apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Since you have bright south-facing windows, I'd suggest cooler colors such as blues, greens and greys.

Hi! I'm actually making a switch from a very similar color, having found it to be cloyingly warm over time. After debating between piles of grays, silvers, blues, and whatnot, I think I've settled on a cooler beige, much less pink... In particular, I believe I will be repainting with Benjamin Moore London Fog Link

In a very sunny room, I love white walls with saturated colors in furnishings and accessories. (See just about any of the Australian homes featured on AT). I don't have any very sunny rooms, so I don't have good suggestions about which white to use, but I know others here have named several.

I would go for a cool grey. Depending on your furnishings of course.

I have "studio grey" from Ralph Lauren - and I love it.

With south light you want cooler undertones - strong sunlight makes the color look yellower and can bleach it out.

Domino (?) had a list of white paints in one of their issues - cool, warm, and neutral. The designers listed BM's Simply White as a neutral (I have it in a room with east light and love it), and Glacier White as a cool (I have it in a room with strong west light). Wish I could remember the others. I can always find the mag later today, if you're interested in white wall paint.

I'm a white kind of person myself: white walls with popping jewel tones in furniture, paintings, etc. (you might, however, want to take my perspective with a grain of salt, given that I detest beigy or greyish walls!)

We were facing the same issues in our very long south-facing hallway and front foyer area (a switchback staircase in our entryway means that we have very tall walls and high, airy headspace).

We went with Behr's manhattan mist in the hallway (and Behr's gray timber wolf (off the same swatch) in the master bedroom, incidentally). I've never gotten more compliments on colour choice.

If you're feeling closed, try cool colors like blues or grays, even a pale green. They visually retreat and can make a space seem bigger.

Of course, white is usually a safe bet and would be the easiest way to make a change without changing around other colors in the room.

Check out Benjamin Moore's "Balboa Mist" it's a soft grey with a bit of iris undertones. Works great with cream woodwork and black doors!

If you need a light, neutral-but-on-the-cool-side gray, look at Comet Dust by Valspar at Lowe's.

We're not south facing but in an Eichler condo with a cathedral ceiling and floor to ceiling windows on the east and west, so we get lots of light. We went from a similar color to Yolo Colorhouse's Stone 04. It's a lovely soothing color that sometimes looks pale green, sometimes grey. And the paint itself was amazing too.

I've got the a south-facing room and plan to use Rockport Gray, another BM historical color of a similar value to Bradstreet Beige. It's cool, but not noticeably blue. With warm colored furnishings, it's beautifully used (in a room with southern exposure) on the Pottery Barn web site.

Since you get plenty of light - be bold and choose an actual COLOR! Not a tannish this or a greyish that...

Thanks for all the advice! I was recently inspired by a House Beautiful photo which used BM Moonlight White.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8230585@N06/3197016284/

Is this considered a warm white? Do you think that would work in my south-facing room?

-Clarissa

If you want to stick with beige/gray, I have a great cool beige on my walls- Benjamin Moore's Big Bend Beige.

Try BM's November Rain -it's a lovely neutral greyish beige.

Benjamin Moore "At Sea" paint chip #666. It's heavenly!!!