While many of-the-moment colors are successful choices for certain rooms – think light and airy kitchens or cozy dining rooms – they can soon confuse bedrooms by setting the wrong mood. Color psychology means that colors alter how a room feels, so it’s important to keep this front of mind before painting your bedroom a trending shade of red, which is more often than not too energizing for a sleep space.
To help you master your bedroom color ideas and avoid making any color mistakes, designers reveal the five popular shades you may want to avoid in bedrooms, and the more timeless alternatives to use instead that lend a calm, cozy feel.
1. Energizing Reds – Go For Chocolate Browns
Swap red for rich brown to create a moody, dramatic bedroom. Benjamin Moore’s French Press offers lots of depth without distracting from the calming feel of bedrooms.
(Image credit: Scott Amundson. Design: Heather Peterson Design)
The last couple of years have given decorating with red a new lease of life. With the likes of the unexpected red theory, red feels once again modern and fresh, but you may want to think twice before painting your bedroom walls this color.
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‘We generally avoid red in a bedroom,’ explains the Minneapolis-based interior designer Heather Peterson. ‘It can be intense and activating, and we strive for a restful envelope in most bedrooms.’
‘If you want the drama, consider a rich dark brown instead,’ Heather advises. ‘Think bittersweet chocolate, which can have a red undertone. This is just as strong as red and delivers warmth, but it is less charged. We especially like it paired with light neutrals for contrast and red-brown wood for some tonal interest.’
Benjamin Moore
French Press AF-170
With brown and black tones, French Press is a rich, dramatic shade that creates a cocooning feel in bedrooms.
Farrow & Ball
Dauphin No. 54
If you’re looking for a lighter take on this idea, try Dauphin. With warm tones, it warms up bedrooms and adds depth without feeling too heavy.
Little Greene
Ganache 345
Ganache feels every bit luxurious and would work especially well color-drenched in small bedrooms to create a cozy space.
2. Sweet Pale Pinks – Opt For Muted Dusty Tones
The Phillip Jeffries wallpaper, Manila Hemp in Peony, brings a dusky pink to this bedroom. Crucially, it’s not sugary or sweet, but muted and refined.
(Image credit: Joe Kramm. Design: Libarikian Interiors)
Pale pink paints have been making a comeback in interiors, often working as a more colorful alternative to traditional neutrals. And while this warm shade works well in plenty of settings, the wrong tone can look dated in bedrooms.
‘Pink is a popular color for bedrooms, but it is often the default choice for feminine nurseries,’ says New York designer Luba Libarikian of Libarikian Interiors. ‘We love pink, but if it is the wrong hue, it will feel like a bedroom for a young child, and not sophisticated enough for a grown-up bedroom.’
Instead of pale pinks, Luba points to earthy, dusty variations of pink, which offer a lot more depth. ‘A muted pink is unisex; it’s a soft color that feels calming and is flattering in evening light,’ she says. ‘The pink undertones have to be desaturated a little, and it has to be light enough to feel soft and soothing.’
Farrow & Ball
Setting Plaster No. 231
Setting Plaster is a much-loved shade that gets the balance just right. Not too pink, it feels grown-up and timeless.
Little Greene
Masquerade – Light 332
If you’re looking for something slightly lighter, try Masquerade – Light. Its delicate tones make it work as almost a neutral paint, but with more warmth.
Benjamin Moore
Desert Rose 2094-50
Desert Rose brings a grounding feel to rooms, while its slightly muted quality stops it from feeling like a typical pink.
3. Cool Grays – Choose Light but Earthy Tones
Instead of cool-leaning gray-blue paints, which can feel drab in a bedroom, bring the warmth with soft and earthy neutral tones, such as Farrow & Ball’s Shadow White, which was used here.
(Image credit: Brie Williams. Design: Smith Interiors)
Gray-blue paints have gained lots of momentum in the design world as a cool, modern take on decorating with neutrals. And while these cool shades can bring a crisp, refined feel to light and airy rooms, they can feel out of sync with the cozy feel we want to achieve in bedrooms. ‘I would steer away from colors that feel too cool, particularly gray-blues,’ says designer MK Smith Boykin of Charlotte-based Smith Interiors.
‘In a bedroom, you want the palette to feel warm, inviting, and uplifting,’ she adds. ‘Cooler shades can make the space feel a little sterile or chilly, which isn’t the feeling you want to wake up to – especially in the winter.’
