Design · Small Spaces
Small Living Room Ideas That Don't Involve Buying Less Furniture
Designers on how to make a compact living room feel generous.
Paint Colours That Work in North-Facing Rooms
Cool light needs warm pigment, not white paint.
By Sofia Lindqvist, Design Director · Published August 6, 2026 · 2 min read
Photograph: Tim Sullivan / StockSnap
North light is cool and constant. It drains blue-based whites and exaggerates any grey in a paint's undertone.
Look for warm undertones
Whites with a yellow, red or green base hold up. Anything described as 'crisp' or 'pure' will read institutional.
Test on all four walls
Paint A4 boards and move them around the room across a day. Colour behaves differently on the wall facing the window and the one beside it.
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