Bedroom Colour Psychology

Colours have a strong effect on our emotions and colour psychology (or "color psychology" for my American friends) plays an important part in interior design. Knowing which colours to
buy for which room is a skill that the best interior designers all possesss.

Exact colour associations vary from person to person however there are certain frequent associations that I'll describe here in relation to decorating the bedroom. It's important to note that these ideas are standard "Western" associatons. Different cultures have very different meanings for colours and require different choices of colour schemes.

Emotional Response

Colour seems to work strongly at the emotional level. It can calm us down, excite us, stimulate us. Exactly which of these we want when decorating depends on which room we are discussing and how we tend to use it; good colours for one purpose or person might not be so good for another. For this reason it's a good idea to have some flexibility in your bedroom design - for example the strategic use of coloured bed linen can completely change the tone of the bedroom.

As with so many interior design decisions, there's no "right" or "wrong" colour for a bedroom. Go with what works for you. The next page gives a few ideas regarding possible colour choices, but remember that too much of any single colour is likely to be overpowering.

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