[…] GUIDELINE: WHAT ARE THE BEST PAINT COLORS FOR SOUTH FACING ROOMS? […]
What are the Best Paint Colors for South Facing Rooms?
One of the coziest rooms of our homes that receive a considerable amount of sunlight are the south-facing rooms. These rooms are one of the easiest to choose a paint color for – and equally intriguing!
Most of my clients wonder what paint color they should choose for south-facing rooms as they receive a warm – yellow-toned light.
Think of your homes for a while – Can you locate a room that is overly warm? Yes- that’s because it is facing the south.
This is the time when the sun is at its peak around noon and the incoming light is quite yellow and warm. Before this, the light is quite bright and post noon, you will notice a gleaming glow – somewhere in the late afternoon.
Long story short, south-facing rooms face yellow light most of the time in the day!
Things to Keep in Mind When Choosing Best Paint Colors for South Facing Rooms
Well, it is not really a difficult task to do!
South-facing room paints look washed-out in the middle of the day – while in the afternoon, the yellow light looks too bright!
So, I would highly recommend you pick cool-toned hues to balance them with the incoming warmth.
(Adding a warmer shade will further increase the visual warmth of your rooms and create uneasiness – which of course, is not good for your health)
However, I would highly recommend buying real-time paint swatches and samples to determine how the paint color appears in each compass direction of your home.
A paint color that appears spectacularly bold in the morning might look washed out in the noon. (Yes, that happens)
If you have ample windows in your south-facing room, it is quite likely that you are going to feel overwhelmed and warm – so choosing a paint color that is cool or has blue, gray, purple, or green undertones.
BUT…
It also gets washed out before noon – So, what to do?
Choose a Paint Color that has a medium-toned LRV
That way – you get the BEST of both worlds – No washing away and apparently a cool-toned hue!
(You could also pick a dark color here as it will neutralize the ample light received)
On the other hand, in the case of rooms with not enough windows or natural light – you could choose a mid-toned LRV paint color that balances its boldness with the little light that is received!
Try to avoid very dark colors here due to the absence of excessive natural light!
Let’s now discuss some of the paint colors that you could use in your south-facing rooms.
5 Best Sherwin Williams Paint Colors for South Facing Rooms
-
Cityscape SW 7067
Cityscape is a cool-toned gray paint color with deep blue and green undertones.
With an LRV of 22, this paint color is also medium-toned – thus, won’t wash away easily during the late morning and will also equally make the space feel balanced with incoming yellow noon light.
You could use this paint color for the larger rooms or rooms with ample windows or natural light.
Check out my FULL Paint Color Review Here – Sherwin Williams Cityscape!
-
Sea Salt SW 6204
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt is a cool, green-toned neutral paint color that gives a perfect refreshing look to your room.
Since it has a cool tone, it will balance out with your incoming warm light and thus make your room really ‘Liveable’ all over again!
Since it is a light paint color, you could use it in spaces that are smaller-sized or spaces with not enough windows.
-
Tradewind SW 6218
Tradewind is a perfect cool blue paint color with an LRV of 61 to make your south-facing room feel wholesome and refreshed.
Due to its cool texture – it is a GREAT option to neutralize the incoming warmth in your rooms.
You can also use this in rooms with smaller sizes as it will help make your south-facing room look bigger than it actually is!
Check out my FULL Paint Color Review Here – Sherwin Williams Tradewind!
-
Olympus White SW 6253
Sherwin Williams Olympus White is a cool-toned gray-blue paint color that is quite light-toned and can be absolutely used in your homes (south-facing rooms).
They look very icy and crisp, so, you could use them to create a perfect balance.
This paint color can be used in rooms that are comparatively smaller sized with limited natural light.
Check out my FULL Paint Color Review Here – Sherwin Williams Olympus White!
-
Upward SW 6239
A perfect soothing true blue paint color that has an LRV of 72 to make your south-facing rooms look crisp and bright!
It will very well tranquilize with the incoming warmth in the noon and later will make your room look spacious (best solution for very small-sized south-facing rooms)!
(I also wouldn’t recommend this paint color for very huge rooms).
Check out my FULL Paint Color Review Here – Sherwin Williams Upward!
5 Best Benjamin Moore Paint Colors for South Facing Rooms
-
Gray Owl 2037-60
Gray Owl is a perfect light-toned paint color for your small-sized south-facing bedrooms.
They have a tinge of cool and icy texture that makes a good fit for these rooms and on the other hand, also make them look larger and spacious.
-
Palladian Blue HC-144
A perfect tranquilizing blue (just like the name suggests), it has an LRV of 61.17 making it a lighter-toned paint color to refresh your rooms with its crispiest texture.
