Yes, in low-light rooms, you want to go with a bolder color, not necessarily warmer ,but definitely more depth of color. The reason is because, very light colors reflect light, but in a room with little natural light, there is no light to reflect, so the color goes blah. Dark colors, on the other hand, absorb any light that is there, so a very dark color in a low-light room would look like a cave.

so you want a color that hits that mark where light is not trying to be reflected OR absorbed. Colors like that do very well in low-light rooms because they stand alone (don't absorb or reflect light), so they are able to add color to the room. It's counterintuitive.

I would stay away from grays altogether, including grayed colors. If you want an earthy tone, try something like BM Coriander Seed.

The Barren Plain is really pretty, btw.

thanks so much, tibbrix. Yes, i love the barren plain, too, 75% of the day. When it doesn't turn that purple y color, it actually reads the exact color i want it to. I looked at the coriander seed, and (without yet trying it as a sample) it looks real dark. I have brazilian cherry floors. Maybe with the right area rug and the right art hanging in the room, the barren plain will look good?

It will look gorgeous. Get some nice artwork/framed posters up on the wall, nice ivory drapes, good bedding, nice rug, and nice warm glow from lampsâ¦it will be a wonderful guest room. And always remember: "it's just paint".

Here is a pic of the Coriander Seed on a one-window-bathroom wall. Notice how the black and cream/white accessories look so gorgeous with it. That's what I'd do with the guest room.

I have to agree with Tibbrix. I have a low light room that I was determined to paint gray. Sampled at least a dozen, maybe two dozen, which was an excruciating process. Finally went with what read the best (Valspar Gravity). And I should have repainted immediately. It has never been right. A year later, I still don't like it.

Now I want to pain my master bathroom, which has NO windows, in Coriander Seed! I think I'm going to! I love that color.

tibbrix, i'm going to try it. would have never ever thought of going a dark color, but I, like bestyears, am going crazy trying to find the right grey. the funny thing is, in my living room where the imperial gray is, I have the accent wall in kingsport gray, with a white fireplace. It looks great. and i think that will tie the 2 rooms together. I'll do the crown molding and base molding in white (have any suggestions on what white to use?) Thanks so much, i'll let you know how it turns out.

novacat, try the Elk Horn mentioned in the other thread. (where you suggest having crown moulding put up). It's the same color as Coriander Seed but with a slightly higher LRV.

I find whites to be difficult because there are so **&^(*^ing many of them! BM White Dove, though, is a go-to trim color a lot of professional painters use and decorators recommend as being a very good universal white for trim. It's white, no yellow, but kind of soft at the same time. I think that's why pros like it for trim. It's what I've got on all the trim and doors in my house because a pro painter recommended it.

Btw, deeper colors like Elk Horn and Coriander Seed DEFINITELY need help via moulding, artwork, windows, etc. I don't recommend such colors for large swaths of bare walls. Your suggestion to the other OP to put crown moulding up was a really good one.

well, for a while it's gonna have to be large swaths of bare wall until i can afford to decorate it properly. def going to put up the crown and base moulding when it's painted and maybe an inexpensive area rug. btw, what do you think of black and white with elk horn? i've always loved black and white as accents..maybe i could go with a cream and black area rug?

Black and white or cream would be gorgeous with elk horn. I'd be inclined to go with the more cream color, though, than stark white.

very interested in this discussion about paint for low light rooms (since most of mine are low light). So, are you saying:

not too dark/not too light, but medium colors are best? Not sure what "depth of color" means.

Violet, I'm sure others with more expertise disagree or will say it's more complex than I'm making it out to be, but my experience is that you want a color that is in the range of no reflecting or absorbing light re: its LRV.