Paint Colors For Rooms With Little Natural Light – I mean, a white out flat white reflects the most light, right? So isn’t white best for a dark room? Hmmmm…actually, no.
It is true that lighter colors have a higher LRV (light reflectance value) and will reflect more light.
Paint Colors For Rooms With Little Natural Light
Bright whites have an LRV closer to 100. So yes, technically, they will absorb less of the valuable light you have in a dark place.
What Is The Best Paint Color For Dark Rooms?
#1 – A dark room has a lot of shadows. Paint the walls pure white and it accentuates the shadows and shadows the corners. Add it all up and the walls will look a little gray and dirty.
#2 – Bright whites, in addition to being great at reflecting light, are also great at enhancing random colors found on the walls of furniture, fixtures, and objects outside your home.
Of course, white roofs and trim are great. But be careful not to use too bright, pure white with no other undertones.
Just go to Samplize.com and choose your paint colors. For $5.95 you get a large paint sample square, hand painted with the exact paint you want to sample (not just colored to look like paint…like the mini samples you get at the hardware store).
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Stick it on a wall, stand up and see how it looks. Then place it as needed on different walls or surfaces.
This one is at the top of my list and for good reason – it’s my favorite off-white paint color.
BM Halo is a greige (no, I didn’t just make that word up). In some lights it looks more gray and in others beige. In most places there is a perfect combination of both, thus… “greige”.
Halo’s beige is well balanced with a touch of green undertones. Just be careful about placing in an area with gray, cold light – such as a north-facing room – as this can bring out the greens a little more than you’d like.
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I used the BM Halo in the office and in the dining room, an area that doesn’t get a ton of light. The warm undertones really came to the rescue!
Small powder rooms are notoriously dark. So when we turned a bedroom into a small, dark (no natural light) powder room, the choice of paint was very important.
It is a beautiful pure white color with beautiful yellow tones. It also has a hint of gray pigment, so the cool undertones help balance out the yellow.
If your room is dark with cooler lights, you’ll definitely notice the gray undertones quite a bit, so keep that in mind when choosing your lighting.
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…I ended up with gray paint. No wonder it’s been done on more than a few walls around the house!
BM Gray Owl is a beautiful light gray paint for darker rooms. Although not the warmest gray, it has more yellow and green tones than blue. (Note…yellow undertones are great for dimly lit rooms.)
Our living room in our Chicago home is on the dark side and the Gray Owl at 50% power definitely lit up and lit up the whole room.
We also used it on the walls for our kitchen renovation along with the trim, ceiling and cabinets painted BM White Dove.
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It did a good job of keeping the place cool while still being bright enough to illuminate the space and make it feel bigger.
The first three colors are some of my favorites for rooms with little light. Here are some other options you might consider.
BM Classic Gray has enough light to brighten up a room, but still has enough substance to work in dark rooms.
If you’ve tried BM Gray Owl, but the lighting brought out the green and blue undertones more than you’d like, BM Classic Gray might be right for you.
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It is a light gray with pleasant purple and sometimes pink hues. So that makes it similar to BM Gray Owl, but a bit brighter and warmer.
Photo and design by The Color Concierge. This north-facing room has classic gray walls and Simply White details.
Navajo White is light and super creamy. It has a lot of yellow undertones so that areas with little light feel bright and warm.
And with its intense yellow color, BM Navajo White is a great choice for warming north-facing rooms with cool natural light.
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Fortunately, its neutral undertones help to tone it down a bit, so it’s not too “yellow” in warmer lights.
Colonnade gray is one of the darker colors on this list. However, it’s still a good option for low-light areas where you want a paint color with fabric that doesn’t absorb a ton of light.
It has a nice mix of undertones so it’s perfect for areas where you don’t want to look too cool or too warm.
However, the warm beige and brown undertones win out, making it more of a warm gray than a cool gray.
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It has an LRV of 53, so technically it is considered a light color. But with its added depth (compared to the other options on this list), it’s great for creating a contrast between it and lighter colors. It seems like almost every home has this space – a dark corner that lacks the precious natural light we love so much. While it may seem like a good idea to take a dark room and go with the brightest white you can find, it’s not your best move.
Bright white is very bright because it reflects natural light. So when there isn’t enough natural light, white doesn’t help to open up the space as much as you might think. Instead, your space can look flat and often even darker. When considering white, a good rule of thumb is that if you have to turn the light on during the day, there isn’t enough light for it to work.
If white is off the table for your dark room, what should you look for instead? The answer is often neutral with a warm tone. These colors are the best choice to make a dark room brighter. Neutral colors are ideal because if it’s too dark, it will make the room look smaller.
Darker rooms also require more saturated colors, as less light is reflected from the color. This means you should look for colors with less black in the base. Also remember that you don’t need to use bright colors in a dimly lit room – you should look to darker colors to bring in the light.
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The type of space you’re looking at can also make a difference. For example, you treat a dark room differently than a hallway. For powder rooms without windows, you can use a bolder look, because people don’t spend a lot of time in these areas. (Think dark colors and funky accents.) On the other hand, in a dark hallway, light to medium neutrals are a better choice, as light colors can appear narrower.
Here are some of our favorite colors for dark rooms. Remember that the size, shape and function of the room will determine which colors work best.
Lavender has warmer undertones, which makes it perfect for adding some light to a dark room. The best thing about working with lavender is that it has a wide range of shades that suit everyone, from soft darks to purple-based taupes. It doesn’t have to be too feminine, so it works well in almost any room. You can combine it with pastels for a more playful look, or combine it with simple neutral colors like gray and white for a more sophisticated look.
If you don’t have much natural light, yellow is a great way to recreate that feeling with artificial light. It is perfect for bedrooms or bathrooms with small windows. Just make sure you have enough artificial light in the room so it doesn’t fall. Yellow goes well with white accents and light wood details to give more warmth to a cold room.
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This dreamy color makes us feel like we are floating on a cloud in the sunny sky. Light blue helps bring some light into a room, especially when paired with simple white accents. It’s perfect for a bathroom or any extra dark corner of your home.
This color might look a little wild, but we’re not talking about safety orange here. If you’re using orange in a dark space, think more about pumpkin, tangerine or apricot. These very warm shades work best in a dark kitchen or dining room – any place where people gather. Try combining it with darker wood details with brown and white accents for an elegant look.
For dark and gloomy rooms, adding more gray to the mix may seem a little crazy, but it can work! It all depends on the shade you choose – if you stick to light to medium shades, you’ll be surprised how it can really brighten up a room. Think very soft colors like dove gray or greige (a mix of gray and beige) to keep things warm. Gray with hints of color
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