Painted a living room in Sherwin Williams 'Accessible Beige' and it pulled hot pink on the south wall

I was doing a color match for a client in Austin last week and used their standard formula straight from the can. But the afternoon sun hitting that south wall made it look straight up pink instead of the warm neutral we expected. Learned the hard way that LRV and light temperature can totally shift a beige depending on the room orientation. Anyone else have a neutral turn into something wild because of your window direction?

3 comments

3 Comments

jackson.wesley25d agoTop Commenter

Man I used to think people were overthinking light orientation stuff... like paint is paint, right? But last fall I did a guest room in what was supposed to be a greige and the north wall looked straight up muddy gray while the west wall looked almost tan. It totally changed my mind about how much windows matter. Now I always check the room at different times of day before I even open a can. That south wall thing is real though, I've seen beiges pull pink too when the sun hits them just right.

thompson.xena25d ago

Read something similar from a designer once, said north light is basically a cool blue tone so it kills any warmth in paint. Makes sense why that greige went muddy on you. That's why a lot of paint companies warn you about north facing rooms and recommend going a shade warmer than you think you need.

river18325d ago

You ever sample a color on different walls before committing, @jackson.wesley? I started doing that after a similar mess with a pale blue that turned green on my east facing living room wall. Now I tape up big samples on at least two walls and live with them a day or two. Morning light on one side, afternoon on the other - tells you everything. Beiges pulling pink is the worst, had that happen in my kitchen and ended up repainting the whole thing.