Bedroom Paint Colours
Bedroom colours should feel settled when you wake up and gentle when the bedside lamp goes on. Muted greens and blues suit warmer daylight, while plaster pinks, warm whites and earthy depths help cooler rooms feel welcoming. These are shades to judge at both ends of the day, and every shade is available as a 60ml sample.
The most relaxing bedroom colours are soft, slightly muted shades that don't shout in daylight and feel warm and enveloping under a bedside lamp. A bedroom is seen mostly first thing and last thing, so choose for those moments. Below are calming cool tones, gentle warm pinks, cocooning deep colours and whites that never feel clinical, every one hand-made on demand in our scrubbable Wall & Ceiling Paint.
At a glance
- Start here
- Soft colour, quieter room. Choose muted shades rather than bright, clean colour. Think about the ceiling too: it takes up plenty of your view in a bedroom.
- North light
- Warm pinks and soft whites. Cool, steady daylight can make a bedroom feel chilly. Warm pinks, creamy whites and deep earthy shades are useful starting points.
- South light
- Muted blues and greens. Warm, bright daylight suits softer cool colours. Try muted blues and greens for a bedroom that feels calm rather than hot.
- East light
- Warmth beyond the morning. Warm morning sun gives way to cooler, bluer afternoons. Soft pinks and warm whites stay gentle when you return later.
- West light
- Cool shades, golden evenings. Cool, flat mornings turn warm and golden towards evening. Muted greens, blues and deeper cool colours balance that late warmth.
- Finish
- Soft walls, practical finishes. Wall & Ceiling Paint comes in Dead Matt and Matt, both scrubbable. Dead Matt is durable with a chalky-looking surface; Matt reflects a little more light.
- After dark
- Check beside the bed. Look at your sample under the bedside lamp, not just the main light. Deep colours need to feel right when you are winding down.
- Sample tip
- Check every change of light. Move your sample between walls. Check it in morning and afternoon daylight, then under the lights you use at night.
Tap any tile to read more.
Calming bedroom colours
Muted blues and greens for quieter bedrooms.
Best in south-, east- and west-facing rooms
Soft blue-greens, misty blues and the palest greens are the classic restful bedroom colours, and for good reason: they're quiet. None of these are the icy, synthetic blues that make a room feel like a hospital corridor. They're softened, so they stay gentle as the light fades.
These cooler shades are happiest in south-, east- and west-facing bedrooms. Facing north? Look at the warm pinks below instead.
Best in south-, east- and west-facing bedrooms, where warm daylight softens these cooler shades. Check them again under the bedside lamp before choosing.
Soft plaster pinks and warm neutrals
Soft pinks bring warmth without shouting colour.
Best in north-, east- and west-facing rooms
Plaster pinks are the bedroom colour we'd defend to anyone. They flatter skin, warm up cool light and look lovely with linen, rattan and dark wood. Keep them muted and they read as a warm neutral rather than 'pink'.
Most carry red, orange or yellow undertones, while Lottie™, Sakkal™ and Lilly™ have a softening grey undertone that keeps them muted. Every one suits east- and west-facing bedrooms.
Best in east- and west-facing bedrooms with any of these pinks. For a north-facing bedroom, choose the warmer Camisole™, Sillygoose™, Infirmary™ or Dellpink™.
Deep, cocooning bedroom colours
Deep colour for bedrooms that feel enclosed.
Best in north-, south-, east- and west-facing rooms
If you sleep better in a cave, paint one. Deep plums, inky blues and dark greens absorb light, so the room feels smaller in the cosiest sense and the walls disappear when the lamps go off. They're brilliant behind a headboard or drenched over every surface, ceiling included.
Pair a deep wall with crisp bedding and warm bulbs (2700K to 3000K) so it feels rich rather than gloomy.
Best in north-facing bedrooms with Halam™, Temperance™ or Dexter™, south-facing bedrooms with Merry™ or Shinney™, and east- or west-facing bedrooms with Apatura™, Mercia™ or Petrichor™.
Bedroom whites that aren't clinical
Gentle whites for walls and the ceiling.
Best in north-, south-, east- and west-facing rooms
A bright, cold white can make a bedroom feel like a show home. These whites carry a touch of warmth or a soft grey, so they look clean in daylight and soft at night. They're also a good choice for the ceiling above a coloured wall.
Every white here suits east- and west-facing bedrooms. Langwith™, Alabaster™ and Lace™ also suit north-facing rooms, Ha’penny™ suits south-facing rooms, and Parlour™ suits every direction.
Sample it the way we would
Step 1
Paint your peel-and-sticks
Each £5.99 sample comes with three paintable peel-and-sticks. Give them two coats and let them dry fully.
Step 2
Stick them around the room
Put them on two or three walls, including the wall opposite the window, at eye level and lower down.
Step 3
Live with them for a day or two
Look in the morning, the afternoon and under your evening lamps. Move them around until you are sure.
Your questions, answered
What is the most relaxing colour for a bedroom?
Soft, muted colours are the most restful: blue-greens, misty blues, pale greens and plaster pinks. What matters more than the hue is that it's softened, not bright or synthetic, and that it suits the light your room gets.
Should I paint a small bedroom a dark colour?
Often, yes. A pale colour in a small, dim room tends to look grey and shadowy. A deep colour embraces the size, blurs the corners and makes the room feel cocooning. Paint the woodwork and ceiling to match for the strongest effect.
What colour should I paint a north-facing bedroom?
Choose warm undertones. Plaster pinks, warm whites and warm stones stop a north-facing bedroom feeling cold in the morning. Cool blues and greys tend to look flat there.
Colours for north-facing roomsWhat finish is best for bedroom walls?
Dead Matt gives bedrooms the softest, chalkiest look and suits ceilings too. Choose Matt if you want a touch more light reflection. Both finishes of our Wall & Ceiling Paint are scrubbable.
Wall & Ceiling Paint