When designing a room, colour is one of the most important things to consider. Whether to go bold with a dark dramatic wall colour, or whether to create a light, airy feel with a softer shade of paint. It’s not always that ‘black and white’. It depends on the size of the room and the fact that colours can look different depending on the light, ie if the room is North, South, East or West facing.

Let’s look at the pros and cons of dark and light toned walls.

Mood and colour

What mood do you want to create? It’s amazing how colour can transform the mood of a room. There’s a whole science behind how colour affects our mood, and some people feel energised by certain colours.

If you are looking to create a soft, relaxing environment for say a child’s bedroom, this is where lighter pastel colours are great, as they promote relaxation and look fresh and airy.

White doesn’t mean boring

There are so many great paints on the market, with 50 shades of white, off-whites, creams, ivory etc, mutating to whites with hints of all of the colours of the spectrum. Neutral walls create a backdrop to easily work alongside soft furnishing options, and give rooms a fresh new look. In this respect, lighter colours are safe option. Soft, pale tones work well in south facing rooms with an abundance of light. Darker colours tend to work better in a north or east facing room. Light changes of course too which affects paint colour impressions during the day and through the seasons, so bear that in mind. It all depends on how you want to use the space.

The dark side

Dark walls create an impact. They can be dramatic, luxurious and cosy. If you don’t want to go for totally dark walls, you could always use a muted down variation as an accent colour on one wall. Or experiment with rich, dark earthy warm colours, such as olive green, aubergine or terracotta. Again, vary the overall impact by doing one wall with a statement wallpaper to break up the colour.

The pros of darker walls is that they add definition to a space. The con is darker walls can in some cases make a room look smaller.

However, black walls aren’t necessarily going to make a space feel small and ‘dark’. It’s all about the lighting and the size of the space. And even a tiny room sometimes works better with a bold wallpaper or darker colour to a bold stand out statement and environment.

Dark, moody interiors can be sumptuous especially with furnishings in rich textiles like velvets. A black wall in an industrial kitchen against metal surfaces also looks great.

Monochrome: the more the merrier

Use two or three different shades of the same monochromatic colour scheme to break the space up. For example, black, grey and white. Or dark green paired with a lighter shade or two of green.

Opposites attract: you can play around with complimentary colours too on separate walls.

Mirror, mirror

Whether using lighter or darker colours, use the natural light and place mirrors on the wall opposite the window as this will reflect and bounce light around the room.

What colours are the floors? Consider the tone of the wood if you have wooden floors. The same goes for wood wall panelling or even an exposed brick wall. Will your colour choice work against these aspects?

Sample paint pots make sense to use at minimal cost, and allow you to live with a colour to test it in different light and get a sense of how it’s going to work on your walls before painting an entire space. Be brave, experiment with colour and try to visualise the end result before making your decision.