Your bedroom should be a relaxing sanctuary, whether you dream of a calming space with classic white cotton bedding or you're looking to create a more vibrant atmosphere filled with colourful patterns. Your bedroom should feel intimate and tranquil, and choosing the right colours is one of the most important factors when trying to create ambience in the bedroom.
With an abundance of hues to choose from, follow our favourite interior design tips and inspiration to help you select the perfect colour for your bedroom.
Best Bedroom Colours To Suit Your Mood
To begin, think about the mood you want to create in the bedroom. Some of the most popular vibes people aim for include:
- Light & airy
Lighter colours will enhance the natural light within your bedroom, creating not only a relaxing sanctuary but also the feeling of a bigger and brighter space.
- Romantic & cosy
Choosing a darker colour palette will create an intimate and cosy atmosphere, enveloping you within the room and giving you a space that's perfect to unwind in after a long day.
- Modern & stylish
Monochrome colour schemes are a great way to decorate with a clean and modern look. Layering sophisticated colours creates effortless style, ideal for a more contemporary look.
- Unique & vibrant
Experimenting with flourishes of colour can really bring your sleep space to life. Bursts of rich colour can set your bedroom apart from the rest of your home and create a truly inviting space.
Once you've decided on the atmosphere you want to create, you can begin having fun choosing the right colours.
Calming Neutrals
Calming neutral colours are a classic look within a bedroom and will instantly create an air of sophistication. Working well with a variety of styling options, you can easily incorporate neutral tones throughout your room or even introduce a pop of colour with a pretty pastel pink or a sophisticated navy blue.
By using layers of natural or white bedding, textured throws and perfectly plump cushions, you can enjoy a chic and airy bedroom with a subtle sense of intrigue and style. Our top paint picks for a natural colour scheme are:
- White
- Ivory
- Taupe
- Grey
Peaceful Pastels
Keeping to a light colour scheme but introducing pastel hues can create a serene environment. When picking pastels, we suggest looking to nature to evoke a sense of calm.
Incorporating soft blues, greens, or pink and lavender will create an elegant and peaceful palette of colours. To add further depth to your bedroom, select soft furnishings within the same colour palette. For example, choose a pale sage or olive for the walls and add texture with our Relaxed Stripe collection, or opt for pink paint and pair with our gorgeous Chamonix collection.
Bold and Bright
Bold and bright colours can look beautiful in a bedroom, though the trick is to ration the amount of colour you use. Painting one accent wall in a lovely deep navy, rich green or even a bright coral colour and keeping the rest of the walls light will create a balanced feel and prevent your bedroom from feeling too bright.
For a more subtle look, go for classic neutral walls and white bed linen, then add accessories in the colour scheme you have chosen. If you're feeling courageous, give your space more energy by painting the ceiling or choosing vibrant furniture for a fun bedroom makeover.
Best Colour Schemes For Small Bedroom Walls
Creating a style which maximises the space within your bedroom is key for smaller bedrooms. With different colour combinations and colour layering techniques, you can create a bedroom that feels luxurious and inviting. Here are a few of our top tips for colour schemes to enhance the room.
Reflective light colours
It's likely that there isn't a large amount of natural light flowing into a small room, which is why you need to take advantage of the light you do have. By using bright, reflective colours, you're able to magnify the light which enters your room and create a warm and relaxing feel.
White is a classic choice to create this effect but if you want to go for an even warmer look, you could turn your attention to an orange colour palette. Light, washed-out bronze and apricot shades can really draw out the colour in the sun's rays and lighten your room, giving the perception of a much larger space.
Soft colours
Opting for other soft colours can add more depth to your room than all-over white and can be a great way of bringing extra style through some more colourful wall decor. Whilst not going for a completely dark colour scheme, colours such as beige, grey or light pink will still reflect light within your room.
These colours can also perfectly tie into seasons too. For example, buttery yellows and light blues will create a really refreshing feel that evokes spring and summer sunshine. Painting your bedroom walls with these hues will allow you to match them with bolder, more vibrant cushion covers, throws and other accessories.
Indulgent darks
Although it may not be your instinct to choose darker colours for a smaller room, they can work just as well as lighter colours to make your room feel bigger. Dark colours are able to absorb the light and soften the edges of the room, giving a more atmospheric feel.
Luxurious deep blues and rich purple colours can effortlessly absorb natural light and make your cosy space feel more spacious.
Best Colours For Large, Open Bedrooms
Choosing the right colour for the walls in your large bedroom can tie the space together and create a homely feel, giving your room a cosy atmosphere. As you have more space to experiment with, you can get creative with the colours you choose, though it's important to get the balance right.
