Paint Colors for East Facing Rooms!
Choosing the right paint color for any room of the home can seem like a daunting challenge. Over the years, I’ve chosen hundreds of paint colors, for both clients and myself! And one key thing I have learned is to lean into each room’s orientation.
What do I mean by this? Well, take a south-facing room for example, and you will have direct sunlight throughout the entire day, however, a north facing room is essentially in the shade. Taking the sun’s direction into account when you’re on the hunt for the perfect paint color will give you more success with the final color you choose.
Not only should you take into account the sun’s direction in relation to the room, you should also explore how often you use the room, and when this is too. When and how often you use an east-facing room can influence the paint color you choose.
Let’s dive deeper into choosing a paint color for east-facing rooms!
Consider the Time of Day
Considering the time of day is extremely important for east-facing rooms because the natural light shifts from morning to afternoon. This change in sunlight can alter how paint colors are seen on the walls, and therefore completely change the look and feel of the room itself.
East-facing rooms become tricky because they are neither in or out of full sunlight during the day. Often they are exposed to warm and yellow-toned light before noon, but this becomes bluer later on in the day. As a result, the room will feel warmer in the morning, and much cooler in the afternoon to evening.
This brings me on to the main aspect you need to consider when choosing a paint color for east-facing rooms – how often, and typically at which point in the day, do you spend the most time in this room? If this is somewhere you only spend time in the evenings, you may want to choose a warmer paint color to help balance the cool natural lighting at this time of day. And if you spend more time here during the morning, you may wish to choose a cooler paint color.
Top Tip – Always paint a large piece of card or paper, with at least two coats, of your final 3 paint choices. Tape each sample to every wall – watch how the colors can change! – and examine which one you prefer! It is worth looking at these samples at three different times during the course of the day too.
Other articles in this Series:
Paint Colors for West Facing Rooms, Paint Colors for North Facing Rooms, Paint Colors for South Facing Rooms
White Isn’t Always the Solution
As a room that homeowners often label as needing to “brighten” up, it can be easy to default to white as the wall paint color. However, this can actually have the opposite effect and bring out the warm morning tones and cool evening tones, associated with east-facing rooms.
If you still want to use a white paint color, choose an off-white or neutral paint color instead. More on my top paint color suggestions in a bit!
Top Tip – Painting your walls a specific color won’t necessarily make the room any brighter or bigger.
You may enjoy reading 5 Ways to Make Your Space Feel Larger and How to Make a Room Feel Bigger.
Paint Colors to Avoid
Now that white is out of the equation, what other colors should you avoid in east-facing rooms?
Avoid using paint colors that are overly warm, as these can appear too intense in the morning natural light of east-facing rooms. Instead, look for paint colors that are only slightly warm, and that can be influenced by the cooler natural lighting of the evening.
This means it is wise to avoid using orange, yellow, and red-toned paint colors, especially bright tones of these. Muted, and slight hints of these colors work well through accessories but for the paint color, I recommend keeping it more neutral or leaning into cooler colors.
Recommended Paint Colors
So which paint colors do we recommend for east facing rooms? It does depend on your personal preference, but we have covered all bases! Off-whites are good options for brightening the space, while grays and neutrals should be considered for more timeless options. For those looking to inject some color into their east facing room, try some blue or green colors!
Here are some ideas:
Off-Whites
Off-whites are a much better option than just stark white paint in east facing rooms because they have more of a “color” to them which will be balanced from the natural light rather than fully influenced by it.
We recommend looking at:
Benjamin Moore Simply White OC-117, Benjamin Moore Mountain Peak White OC-121 (pictured to the left), Benjamin Moore Mayonnaise OC-85
Grays
The perfect gray paint color for your east facing room will depend on the quality of natural light coming into the space. Brighten the room up with a lighter gray paint color that has a hint of warmth thrown in the mix.
We recommend looking at:
Benjamin Moore Balboa Mist OC-27, Benjamin Moore Apparition 860, Benjamin Moore Cumulus Cloud 1550 (pictured on the right)
Deep Hues
Neutral paint colors create the ultimate timeless color palette, and provide warm undertones that will help to lighten shadowy afternoons of east facing rooms.
We recommend looking at:
Benjamin Moore White Sand OC-10 (pictured to the left), Benjamin Moore Manchester Tan HC-81, Benjamin Moore Shaker Beige HC-4
Blues and Greens
With cooler blues and greens you can embrace the evening light of east facing rooms to create a soft and calming effect. Or choose warmer tones to keep the space feeling inviting throughout the entire day.
We recommend looking at:
Sherwin Williams Topiary Tint SW 6449, Sherwin Williams Easy Green SW 6450 (pictured on the right), Sherwin Williams Waterloo SW 9141, Sherwin Williams Coastal Plain SW 6192
