The day for pale white bedroom walls and neutral, generic wooden furnishings is over. Fortunately, the design industry has been paying attention to the consumer's desire for more excitement, more interest, and more color in the bedroom. The focus has shifted to rich wall color, eclectic furnishing materials, and luxurious fabrics to personalize your most personal space.
Wall color
Traditional bedroom wall colors have been confined to white, or neutral pastel shades that make little statement apart from blah. Designers and do-it-yourself warriors are introducing new worlds of wall color to spice up one of the most lived-in spaces in the house. Jack Bredenfoerder, Color Marketing Group president, meets with other professionals annually to help assemble a set of modern colors that will influence the palettes available in the coming season. His advice to HGTV.com writer Jennifer Haupt is that environmental colors, especially shades of brown and green, are the new trend in bedrooms. The caution here is to choose a green that is skin-tone friendly, not a deeply saturated tone. Other nature-inspired hues include a more intense pairing of botanical greens and blues, yellow based pink, and lavender. Another wall trend is wall treatments such as faux stone and Venetian wall plaster covered in earthy glazes and rich golden accents. "Better Homes and Gardens" notes the trend to stencil walls for a wallpaper effect, or to echo a bedding pattern.
Furniture color
Remember when a "furniture suite" contained five pieces of matching, heavy, simple wood pieces? The color of the wood, metal or composite furniture you choose can be an accent or a statement in today's bedroom. "Northern Virginia Magazine," in an article by Lucinda Michell, expresses a desire for the luxurious with bedrooms that mix a variety of furniture finishes and ages. The result can be glamorous and understated, formal and livable at the same time. From rich woods of any red, orange or golden hue to brushed or antiqued metals in dark or light tones, furniture color is now an active part of bedroom design.
Bedding and fabric color
A monochromatic color scheme can be restrictive when considering sumptuous bedding and bedroom upholstery or window treatment fabric. Look to combine two or more focal colors when coordinating bedroom fabrics. "Country Home" suggests that yellow and blue are a classic country-style pairing, while green and cream continue to express botanical, earthy themes. The Mediterranean or tropical feel can be evoked with bright colors, fresh whites and rich woods. Spa tones are suggested by variations of aqua, turquoise and sky blues. Mixing bold floral prints, stripes, and solids can tie your wall and furniture textures together for a unified look, allowing the use of a multitude of complementary hues.
Tags: rich woods, wall color