Modern Furniture

Using color in the bedroom.

Color has an amazing effect on our emotions, moods and senses. Yet, we often don’t give them the consideration they deserve when decorating our home. The right colors can create a sense of warmth and promote relaxation while other colors can energize us or leave us feeling blue.

Color isn’t universal either. We all perceive color differently, even across cultures. For example, the Chinese perceive red as being calm while Americans feel it is aggressive.

When choosing colors for your bedroom, don’t forget to think about the color of the bedroom furniture itself. A lot of homeowners and even designers give endless thought about the color of the wall treatments and the fabrics without giving a second thought to the color of the furniture that is an integral part of the room.

Strange, since wall treatments and fabrics can be changed out easily if you don’t like them but changing the color of the finish on your furniture can be difficult, if not impossible.

That’s why it’s vital that you think about the color of your furniture when decorating a bedroom.

For example, black bedroom furniture commands attention, but it can also make a room look smaller. So you may want to use it in a larger master bedroom rather than a small guest room. White, on the other hand, is neutral, allowing you to contrast it with colorful bedding, flooring and wall treatments. It is perhaps the easiest color to work around for bedroom furniture, since it adds light to the room and gives it a breezy appearance.

The warm look of wood bedroom furniture connects us to the outdoors and can create an emotional bond with nature. This is particularly true of the lighter woods such as maple, birch or pine. The darker stained woods can offer a feeling of elegance and warmth, especially when combined with bedding of silks, velvets or overstuffed comforters.

Browns are also very neutral when it comes to bedroom furniture. This is both good and bad. On the plus side, it means that your furniture goes with nearly any décor, even if you plan to have purple walls. On the down side, your bedroom furniture simply blends in with the surroundings, since everyone is used to brown furniture, particularly wood furniture. It can come across as bland.

Bedroom furniture with an orange hue, on the other hand, can make you happy while yellow can become irritating. Perhaps that’s why you don’t see much yellow furniture these days like you did in the 70’s.  Red is exciting, which can make sleep harder to come by. Finally, blue and green are calming, though these colors may be better suited to bedding than the bed itself.