Natural Light Colour Palettes for your customers | Dulux Colour of the Year 2022

How To Complement The Natural Light in Any Room with Colour of the Year 2022 palettes

The way sunlight enters a room can have a big effect on how the colours look on the walls.

Depending on the direction your client’s room faces, natural light can make paint colours appear lighter or darker, which can affect the entire mood of the room.

If they’ve set their sights on our Colour of the Year 2022, Bright Skies^TM, and its supporting palettes, read on. We’ll show you the best combinations to choose, whether your client’s room faces north, south, east or west.

Check these home decorating ideas out:

South facing room colours
As you probably know, a south facing room is usually the easiest room to decorate. These rooms let in lots of warm natural light throughout the day, which means most paint colours work well here. However, it’s a good idea to steer your client towards cooler tones, like blues and greens, as they can help to balance out or reduce the intensity of light.

The Greenhouse palette is full of south facing room colours. In this kitchen, we teamed two greens, Fresh Foliage and Calming Meadow, with a splash of our Colour of the Year 2022, Bright Skies^TM, a light and airy blue. Together they bring the tranquillity of nature into the room, whilst making the most of the natural light that’s flooding in.


North facing room colours

When decorating a north facing room, you have to reverse your approach. These rooms don’t get much natural light, which can make a space feel much darker and cooler. So, in this case, it’s best to use lighter colours with warmer tones, such as pinks or yellows.

The Workshop palette is made up of bright, joyful hues, which are really good in north facing rooms. Here we painted a large feature wall in Rose Canopy to make the space feel brighter, then surrounded it with Bright Skies^TM and Sky View on the kitchen cabinets. Remember, both Bright Skies™️ and its 4 complementary palettes are available to get mixed in any Eggshell finish in Dulux Decorator Centre store.

East and west facing room colours
The time of day can also affect how colours look on a wall, particularly in east and west facing rooms.

East facing rooms receive lots of natural light in the morning, leaving the room feeling cooler in the evening. One solution is to lean into this mood using cool blues and greens? Try a two-tone effect with Moon Cloud and Tranquil Dawn, our Colour of the year for 2019, both of which can be found in the Greenhouse palette. Alongside Bright Skies^TM, you’ll have a calming and soothing colour palette for your client.


As you’ve probably guessed, natural light affects west facing rooms in the opposite way. They don’t get much light in the morning, making them appear cooler until the room brightens up later in the day. Natural tones are great as west facing room colours. They can give a room an open and airy feel, whilst enhancing the sunlight that gradually spills in. Here we teamed Bright Skies^TM  with Tranquil Dawn and Fossil Hunting, found in the Greenhouse palette.

Learn more about Bright Skies^TM  and why it’s the Colour of the Year 2022, or visit your local Dulux Decorator Centre store, where you can also pick up a Decorator Guide.