A bedroom is a sacred place. It’s where we all go to find some peaceful times to ourselves and recoup our mind, body, and spirit for the next day. If a bedroom isn’t arranged for relaxation, it can adversely affect our mental health and sleeping habits. Colors play a significant role in the quality of relaxation we feel in the bedroom – which is why having soothing bedroom colors is so important!
This article will discuss why it’s important to arrange your bedroom to be as relaxing and peaceful as possible and suggest some soothing bedroom colors to help you feel even more comfortable in your bedroom!
I’ve made a point in previous articles to talk about stress-relieving colors. Colors that speak to our emotions and help create soothing, relaxing atmospheres around us. Each of us has a primal and instinctual understanding of the colors that surround us – our response to these colors will trigger all types of emotions.
Reacting positively or negatively to the colors surrounding us stems from human evolution and experiences with the natural world around us. Colors that are less excited and more neutral and relaxed tend to bring a calming and soothing emotional response.
Let’s take a look at some of my favorite colors for bedrooms to elicit the calming and soothing emotional response you want from a place intended for rest and relaxation.
Delicate colors
I love a clean delicate feeling in a bedroom. Off-white, super-soft colors can be quiet and calming. I’m talking about designing a bright and airy room with delicate colors, as you can see in this photo. The colors in this plan would be even lighter than pastel colors. If you are looking for these colors, I suggest looking in the white palette for colors with just a whisper of chroma to them. Even off whites can create a peaceful feeling in your bedroom.
Blue-Greens
Although many colors come to mind, blue-greens are a color all to themselves. They are not as cool as a traditional blue (see below), but they are in the warmer blue family. Cool as ocean water on a summer day; this color is versatile and flexible as it can be matched with almost any color in the color palette. A popular color these days, whether you call it teal, aquamarine, or turquoise, this color family is a popular color and a great choice for creating a soothing feel for a bedroom.
True Blues
A tried and true color classic for relaxation, blues are an excellent choice for bedrooms. Blue is a color that evokes feelings of calm and is often associated with stress-relief. If we think about colors as temperatures, blue is on the cool side; it relieves us when we are hot and heals what is burned. We find peace and relaxation from a blue sky or deep blue swimming pool.
Of the primary colors, blue is the most powerful in slowing down the busy and exciting qualities that other warmer colors create. For a suitably soothing bedroom color scheme, blue is a choice base color to start with, and from there, warmer accent colors can help complete the space.
Violets
Purple, on its own, can be somewhat loud and excited. But, if we tone purple down somewhat and add a little neutrality to the color, we get violet. Violet is often associated with intelligence, introspection, spirituality, and peace – qualities we all desire to have when settling down our day in the bedroom. Violet is more interesting than a neutral white or taupe, but not too excited either – it’s the beautiful detente of inspiration and relaxation. Violet is also the perfect base color to layer-in more vibrant purples.
What calms down a more saturated violet? Neutrals of all kinds are your answer. Creamy accents, chocolatey browns, eleven warmer grays can be a lavender or violets best friend. Soften your violets with any one of these neutral colors, and it can be soothing as the day is long!
Grays
Gray is often misunderstood as a sullen or depressing color, and this association is not necessarily true. Sure, if you have a dark gray room with little fun or color variation, it can seem somewhat haunting or depressing. However, when this understated color is used well, gray is a suitably versatile, safe, and calming neutral color for the bedroom.
If your home is more monochromatic in its styling, grey will not deviate from the palette used in the rest of the home. Lighter grays paired with very pale colors also help the bedroom space feel larger, airier, and softer.
Browns
Brown is a powerful neutral color for bedrooms – it has such dynamic versatility that it can be paired with almost any color in a palette without being overpowered or dominated. Brown is assertive and yet neutral. The color is associated with nature, warmth, earth, age, and maturity.
Brown almost has a magic ability to work with colors that you would never instinctively pick to pair alongside it, such as a light robin’s egg blue or mint green. I also love a brown paired with a salmony pink or a sweet lavender. Unexpected colors can offer the best results when they are paired together!
I love using browns in the bedroom because it allows the color palette to be more curious and playful without being loud or excited. If you are looking for colors to anchor your room, brown can make that happen for you. Add a brown into the bedroom, and it is always a relaxing and soothing place to be.
As a paint color expert, I love hearing about the color combinations that give people peace and harmony in their lives. Sometimes I get a surprise color pallette recommendation that may not seem to elicit feelings of relaxation, but some people will swear by it! Please, share some of your favorite soothing bedroom colors; I’d love to hear from you!
