Bedroom colours
I was asked this week by a journalist about suitable colours for ‘men’s bedrooms’. Should there be a difference in the way that men or women decorate their bedroom?
Well… yes and no.
I had to comment a few years ago on the décor chosen by a TV designer for just such a room. Whilst it ticked all the boxes for gadgets and hardware, the colour scheme used for everything from the walls, to the floor to the bedlinen was red and black. Everywhere.
We respond to combinations of colour. The heated energy of red together with the power and mystery of black could be perhaps one of the most uncomfortable pairings I can think of for a bedroom. The interviewer was waiting and I was kind of lost for words as I was thinking that most female of the species when seduced in to this lair would want to run for their lives.
It can be a common mistake to go for what we might associate with ‘male’ or ‘female’ colours when the better approach to take would be to ask yourself how you actually use the room. Sometimes our bedroom can be more than just somewhere we go to sleep and then wake up to dress for the day. It can be our personal sanctuary to read, meditate and relax. Consider how well you sleep, do you wake up refreshed and ready to go in the morning? Do you study or watch TV in your room? A tint or less intense shade of the colour that you wish to use can enable you to fall asleep more easily, and then balance it with a secondary colour that is stimulating enough to wake up to. Much like creating a
sensual and romantic?
recipe for a favourite dish, interior decoration requires a careful balance between the ‘ingredients’ of colour.
Shades, tints or tones of pink/peach are physically soothing. The more orangey they are the more ‘sensual’ they can seem and this could be quite an attractive quality to have in a bedroom.
calming but too cool?
Light blue which can be calming for the mind whereas the right colour green can be refreshing and restorative.
However be aware. Yellow although a bright, cheery colour is also emotionally stimulating and it’s quite likely that you may find it more difficult to drop off to sleep than usual. If you don’t want to banish yellow all together and quite like seeing it in the morning for it’s ‘wakey wakey’ properties then I would suggest keeping it on one wall and painting the others using a balancing colour in your room such as a soft or toning purple which will make it much more restful.
Find out about an interior colour consultation for your home
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Tags: bedroom, decorating bedrooms, sleep