color wheel with three spaces between the primary colors

The opposite is true for a west-facing living room or bedroom. A pale Blue 02 would balance out the golden morning light of an east-facing bedroom, whilst a warming Pink 01 or neutralising Green 01 would work well in an east-facing living room, which will have less light in the hours you’re using it. On the other hand, east-facing rooms get lots of gorgeous sunrise light, whilst west-facing rooms see the sunset. You get a good amount of light throughout the day, so go wild! For the former, when it comes to your colour options, it’s best to opt for a lighter palette with warm red or yellow undertones, like our White 03, Beige 01 or light Pink 01, whereas when it comes to south-facing rooms, these are the ones to experiment in.

With less natural light than their counterparts, north-facing rooms tend to be darker and can bring out the cooler undertones of a colour, whilst south-facing rooms enjoy generous lighting throughout the day. If you’re not sure what orientation your room is, read our guide on how to tell if your room is north, east, south or west-facing.

Not only does this affect the light but also how the colour will appear. We use spaces at different times and for different things. One of the trickiest decisions is not just what colour to choose but what colour is right for it based on how much light it gets. All of our paints have a range of undertones and you should consider these when picking the right palette for your room. For example, grey, green, blue, and purple are all cool undertones (calming colours), whilst orange, yellow, red, and pink are warm undertones (energising colours). The colour you don't see is the undertone, but they can make all the difference between a warm or a cool colour. The dominant colour, the one you perceive it to be, is called the overtone – although sometimes people disagree on this (that dress was blue!). Conversely, white, black, and grey are considered to be neutralising. Warm colours are bold, vivid, and tend to appear larger or take up space, whilst cool colours are soothing and create an impression of calm and don't overpower. Simply put, the colour wheel splits into two halves: warm and cool. Warm and cool colours: a tale of two halves Shade: the pure colour, mixed with black.

Sadly not an accompaniment to your favourite tipple, but hues, tints, tones, and shades. The three primary colours are essentially the parents of the remaining nine on the colour wheel. A simple colour wheel is made up of 12 colours, a combination of the three primary colours: red, blue, and yellow.

Color wheel with three spaces between the primary colors