Light interior paint colours that make small rooms look bigger and condos instantly airier

Why bright interior colours make a room look bigger

A wall is like a mirror that is more or less cloudy. Light colours send the light from the window back into the room, so the whole room is lit and the corners don't go dark. Your eye reads the walls as further away than they really are. Dark colours soak the light up, so the walls seem to close in.

The paint industry measures this with a figure called light reflectance value. Put simply, the lighter the colour, the more light it reflects. In a condo with windows on one side only, bright walls are a second light you never pay the electricity bill for.

Which white: cool or warm?

A clean white such as Snowflake or Blizzard makes a room look fresh, like newly washed sheets, and suits rooms that already get plenty of sun. In a room with little light or one that faces north, a slightly warmer white such as Ivory, Pearl White or Popcorn won't leave the room looking washed out like a hospital at 3am.

If you can't decide, put two sample shades side by side and look at them in daylight and with the lights on. The shade that still looks soft at both times is the one you can live with for a long time.

Creams and soft pastels: bright but not bland

A bright room doesn't have to be white all over. Soft creams such as Coconut Ice Cream, Yogurt White or Custard Cream are still bright enough to keep a room airy, with the warmth of coffee with plenty of milk.

If you love colour, try a faint pastel such as Mist, a misty pale blue, Pastel Mint or Pink Milk. The room stays bright and gains some personality. It suits a child's bedroom, a small study or a reading corner in a condo.

Tips to make a small room look a little bigger still

Paint the walls, door frames and skirting the same colour or close to it. With fewer dividing lines, the room looks continuous and wider. Paint the ceiling as bright as the walls or brighter, and the room looks taller.

Voqe Wall Paint comes in two finishes. Eggshell has a slight sheen, looks soft and hides wall flaws better. Semi gloss is shinier and reflects more light, but it also shows up uneven walls more clearly. For most living rooms and bedrooms, Eggshell is the safe answer.

• Walls and door frames in the same colour
• A ceiling as bright as the walls or brighter
• Eggshell for most walls
• A dark feature wall works, but only one

Try bright colours on the real wall before you paint

Light colours are the best at fooling the eye. On screen they all look the same; on a real wall they can be worlds apart. Order 100ml sample bottles at ฿75 in 2–3 shades, paint a patch the size of an A4 sheet on the wall you plan to paint, and live with it for a couple of days.

If you are still unsure, take the shade quiz on our website, send a photo of your room to LINE @dynohomes for free advice, or drop in at Voqe Studio (Bang Phli) to see real painted walls in natural light.