Elegant whites
A clean and crisp lick of white paint is always a great choice. Light walls can open up a space and maximise the benefit of having a larger room. This also provides the perfect opportunity for you to introduce stronger, bold colours through your furniture and bed linen.
Beautiful dark blues
For large rooms, opting for a darker colour can make the space feel much cosier which could counteract the vastness of the space. A soothing colour such as blue can introduce a feeling of tranquillity.
Stylish Shades
When looking for a unique style, an eye-catching feature wall can bring a lively feel to the room. Vibrant pinks, yellows and greens are all great ways to create a blissful bedroom without overwhelming the space with too much colour. Offset a bright feature wall with crisp, white bed linen for the ultimate contemporary bedroom finish.
Bedroom Trends
Just like fashion, there are many trends in interior design but choosing the right style to suit your personality is key. In recent years, we've seen a surge in bedroom design ideas from boho textures to industrial artwork. To inspire you, we've picked our favourite bedroom retreat decor trends to transform your sleep space.
Rich tones
Deep colours such as burnt red, navy and mustard make a room feel luxurious and intimate. Try combining a navy wall with neutral or grey bedding or be more daring with mustard accents, such as cushions and curtains.
Boho-Chic
Simplicity and neutrals are in style, so keep your space bright and airy by bringing nature inside. By using natural colours on your walls, and introducing life with some luscious green indoor plants, you'll achieve the boho bedroom of dreams.
Industrial Interiors
Introduce an industrial feel to your bedroom with dark grey or metal finishes. Using brass metals as accents across the room will tie the whole look together whilst still giving a rustic feel. Style with white bedding, charcoal grey blankets and cushions to create a unique and eye-catching contrast.
Refined Glamour
Glamour doesn't have to be all about glitter and diamonds. Take a more refined approach this season by incorporating elegant muted tones such as pink and grey. Match these colours with a beautiful diamond knit throw and install elegant lighting for a luxurious edge to your bedroom.
Effortless Ways To Add Colour To Your Bedroom
If you're not able to redecorate your walls or have already chosen a wall colour but still want to introduce more vibrance to your bedroom, there are many ways to get creative. Here are a few of our top tips on introducing more colour into your bedroom.
Stylish Wall Art
Whether your room is small or large, dark or light, adding some art to your walls can be the finishing touch you never knew you needed. Pictures of family and friends in a frame that contrasts your wall colour is a great way of creating a homely but contemporary look. Large, colourful canvases can really embellish your bedroom decor too.
Eye-catching Ornaments
For smaller, more subtle influxes of colour, ornaments with a sophisticated design can help diversify the colour palette in your room. Choosing striking ornaments will ensure that the colours you introduce won't be overpowering and will have a subtle but effective impact.
Fashionable Rugs
Often, those who plan to add a rug to their room will choose their rug based on their wall colour. For example, if they have quiet wall colours, and wish to have a rug with a rich colour, cherry red or apple green are great choices.
Accent Pillows
Large pillows for seating or for layering on the bed can be an excellent way of complementing your room's overall colour scheme. Striking pillow designs that contrast your wall colour will add individuality to your room, allowing you to really make the space your own. Subtle colours can help tone down the overall atmosphere if your walls are vibrant, whilst strong, rich pillowcase colours will add more depth to your bedroom.
Match The Colour Of Your Furniture
Matching the colour of your walls with your furniture is extremely important when it comes to decorating any room in the house, especially your bedroom. For a classic look, we suggest sticking to one colour, such as a white wardrobe, dresser and bed frame to help your bedroom feel sleek and unified.
All paints have a variety of undertones and hues; for example, navy paints may have undertones from purple through to grey, so pick a range of tester pots to try out a variety of colours. To get a real sense of a colour, we recommend painting a section on each wall, so you can see how the colour will look in different lighting at different points during the day.
Remember, it's easier to match the paint with furniture in a room than vice versa. Unless you're considering upcycling your furniture, choose a tone that complements your existing pieces.
Our Inspiration
To see how others have designed a scheme around their furniture, head over to our Pinterest page and begin pinning the bedroom styles that catch your eye, make sure you take a look at our favourite Pinterest accounts for stylish bedroom decor inspiration.
Have fun pinning your favourites and when you take a look at your board, you'll be able to identify a theme within the images you love. This could be a similar colour on the walls, the same kind of patterns, or even a particular style of bedding and blankets. Finding a unifying element will help you choose the perfect colour and scheme for your bedroom.
What colours will you be selecting for your bedroom makeover? Let us know on Facebook or Instagram.