Many people don't realize this, but the direction light comes from can have quite an impact on how colors look inside a house.
It has to do with all sorts of scientific physics-type things: atmospheric particles and refraction and wavelengths. If you want to see an in-depth explanation of it and the golden hour and the three kinds of twilight, visit this page. It is well-explained enough that even my dumb ass can understand it.
But basically, the direction light comes from means it will be coming at an angle, depending where on the planet the home is. Different angles filter out different wavelengths. If the cool wavelengths are filtered out, all that passes through are warm ones, so the light that ends up hitting the home will be warm. If the warm wavelengths are filtered out, then only cool wavelengths will end up hitting the home, and the light will be cool.
Why the hell do I care about this?
Because if you care about the paint you choose actually looking good in your room(s), you need to. I've seen blue skew green, green skew gray, gray skew pink, pink skew peach, peach and yellow and beige skew a gross dirty tan. And white can be the biggest offender of all: it can skew lavender, green, gray, blue, pinkish peach, yellow... everything, basically.
Light temperature (whether it is warm, cool, or neutral) has an enormous impact on how paint looks once it's on the wall. Paint that looks one way on the computer/phone or chip or in the can can look radically different on the wall, or even different between one wall and the next.
North-Facing Rooms (in Northern Hemisphere; South-Facing Rooms in Southern Hemisphere)
They get cold, muted, "dark" light during all daylight hours BUT the color should remain stable all day, meaning, it won't skew warmer or cooler as the hours pass. Whatever color you put in a north-facing room will probably look grayed down. Muted colors can look dirty and muddy, so if that's what you're into, rock on. Otherwise avoid them.
Mayonnaise by Benjamin Moore is a wonderful color in general, but esp. in a north-facing room, because it remains a stable, fresh pale cream all the time. It's what I put in my north-facing kitchen for that reasons. I've heard that Cabbage White by Farrow & Ball is excellent for a north-facing room, too.
South-Facing Rooms (in Northern Hemisphere; North-Facing Rooms in Southern Hemisphere)
They get bright, warm light all day but the color can shift cooler to warmer as the day progresses. South-facing rooms' colors can look yellower. Green in particular can look terrible if made yellower, so be sure to get a cool green, if you want to put it in a south-facing room. Yellow can be blinding. Purple/lavender might look gray or brownish. Blue is a good choice, as it can turn aqua/teal, which is nice (IMO). Pink can take on a peachy cast.
East-Facing Rooms
They get cool morning light and are darker later on. East-facing rooms' colors might look cooler/bluer. Peaches or oranges can look grayish or brownish. Pinks might look lilac. Be careful with greens in east-facing rooms, the bluish tint they gain might make them look toothpaste-y if too cool. Yellows and beiges can look muddy and dingy.
West-Facing Rooms
They get warm afternoon light but are dark all morning. Blues might skew toward the greenish. Warm colors will glow brighter, which is nice if you want that, but can be unfortunate if you don't. That nice shade of butter yellow can end up an eye-searing nuclear lemon that you hate.
So what can I do to counter these issues?
It's important to get a test pot of a paint you're considering, and paint a swatch on all 4 walls. Paint 2 or 3 coats on some paste board or something and tape it to the wall. Alternatively, some paint companies, like Clare, offer inexpensive pre-painted stick-on swatches you can put on your walls, rather than having to get out a brush and actually paint the wall.
Whichever you do, live with it for a week, or even two, try to observe it at all times of the day, and in all weather conditions. That sunny pale yellow might be great in fair weather, but when it rains, it turns-- like the ground outside-- to mud. If you live in Arizona, where it doesn't rain often, that's NBD. But if you live in Ireland, where it rains very frequently, that's going to result in half your life lived in a dingy mud-colored room.
Conclusion
Only once you're certain that however the color shifts, you still like it and want it surrounding you, should you pull the trigger and buy and use it. You'll save yourself a lot of aggravation, and having to choose between just living with a color you don't like and didn't choose, or repainting and thus wasting time, money, and effort.
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