Color Trends in the Bedroom

The colors on this bedroom deliver the outdoors in, making a peaceful environment for sleep and relaxation.
Design by Kenneth Brown. Photo by Mayer Bowden Photography.

Color trends around the bedroom are about setting up a personal living space that communicates your deepest desires. For most people, meaning a retreat in which we are able to relieve stress and refresh.

"People need to de-stress their own lives, and we are seeing that trend reflected in color palettes for the bedroom and throughout the home," says Jack Bredenfoerder, president of the Color Marketing Group (CMG) (www.colormarketing.org), a not-for-profit international group of more than 1,100 designers who meet annually to forecast color trends in industries from fashion, to interior design, to automobiles. CMG predicts that the environment will also continue to play a big role in soothing shades for the bedroom that are borrowed from nature.

"These hues, especially shades of medium to dark browns, are perfect for the bedroom because they are nurturing and satisfying our souls," explains CMG's Bredenfoerder.

"Greens and browns are a classic combo that's very popular right now," says Seattle-based designer Nancy Satterberg. "It's a great combo for the bedroom because of the feeling of warmth. You want to feel cozy in your bedroom."

Satterberg warns you have to be careful to choose the right shades of green, because some shades aren't flattering to skin tone. "You want to choose something fresh and light, not too deep or saturated," the designer explains. 

Various shades of green combine with touches of blue for a soft palette ideal for a bedroom.
Design by Baylor Anne Bone.

The Color Marketing Group says the fact that the trend in direction of environmental combinations is only going to increase the interest in the classic bedroom combination of green and blue. Look for softer, more botanical greens paired with blues that reflect the colors of the sky and water.

"Blue has always been a soothing color because it's universally understood as cleansing and clarifying," says Leatrice Eiseman, director of the Pantone Color Institute (www.pantone.com), an interior design industry leader in forecasting the hottest color trends. 

Bold hues of pink give this bedroom a warm and sophisticated feeling.

Obviously, you will find exclusions to each and every guideline and that is the bold breakout of pink in the bedroom. Nothing is low key concerning this sizzling pink bedroom developed by New York interior designer Jamie Drake, who counts Madonna among his celebrity clients. However, it's warm, relaxing and sophisticated - almost everything you'd desire in the bedroom.

"This is not the exact same soft, sweet shade of pink you see in little girls' rooms" says CMG's Bredenfoerder, who points out that pink has turned into a solidarity color for women which is spilled over into powerful shades in fashion - for men and women alike - and also color palettes for the home. "This is a more powerful pink - warmer with only a little bit yellow in it - that is really sophisticated for the bedroom."

CMG predicts that as time passes, we're going to discover pink move much more towards the warmer side, almost flirting with white.

Soothing earth tones and vibrant gold combine to give this bedroom a non-traditional look.

This unique luscious bedroom, developed by Los Angeles interior designer Diann Valentine (www.DRValentine.net), sets calming earth tones along with vibrant gold and gleaming crystal for a bold, non-traditional look. "Lavender is by nature relaxing and present you a sense of peace, therefore it is a natural for the bedroom," says Valentine. "The shimmering gold accents in the Venetian wall plaster and the more gold satin-silk comforter wake up the room. I like to use the juxtaposition of different moods and feels."

Valentine generally looks for accessories to add a bit of glamour to a space. In cases like this she selected a luxuriant bedside lamp and glass vanity table that call back to the days of Hollywood glam but likewise have a modern feel. "Make sure not to overdo the Hollywood glam," cautions the designer. "One or two accents are great, but crystal chandeliers and heavy velvet drapes in every room can make your home seem like an old movie theater."

Valentine utilized neutrals in this glamorous bedroom to beautifully balance the glitter and gold. The recessed crown molding and the ceiling are eggshell white, and the Roman shade and curtains behind bed are taupe.

Lavender and green are sweet and traditional colors for children's rooms.

"Natural shades of lavender and green are huge for girls' rooms this year — it is the next pink," says designer Zoya Bograd.

Bograd says these colors are sweet and traditional when used in a child's room, but considered more modern when it comes to interior design for adults. "It's all about the colors combined with the fabric patterns," says the designer, who has her own furniture line as well as lighting line. "For adult bedrooms, I prefer something more soothing; different shades of blue in soft fabrics." 




Use this guide -- color trend bedroom ideas -- for an array of sample color schemes for the bedroom. Hope inspire you!