Colour coordination is the trick interior designers use to create cohesive staging spaces when selling houses, and you can use it to transform your bedroom into a space you love.
Harmonious colours and luxurious textures set the stage, welcoming you to kick back and restore. Indulge in choices that nourish your spirit, from soft hues to blissfully soft sheets.
Choose your Colours
Start by choosing one, two or three primary colours to anchor your room. Soft blues, greens, lavenders, and neutral tones work well. Or go bold with an accent wall in crimson or gold – it adds spirit. Then, select supporting shades that work with your core hues.
A colour wheel will help you choose colours that naturally go together, whether shades next to each other, spaced equally apart, or opposites on the wheel. However you put together your palette, you want the colours to feel cohesive and peaceful.
What Colours Work Together?
Choosing colours that are neighbours on the wheel, like blues fading into greens, creates a smooth, cohesive look. Combine complementary opposites like red and green or yellow and purple for show-stopping feature walls.
Split complementary colour schemes have one dominant colour alongside the two neighbouring hues. For example, with blue as the primary colour, the split complement scheme would incorporate yellow-green and red-orange.
Triadic colour schemes use three colours evenly spaced around the wheel – for instance, the primary colours are red, yellow, and blue. These trios are vibrant yet evenly balanced.
Bed Frame and Bedding
As the biggest furniture piece, your bed sets the tone. Choose a frame and headboard that anchors your colour palette – maybe a warm wood or elegant grey bed frame. Quality bedding is critical for both comfort and pulling colours together.
Layer your mattress with sheets, duvets and shams in good-quality fabrics that complement your shades. Mix materials for ultimate comfort – a fluffy wool throws over soft cotton sheets or breezy linen with cosy flannel fabric.
Pictured: Birlea Arlo 4FT 6 Double Bed Frame. Priced £409. Available from Bedstar.
Window Treatments
When dressing your windows, choose curtain fabrics and colours that blend with the rest of
your scheme – this helps everything flow together.
Consider the mood you want. Floor-length velvet drapes in a deep hue have a rich, elegant feel, especially when paired with whisper-thin embroidered sheers. Or breezy linen Roman shades keep things casual and airy.
Functionality matters too – ensure your curtains properly insulate the room and block out light so you can sleep soundly. Look for a blackout lining or a thick fabric like velvet.
Furniture and Finishing Touches
Make the furnishings an extension of you. Seek out the carved acacia wood table that echoes the calm you felt wandering the artist colony in Santa Fe. Hunt down linens in the exact shade of green you gaze at through the trees outside your favourite café.
Incorporate personal mementoes – a display of smooth stone from the beach, photos of times and people most precious. Make this space yours, reflecting the sights, smells, and sounds that nurture you. Shape it into a haven imbued with nostalgia and deep comfort. Let every nuance whisper, “Relax, restore, welcome home”.
Lighting Sets the Mood
Lighting sets the tone. Install overall ceiling fixtures that bathe the room in a warm glow and adjustable reading lights by the bed or a chair corner. Choose lamp bases and shades that pick up other finishes in your space – an oil-rubbed bronze floor lamp near an espresso wood nightstand, for example.
Take advantage of dimmer switches all around the room. Install them in convenient spots so you can easily control brightness levels no matter where you are. Crank lighting up in the mornings for an energising atmosphere. Then, turn it down low in the evening, shutting out daylight to embrace the cosiness of a mood-lit nest.