It will very well balance out the southern yellow light without washing-off the hue on the walls.
Check out my FULL Paint Color Review Here – Benjamin Moore Palladian Blue!
-
Silver Half Dollar 2121-40
With an LRV of 57, this paint color can be determined as true gray in some situations.
Its cool, icy effect will perfectly balance out the south-facing bedroom yellow sunlight.
-
Creekside Green 2141-40
A calm and comfortable sage green that is quite muted and doesn’t really change its appearance when the natural light hits.
So, even before noon – this paint color wouldn’t look washed off due to white light!
-
Smoke 2122-40
With an LRV of 56, this Benjamin Moore paint color could be your perfect addition to south-facing rooms.
It is quiet, cool, and subtle – hence, makes a great opposite to bright sunlight and washed-off white light.
So, excited to paint your south-facing room? Remember to choose cool and crisp paint colors for your south facing room to ensure balance all year-round, even during monsoons!
Let me know your experiences in the comments below or have a look at my interior decoration and color consulting packages so we can get one-on-one and choose the best paint color for your south facing room!
Benjamin Moore Best Paint Color List E-Design Home Decor Content Writing Online Interior Design Paint Color Consultation Sherwin Williams
Connie kremer says
I have a southern exposure living room with tall windows that are Green energy, lots of trees, artifical
Grass & pool. Paints turn green, pink
Yellow. Please help with a beautiful
White. I prefer a gray tone if any no yellow. I tried lots of paint. Please advise.
Nishtha says
Hi Connie, You can consider Sherwin Williams Big Chill or Sherwin Williams First Star for the south-facing living room 🙂
Andrea says
Hi Nishtha, I am looking for a paint color for our combined dining living kitchen-south facing lake cottage. Lots of windows but not much direct sunlight. The carpet is a sandy color and the furniture is gray’s and blue’s with dark wood trim. But white trim around the windows… help!
Nishtha says
Hi Andrea,
SW 9165 Gossamer Veil could be a perfect color for this space! It has a perfect blend of gray and beige to complement your existing furnishings while not giving that ‘too chilly’ or ‘too warm’ look. It has an LRV of 62 that holds considerable amount of depth to give your walls a makeover 🙂
Lisa Rhodes says
I have a south facing master bedroom I just had my master bathroom remodeled it’s mostly white (simply white) but the floor is 18×18 blue/grey French vintage design on white tiles, I love seaside cottage design. I was thinking of simply white shiplap wall behind my bed and the other 3 walls a light blue-grey? With sterling oak floors
Nishtha says
Hi Lisa,
Thank you for reaching out 🙂 Paint colors like SW Tradewind or SW Topsail would do for a coastal vibe in your south-facing bedroom!
Nia says
Hello Nishta,
I have a south facing primary bedroom with bay windows and LOTS of sunlight.
The bedroom is on the second floor and its gets terribly hot here in Texas.
I am in the process of remodel, can you please suggest a color to help keep this room cool :). I am totally up for dark colors.
Thank you in advance
Nishtha says
Hi Nia,
Thank you for reaching out 🙂 You must use clean whites like SW Extra White and blues/gray as an accent to go with this south-facing room 🙂
Best,
Nish
Amita Bhavsar says
I have a balcony(with southern exposure) that we enclosed into an exercise room and we want to paint the brick and wood ceiling a beige color that matches the paneling on the windows. What do you recommend? I am trying to find a color that matches the paneling and does not look too yellow with the sun exposure. My choices are Shoji White or Accessible Beige.
Nishtha says
Hi Amita,
If the size of your room is medium or large – you can consider picking Accessible Beige/River’s Edge/Worldly Gray! However, if the size of your room is comparatively smaller – you can definitely pick SW Shoji White that doesn’t look yellow at all.
Di Brenner says
I have two offices and a living room. One office is South West facing, one office is North West facing, and the Living room is South facing.
I looooove SW Halcyon Green, Creamy, and Agreeable Gray, but I’m thinking of doing AG or Creamy almost everywhere else in the common rooms, and wanted something darker and cozier for my office spaces and the Living Room. Note that the Living Room is open to the Kitchen/Dining/ and Entry! What would you do?
Nishtha says
Hi Di,
Thank you for getting in touch! Since you’re picking SW Agreeable Gray and SW Creamy as a base everywhere in your home – I recommend that you choose something like SW Urbane Bronze or SW Peppercorn/SW Gauntlet Gray on the focal wall of the home office and continue SW Creamy on the adjacent walls.
Let me know if you need something else 🙂