. Good luck!

dejavous I would like to know what the colors ARE - maker and #. I love the first one -

marvin72 Isn't photo #11from the Globalviews showroom?

eahurst Would like to have seen night views....

vealdesign I would add a couple of steps to what K. Peltier advises about painting sample patches. Start by using the largest samples (swatches) that are available. Most paint companies provide at least 4x8," and some, up to full "poster" size. Look at them in the room at all times of day and narrow your choices. If you are unable to secure anything larger than a small chip, get the small sample bottles and paint them up in the room on more than one wall. The same paint will look completely different depending on the plane of the surface and the amount of light that strikes it. You may feel confident enough at this point to go all the way with your paint purchase, IF the color is nothing radical. But because as a designer I am responsible for getting it absolutely right before the client goes to the expense of a painter, I (or the paint contractor) buy a quart and do a big roll out on several walls. Furthermore, I highly recommend brushing the paint up to a window or door trim, so that the existing color is completely covered on one side of the roll out. The existing paint, when viewed against the new color, can completely throw off your perception of the new color. Stand back and with arms outstretched, form a frame with your hand to view the color while totally blocking the old color- you'll be amazed what a difference it will make! Do this with different walls and at different times of the day and at night. At this point if the paint is not exactly right, it should be easy for you to recognize the direction it should go- e.g., a little darker, less green, etc., and using a full paint deck as reference, choose the more appropriate shade. This might seem like a lot of trouble, but compared to the expense and effort of putting up a color with which you are not completely satisfied, it's nothing.

As far as using terracottas, pinks, or yellows, if you don't have the patience to follow the steps outlined above, beware: it you see any pink, yellow, or orange in a small chip, you can be sure it will be intensified tenfold on the wall, especially if you get any intense direct light.

As a side note, I would not have painted that ceiling orange as in picture #1- it's too much. In in case of all but the palest colors, it always looks to me that somebody was just too cheap or lazy to do it right. (You see this in a lot of spec properties.) And for God's sake, don't slap up a different intense color in every room unless you have always wanted to join the circus and this is just as close as you can come.

ps, to dejavous: It would do you no good to have the paint name. A photo never looks like the actual color and even if it did, it wouldn't look the same in your room. Just follow the steps above.

Kathy Ellis @scarbowcow, I am excited for you and your dining room! I think the right shade of terracotta or blush would really warm up your room and look fantastic! I too am about to paint a very dark living room that has little natural light coming in, and a warm color is going to help it out a great deal. If you are feeling really ambitious or want to hire a decorative painter you could go with a sheer metallic glaze either over the wall color or on your ceiling. Done correctly it will add a beautiful shimmery glow that helps reflect light and adds atmosphere and warmth when candles are lit or dim wall sconces are on in the evening...lovely!

Tracy Mccormack For a beautiful terracotta color, try Sherwin Williams Armagnac, SW6354. I painted my dining room this color 4 years ago and I STILL am amazed at how beautiful and glowing the color is in the evening, and fresh and crisp in daylight. I am one to change paint color in rooms frequently ~ but this is one color I still haven't become tired of.