The trend to use one colour throughout a house as an ‘anchor’ neutral has been going strong for some years. But why does that one colour look so different in each of the rooms? It’s all to do with which direction the room faces: north, south, east or west. Colour is not equal, unchanging and well behaved. This is why colour seen in different rooms responds to the axis of light and why that colour looks totally divine in some rooms… and horrible in others. It also explains why at certain times of the day the colour morphs into a monster and bears little resemblance to the one we carefully chose. Natural light is not well behaved either. We can know intellectually that the walls, the ceiling and sometimes the floor have been painted in exactly the same colour. But late in the afternoon, the low westerly sun is throwing light and shade across the floor and washing the walls. Suddenly, the colour on the floor appears different from the ceiling, and from the window walls where the shadows are deeper. The far wall glows with reflected sunlight. In bright daylight, yellow-based or warm whites will appear even warmer, while cool whites will look crisp and clean. At twilight, green-based or cool whites come into their own, which direction? and at nightfall, warm whites will appear more intense. If you want to use the same neutral colour throughout the house, vary its strength to cater for the different light qualities of each room. South and north-facing rooms usually work better with deeper versions of a colour while east and west rooms use the lighter variants. Accenting with colourful accessories (and mirrors in darker rooms) can change how a colour is seen and help it be ‘forgiven’ if it doesn’t look as good as it does within another space. If you want to use a true white on the walls, try soft furnishings in pale greys, charcoals and blacks, and metallic silver or pewter tones as this helps draw the eyes away from walls, keeping the scheme from looking too cold. Room by room In south-facing rooms used during the day, it pays to use warm neutrals. No amount of pale tints or white will make the room appealing because the natural light aspect is cool, grey or sour. Try Resene Quarter Solitaire, Resene Double Bianca, Resene Biscotti or Resene Eighth Drought which all have a subtle orange or warm beige undertone. Cooler, denser whites will always work best in north-facing rooms. Because of our propensity for huge windows and skylights that allow plentiful sun (and glare) any very warm white will only accentuate the heat. Resene Concrete, Resene Black Haze and Resene Double Black White are good examples of colours that work. Complex neutrals work best in east-facing rooms illuminated by bright early morning light. Because easterly light is so cool Resene Biscotti Resene Half Spanish White Resene Half Fossil Resene Black Haze 20 |