The Complete Guide to East Facing Room Paint Colors

Deciding on paint colors can be tricky for any room, but east facing spaces come with their own unique set of lighting challenges. As the sun traverses the sky over an east facing room during the course of a day, the light transforms dramatically from bright and warm in the morning to gentle and cool in the afternoon and evening. This shifting light can play tricks on paint colors, causing some shades that look gorgeous in the morning sun to appear drab or even dreary as the day wears on.

Have no fear, though! When armed with an understanding how light uniquely impacts an east facing space, choosing a paint color (or colors) that look fantastic morning, noon and night is entirely doable. This complete guide will walk you through everything you need to know to pick the perfect paint colors for your east facing room.

How Light Changes in East Facing Rooms

East facing rooms are blessed with beautiful warm sunlight first thing in the morning. But as midday rolls around, the light rapidly shifts becoming gentler and cooler in tone. By late afternoon and early evening, east facing rooms are often bathed in cool, subdued light. These dramatic light changes happen every day in an east facing space and have a profound impact on how paint colors appear over the course of a day. Here's a closer look:

Warm, Bright Morning Light

In the morning hours after sunrise, light filtering into an east facing room is at its warmest and brightest for the day. This warm golden light reflects brightly off of surfaces, allowing paint colors to fully shine. The downside is that darker moody paint colors can appear too saturated and intense in the cheery morning light. But lighter warm paint colors positively glow, making an east facing space feel bright and happy first thing in the day.

Cool, Low Afternoon Light

As the sun crosses over an east facing room, warmer morning light gives way to gentler, cooler afternoon light. By late afternoon and early evening, the light entering an east facing room takes on a distinctively cool, blue tone. This cool light can suck the life out of some paint colors, causing them to appear dingy or muddy. Bright cool whites and grays may suddenly look flat and icy. But some cooler toned paints can perk up, looking brighter and crisper than they do in warmer light.

How Light Affects Paint Color

Clearly, the unique shifts in light during the course of a day impacts the way we perceive paint colors in an east facing room. Here's a summary of what to keep in mind:

• Darker colors can appear too saturated and intense in bright warm morning light.
• By contrast, those same darker colors can appear moodier and richer in tone as the light cools later in the day.
• Bright warm paint colors shine in cheerful morning light but may look dull as the light shifts cooler.
• Cool blues and grays can look lifeless and flat in the morning but suddenly refresh as the light cools to match their undertones.

Bottom line? The perfect paint color for an east facing room needs to hold up equally well in both warm morning light and cool afternoon light. Easier said than done!

Choosing Paint Colors by Room Use

When evaluating paint colors for an east facing room, it helps immensely to consider when the room is primarily used. Is it mainly utilized in mornings? Late afternoons? Or all day long? Matching the paint color to the room's key usage times makes choosing the right shade far simpler.

Morning Use Rooms

For rooms like kitchens and breakfast nooks that see most use early in the day, the priority is picking a color that looks vibrant and lively in bright morning light. The key is to avoid colors with cool undertones, which can appear dull first thing in the morning. Instead, warmer paint colors in the white, cream, light tan, and soft yellow families are perfect choices. Go for shades like buttery ivory, soft linen, pale ochre or muted gold. Avoid darker moodier colors, which can feel overly dramatic in cheerful sunrise light.

Afternoon Use Rooms

For predominantly afternoon and evening use spaces like dining rooms and bedrooms, the lighting equation flips. Now the goal is choosing colors that feel soft and welcoming as mid-day light cools. Avoid super bright whites and warm beiges, which can appear flat and lifeless by dusk. Instead cool-undertone colors in the greige (grey + beige), warm gray, pale blue and green families tend to pick up beautifully as afternoon light filters into a space. Go for shades like rainwashed gray, blue spruce green, and weathered oak.

All Day Use Rooms

If a room like a living area or den sees constant use into the evenings, strike a balance by sticking to flexible light to mid-tone neutrals. Super-warm shades can feel visually "off" once afternoon light sets in, while cool colors appear too muted for pleasant mornings. Instead choose versatile paint colors that feel bright yet relaxed in both warm and cool light. Light French grays, almond and greige colors are safe bets. Or take the guesswork out by choosing a true white paint without noticeable undertones. Benjamin Moore White Dove or similar true whites work with any lighting conditions.

Special Considerations for East Facing Light

The way light interacts with an east facing room depends on more than just the time of day. A room's specific building orientation, layout and surroundings also affect the ambience. Here are a few special situational factors to keep in mind when figuring out paint colors.

Building Orientation

The cardinal direction a home is situated impacts how much direct eastern sun it receives in the morning. South-facing buildings see the most direct morning light. Northeast facing buildings receive gentler, more indirect light. If your east-facing room rarely sees direct sunlight, cooler paint colors have more leeway since warmth isn't amplified as much.

Time of Year

The sun sits at different angles in different seasons, resulting in variations in lighting over the course of a year. During summer when daylight hours are long, evening light stays brighter later into the night. This gives cooler paint colors more opportunity to shine. In the winter when daylight is more limited, morning light makes up more of an east facing room's useful hours, making warm tones a safer default.

Nearby Buildings and Foliage

Situational landscape elements like trees and neighboring structures also mediate how much sunlight enters an east facing space. A room shaded by trees or buildings receives less direct light overall. Diffused light generally favors slightly darker or cooler paint colors. Meanwhile full sun Exposure lets brighter warmer paints shine.

Paint Finish Recommendations

Sheen plays an integral role in how paint colors look. So it's critical to pick the right finish for an east facing room. Here are tips for finishes:

• Flat paints beautifully show off color richness but accentuate flaws in raking light. Use for ceilings and lightly used accent walls.
• Eggshell finish offers a classic decorative look with decent durability. Not too shiny but shows some gentle sheen.
• Satin sheen makes colors crisp and flaws recede. A perfect balance for high-traffic spaces.
• Semi-gloss injects cheerfulness with a gently reflective surface. Use sparingly on accent elements.

For whole-room East facing paint color schemes, stick with satin or eggshell finishes. Flat finishes risk looking washed-out and dingy as daylight fades. Meanwhile ultra-shiny semi-gloss can feel too cold and stark by dusk. The soft gentle dimension of satin and eggshell sheens enhance paint colors beautifully in both warm morning and cool evening light.

Paint Color Recommendations

Still unsure exactly which paint color direction to aim for? Here's a handy cheat sheet of can't-miss recommendations to start your search:

• Whites: Warm or true whites like Swiss Coffee and White Dove
• Greiges: Versatile mix of gray and beige like Edgecomb Gray and Gray Owl
• Light Grays: Gentle blue-greens like Rainwashed and Coventry Gray
• Light Tans: Buttery shades like Latte and French Roast
• Salmons and Corals: Gentle peach tones
• Muted Golds and Yellows: Soft sun-drenched shades
• Sages and Olives: Natural green-grays

Feel free to mix and match a lighter "main" color with one or two accent colors from this list for added depth. Just keep the brightness levels in a close range to prevent jarring dark-to-light transitions in shifting east facing light. Your east facing room makeover awaits!

East facing rooms offer gorgeous warm morning light but grow much cooler and gentler in tone as afternoon sets in. To pick winning paint colors, opt for light to mid-tone neutrals that maintain harmony between the two lighting extremes. Warm whites, greiges and muted tans tend to be smart starting points. Just be mindful of paint undertones and sheen, and choose options that complement both the cheeriness of morning and tranquility of evening light. Adapting color selection to the special needs of an east facing room is challenging but very worthwhile for gorgeous results morning, noon and night!