Colors are not solely a matter of aesthetics, but can significantly affect our state of mind and emotional well-being. This is why choosing the right color palette is an integral aspect for a bedroom design.
Do you want a peaceful sanctuary that can help you sleep well each night? Or do you want to wake up to an energetic bedroom that can immediately freshen you up each morning?
Understanding the psychology of color can significantly help in designing your bedroom, as well as other rooms in the house. Here, we will discuss the possible color options, and how to implement them to create your perfect bedroom.
Neutral Colors (White, Grey, Brown, Black)
Black and white is a classic color combination for bedrooms, and not without its reasons. Strong neutral colors can accommodate all the different decoration styles and you can easily mix-and-match the color with the other elements in the bedroom.
In general, white and grey can provide a neutral palette for the whole room, providing the relaxing feel of simplicity and cleanliness. while small accents of black and brown can give the room some depth.
In fact, darker neutral tones can help create the illusion of a larger space than it is, so it’s a good choice if you want to amplify smaller rooms.
Purple Tone (Lavender, Lilac, Amethyst, Violet)
Purple is often seen as the “royal color”, symbolizing luxury and wealth. It also represents imagination and mystery.
Purple shades can add sophistication, and might trigger your inner imagination, but the whole room of dark purple can be overwhelming. In general, purple tints are better used as secondary color choice, for example you can mix and match darker purples shades with white, or lighter lilac and lavender.
Coloring an accent wall in a shade of purple might also be effective.
Lighter variations of purple (i.e. light lilac) can produce calmer, imaginative energy in the room, and we can combine it with other muted pastels for a refreshing vibe.
Yellow Tone (Lemon, Blonde, Gold, etc.)
The yellow color represents brightness, energy, and warmth, and a yellow color in your bedroom will be an immediate attention grabber. Yellow can also create a cheerful, happy atmosphere.
Painting your whole bedroom in yellow can uplift your mood, and can also expand a smaller space to look larger—another good choice for smaller rooms. . If you want a room that can immediately freshen you up to a joyful feeling every morning, then yellow can be a great choice with its revitalizing characteristics.
However, yellow with its energetic mood can also stimulate babies to cry more often, and adults to lose their temper quickly. In this case, you can combine yellow with colors that can bring out more relaxing effects like blue or neutral white/grey. White furniture with yellow paint, for example, can produce a really nice contrast for the bedroom.
Blue Tone (Sky Blue, Navy, Arctic, etc.)
Blue color (especially the lighter tones) represent calmness and tranquility. A soft blue bedroom can lower blood pressure and heart rate, giving you a more relaxing, ethereal night.
Darker shades of blue, on the other hand, can be overwhelming and can evoke sadness, so they are relatively unpopular as the main color of the bedroom, but can be a good choice to accent softer colors. High-gloss, darker blue (i.e. cobalt blue), however, can produce boldness while still maintaining the relaxing, dreamy quality of the color
Softer and brighter blue, however, can be relatively plain and boring, and might need balancing from warmer hues. Brown, for example, is a good match with cooler shades of blue to create an inviting atmosphere.
Green Tone (Lime, Emerald. Mint, etc.)
Green,by nature is a combination between yellow and blue, so it also projects blue’s calming quality and yellow’s joyful, exciting quality.
Lighter green—closer to blue—, is a popular choice for bedroom colors due to its relaxing quality. Light green is energetic enough to act as the main color of the bedroom, but can also be a great choice to complement darker or warmer main colors.
Cooler green shades, on the other hand, can boost the energy of your bedroom—similar to yellow—, and can produce a joyful atmosphere. However, they can overwhelm the whole room easily, so it’s best to use them as accents to warm up softer colors.
Orange Tone (Honey, Cider, Amber, etc.)
Orange is quite similar to yellow in producing positive, energetic atmosphere for the room. Yet. as a combination between yellow and red, will also produce boldness and passion. In short, orange hues can easily overwhelm the room.
Darker shades of orange—like amber— can stimulate reflective emotions and even sadness, but can be a good combination for cooler neutral colors .
Great choice for accent walls and in smaller doses, can complement other colors to revitalize the room.
Red Tone (Cherry, Rose, Crimson, etc.)
Red is the color of passion, boldness, love, but also the fiery anger, and arguably the most energetic color in this list.
Red is the obvious choice if you want a more exciting room, as it can increase your heart rate and slightly increase your blood pressure to stimulate conversations and passionate activities in the bedroom. Complimenting red walls with softer lighting or softer paints as accents, can help “mute” the boldness of the room and encourage elegance.
You can also use red as accents if you don’t want to commit to a whole room of red, or even use red furniture and curtains.
End Words
While choosing the main color of your bedroom according to the psychology of color is important, combining between different colors—mix and match— for all the different elements in the bedroom is also important.
Remember that the color of your bedroom is not only dictated by your wall paintings. The colors of your duvet, sheets, pillows, curtains, and any other furniture will also contribute to the overall energy of the room.