To keep your bedroom feeling soft and welcoming, while maintaining a pared-back look, go for light, warm neutral paints. ‘I often urge clients to use a creamy white,’ suggests MK. ‘It’s much more timeless and welcoming. I also would love to see a warm cinnamon in a bedroom. This is cozy, warm, and timeless, and it pairs well with crisp bedding.’
Farrow & Ball
Shadow White No. 282
Shadow White is a great choice if you want your bedroom to feel light and fresh while also feeling warm and welcoming.
Sherwin-Williams
Alabaster SW 7008
Popular for good reason, Alabaster is light and timeless with just enough warmth to make a room feel cozy.
Farrow & Ball
Light Stone No. 9
For something a bit more colorful, try Light Stone. The yellow-toned warmth brings softness, while it has a slightly aged quality to stop it from feeling insipid.
4. Bright Whites – Pick a Soften Brightening Lilac
Bright white bedrooms can feel stark and uninviting, but a soft lilac on the walls brings softness and design intrigue.
(Image credit: Michael Hunter. Design: Lindsey Herod Interiors)
Decorating with white is a timeless choice, especially when aiming to make a room feel light and airy. And while in sun-drenched kitchens or open-plan spaces, white walls feel bright and breezy, white bedrooms can feel off-balance. ‘We find that most people default to a cool white – a white paint color that has a cool undertone,’ says designer Luba Libarikian. ‘The problem with this type of color is that it only looks great in bright sunny rooms – most bedrooms don’t get enough light, and feel cold and unwelcoming.’
‘White can feel a little too sterile and clinical – almost like a hospital room – when a bedroom should feel soothing, warm, and inviting,’ adds Houston interior designer Lindsey Herod.
For something much softer and more inviting, Lindsey recommends exploring the world of lilac paints. ‘It brings color and personality into a bedroom without overwhelming the space, and has a soft, calming quality that feels naturally suited to where we rest and recharge,’ she says. ‘It’s subtle enough to feel timeless, but still adds a sense of warmth, character, and joy – creating a room that feels soothing at night and uplifting in the morning.’
Farrow & Ball
Peignoir No. 286
Peignoir is a great choice if you want to introduce lilac to your scheme without it feeling too sugary or playful.
Sherwin-Williams
Spangle SW 6834
This comforting and nostalgic shade would bring a warming feel to bedrooms, especially when paired with wood tones and natural textures.
Benjamin Moore
Winter Gray 2117-60
The gray tones of Winter Gray give it a slightly darkened quality that’s easy to live with.
5. Rich Burgundy – Try a Fresh Yet Enveloping Blue
Burgundy can overpower bedrooms, but a mid-tone blue used to drench the space feels modern, uplifting, and calm. Here, Farrow & Ball’s Lulworth Blue was used.
(Image credit: Brad Knipstein. Design: Atelier Oleana)
Few color trends have been as defining as burgundy of late, and while there’s no denying the warm, sophisticated appeal of this decadent hue, some designers are swerving it in bedrooms. ‘I love burgundy in dining rooms, libraries, and other spaces where you want richness and drama, but in a room intended for rest, it can carry more visual energy than people anticipate,’ says designer Anu Jain of Atelier Oleana, based in San Francisco.
‘Depending on the light, it can also shift from romantic and enveloping to feeling quite heavy,’ she adds. ‘A bedroom is one of the few places where I want the color to lower the volume rather than demand attention.’
To create a colorful look that feels more aligned with a bedroom context, consider going for a blue bedroom instead. ‘Blue has an inherently restorative quality, but it still gives a bedroom far more atmosphere and personality than a conventional neutral,’ says Anu.
Here, Anu used Farrow & Ball’s Lulworth Blue, which she describes as ‘a fresh mid-tone blue with a slightly formal, historic quality. It has enough clarity to feel uplifting during the day but becomes wonderfully soft and enveloping in lower evening light.’
Farrow & Ball
Lulworth Blue No. 89
As seen in this bedroom, Lulworth Blue is an optimistic blue that feels cozy rather than cold.
Sherwin-Williams
Windy Blue SW 6240
If you’re looking for something slightly less saturated, try out Windy Blue.
Farrow & Ball
Blue Ground No. 210
For something brighter and warmer, Blue Ground is a stylish choice.
The key to designing a bedroom color scheme that you won’t soon tire of is to think about how you want the space to feel. Whether that’s calm, cozy, or cocooning, the right wall color can totally transform the mood, so think of this before diving into the latest color trends.
With any of the paint colors mentioned here, make sure to sample shades at home first so you can see how the color looks at different times of day – you’d be surprised by how changing lighting completely alters the look.
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