Colors To Sleep By

Color in the bedroom sets the tone and mood. That's why it's important to consider how you want to feel in your bedroom. For example, after a fast-paced day at the office, or fighting rush hour traffic, you may want your bedroom to offer a tranquil haven. Stuck in a dull job crunching numbers or filing? You may want your boudoir to be exciting, seductive, and dripping with glamour. Maybe you see too many people in the workplace and hear too much noise? Go for a sleek, minimalist bedroom, with an atmosphere like a cool breeze. Perhaps your workplace is cold and too modern? Soothe your soul with a bedroom that is both warm and inviting.

There are endless possibilities. If you like to have it all, you may prefer the kind of bedroom where both work and play share equal importance, or a place where anything is possible, a place where you can dream. However you choose to sculpt the mood, there's a color scheme to evoke the exact tone you seek.

Tranquil

For a peaceful, calm bedroom, you have a choice of palettes. First, there are the neutrals, such as black, white, and gray. Then there are the earth colors which always bring on a feeling of tranquility. Blues and greens can quiet ruffled feelings, in particular those blues which make you think of water and those greens that invoke a sense of nature. If you like to mix it up a bit, feel free. These colors can work individually or in any combination you choose. But stick to just a few colors and patterns. Keep the contrast between dark and light colors at a minimum. To maximize light, use white on the ceiling and keep the walls light colored.

Glam Seduction

Nothing evokes sophistication like the royal color purple. Grapey hues in combination with lush fabrics like silk or velvet and snow white bed linen for contrast makes for a seductive setting fit for a king. However, take note that men tend not to go for purple in a big way and keep in mind that the color can make your walls look a little dingy when they get hit with the morning sun. Also, synthetic fabrics in this color may appear gaudy under certain lights.

There are other color schemes which can evoke the seductive look and hold a wider appeal. One such scheme pairs deep indigo with a subdued earthy orange, brick red, or intense ochre. Any of these color combinations will give you a bedroom with sex appeal.

Chocolate or coffee brown in tandem with cream is both warm and modern and appeals to both sexes. Try a dark, wood floor in combination with white, gray, or cream-colored walls. Some other modern color schemes to consider include eggplant, taupe, and mustard yellow; chocolate brown with robin's egg or powder blue; or a rich burgundy alongside olive green.

Warm Embrace

If you want your room to feel like a warm embrace, choose peach-hued pinks. The girly-girl effect of flat-out pink can be muted by mixing in some yellow to get an apricot shade. Punch it up with a red bed spread. Or go for terracotta with a sky-blue bedspread. Green and red are complementary colors and evoke Middle Eastern warmth and mystery.

If your bedroom does double-time as an office, use live, energetic colors like lime green and sky blue. With a northern exposure, or a very dark room, you might opt instead for paler tones, such as a very pale yellow with a warm pastel blue or pale apricot with celadon.