How To Choose A Color Palette For Your Bedroom
There are so many colors to choose from when it comes to home decor. The great thing about decorating with colors is that you can bring so much variety and unique styles to any room in your home. Your bedroom is a place where you spend so much of your time, so of course you want to put a lot of thought and consideration into your color choices. Even if you have certain colors in mind, it’s best to have a strategy when it comes to the overall color palette of the room. Whether you want your room to feel bright and fresh, relaxing and breezy, or simple and chic, here is a simple guide on how to choose a color palette for your bedroom.
Choose A Color Scheme Based On Mood
One of the first steps in choosing a color palette for your bedroom is to decide on the overall mood you want to convey in your space. Everyone is different when it comes to their style preferences. Some people want to come home to a revitalizing and refreshing space, while others want to relax in a calming and comforting space. Decide on what mood you prefer and choose colors accordingly.
You can easily combine opposing colors for a more unique mood in the room; however, it’s best to understand which colors work together and which give off the type of environment you want. Once you decide on the colors to match your style mood, you can then start to decide on the main color you want to decorate with. Check out the list below for a simple way to understand which colors give off which types of moods.
Decor Colors & Moods
- Warm colors. These types of colors can bring a cozy and welcoming mood into any room. For this vibe, choose colors such as reds, oranges, and yellows.
- Cool colors. This selection of colors makes a space feel calm and comfortable in a fresh way. To get this effect, select colors like purples, blues, and greens.
- Neutral colors. While neutrals can typically fall into the cool or warm tone categories, this can also be its own category. Neutral colors can fit into any room and allow more flexibility for colorful accents. Neutrals will usually include white, gray, black, or beige.
Stick To Three Main Colors For Your Bedroom Palette
After you’ve selected your ideal color mood, you can then figure out the main colors you want to decorate with. When choosing a color palette for your bedroom, you don’t want to use too many colors in your space. An over abundance of colors will make your room feel crowded and confused; you’ll want to have some rhyme and reason to your color selection.
The best rule of thumb to follow when choose your palette is to select three colors maximum. You might have a few extra standout colors throughout the room, but stick to just three for your main colors. If you strategically plan out your color palette, it’ll help you to make your room flow nicely. Choose colors that complement each other nicely, but also consider colors that contrast each other for an eye-catching appearance.
If you aren’t sure how to decorate with your three colors, check out the simple guide below.
How To Decorate Your Room With Three Colors
- First Color: Your first color should be your main color in the room. Use it for your biggest features, such as your walls, bedding, area rug, and curtains.
- Second Color: The second color is your main accent color. Include it in items such as side tables, large lamps, throw blanket, and large wall art.
- Third Color: Lastly, your third color is your backup accent color. Use it for small elements like decorative accents, throw pillows, and smaller wall hangings.
Use Varying Tones & Shades In Your Color Palette Wisely
Another thing to keep in mind after you’ve chosen your palette is the tones and shades within your color scheme. While you may have some simple colors picked out, using various tones and shades within the color can make your room look even more stylish. Being strategic and wise with your tones and colors can help you to put your room together in a sensible way.
Use both the dark and light side of your chosen colors. Even if you want to mainly use the brighter versions of your colors, you can still incorporate a few darker elements within your space. This will help you balance out the room nicely and make it feel more complete. If you use too much of one shade or tone, it will make the room feel too one dimensional.
A great rule of thumb for decorating with varying shades and tones is to decorate from dark to light vertically. For instance, your darkest shade can be a large area rug, your mid-tone shade can be your bedding, and your lightest shade can be your wall color. This is a great way to make your space feel more open and tall because it immediately draws the eye upward. You can easily do this with all of the color in your palette.
Pick Your Bedroom Color Scheme Based On Your Clothing
If you’re still unsure of which colors to decorate your room with, you can easily take some inspiration from your own closet! If there are definitive colors that you enjoy wearing, why not give your room the same colors? Since you already enjoy these colors to begin with, chances are you’ll love the way they look in your space.
You can bring these colors out in big or small ways. For instance, if your clothing is mostly blue and pink, you can decorate your room with various shades of blue and only a couple of pink accents. Combining unexpected colors is a wonderful way to express your personal style and personality in your room. Just make sure to do this in small amounts; you don’t want your room to feel overwhelming with a clash of colors.
Of course, you need to make sure that your clothing colors make sense as room colors. If you wear a lot of bright and bold colors, you might not want that in your room unless if you want a vibrant space. If you wear a lot of neutrals, you might not want to decorate your room with a similar palette if you were hoping to add more color to your space.
Contrast Warm & Cool Colors For A Stylish Bedroom
Another unique idea to consider when you choose a color palette for your bedroom is to use contrasting tones of colors. As mentioned earlier, there are three main color selections – warm, cool, and neutral. While warm and cool colors are the complete opposite of each other, combining them can result in a stylish appearance, if done correctly.
Warm and cool colors can nicely contrast each other in a room. Whether you want a bold look or a more subtle look, you can easily achieve your ideal room with these contrasting tones. While there’s a lot of different ways to decorate with contrasting color tones, a general rule of thumb is to make sure one of the tones overpowers the other. Choose one of them as your main color in the room and allow the other one to stand out through decorative accents. This will give you a nice balance throughout the room.
Contrasting Color Ideas For Your Room Decor
- Warm gold tones with cool gray tones
- Aqua blue and bright orange
- Cool toned purple with red
- Light green with warm yellow
- Sky blue with red
- Burn orange with bright green
Choose One Unexpected Color For A Small Eye-Catching Element In The Room
Lastly, when you choose a color palette for your bedroom, consider adding a bonus color in your space. This color can be unexpected and stray a bit from the main colors in your room. Adding a pop of interesting color to your room can be a fun way to complete your room and give it that extra touch of style.
Whether it’s a vastly different color than the rest of your palette, or just a unique shade within the palette, one standout color is a great way to contrast your space. You’ll want to use your pop of color wisely and sparingly. If you bring it into too many areas of the room, it defeats the purpose of having an eye-catching element. Bringing a pop of color even in the smallest way can surprisingly make a huge difference to your space.
How To Add A Pop Of Color In Your Bedroom
- Add a colored headboard
- Bring in pops of color with lamps
- Showcase your color with a throw blanket
- Decorate with colored picture frames
- Add a pop of color with a flower vase
- Show off your unique color with an accent chair
Now that you’ve learned how to choose a color palette for your bedroom, check out our Home Decor section to get started on a decorating! Find unique home collections, wall art, decorative accents, furniture, curtains, and much more to make your bedroom feel complete.
Want to learn even more about decorating with colors? Check out How To Decorate With Colors for inspiration on decorating in every room of your house!
