6 min read
Choosing paint colours for Irish homes is genuinely different to choosing them from a magazine shot taken in Spain or California. North Dublin daylight is soft, cool and grey for a large part of the year, and it drains warmth out of colours that looked perfect in the shop. These are the rules we give customers before anyone buys five litres of anything.
Test on the wall, in the room, over a full day
A colour chip held up to a window tells you almost nothing. Paint two coats of a sample onto a piece of lining paper about A2 size, move it around the room, and look at it in morning light, afternoon light and under your own lamps at night. Irish rooms change dramatically between 10am and 8pm.
North-facing rooms need warmth
A north-facing room in Ireland gets cool, indirect light all day. Cool greys and blue-based whites turn flat and cold in that light. Warm off-whites, soft stone shades and colours with a yellow, red or green base hold their character. South-facing rooms can take cooler and stronger colours because the light adds warmth back.
- —North-facing — warm whites, clays, warm greens
- —South-facing — cooler greys, blues, stronger colours
- —Hallways with no window — test on the darkest wall
- —Small rooms — one colour on walls and woodwork feels bigger
Finish changes colour as much as pigment
The same colour in matt, eggshell and satin reads as three different shades because of how each finish reflects light. Matt deepens colour and hides wall imperfections; eggshell lifts it and cleans better; satin on woodwork sharpens it. Choose finish and colour together, not one after the other.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the most popular interior colour in Irish homes right now?
- Warm off-whites and soft greige remain the most requested for main living areas, with deeper greens and clay tones used on bedrooms, hallways and feature walls.
- Should ceilings always be white?
- Not always. A ceiling in a lighter tint of the wall colour softens a small room and stops a bright white ceiling looking like a lid.