Color Guide: Red Bedroom Design Ideas

The 3 Ways of Color Styling A Bedroom

There are 3 ways you can go about styling a bedroom in red. The right one will be based on how much red do you want decorating your space.

Paint all of the bedroom walls in red
Paint one red bedroom wall, which will become a focal point. And have all of the other walls a neutral color such as grey, white, or black.
Paint all of the wall in a neutral color such as white. This will create a blank canvas of a bedroom for you to decorate with red decor pieces – see the ‘Focal Pieces’ section below for ideas on how to do this.

The Right Shade

Once you have figured out how many of the bedroom walls that you want to paint in red, the next step is deciding on the right shade of red paint for your bedroom

Different shades of red will create different moods and styles in your bedroom. There is the brighter reds that are more vibrant and uplifting. Then you have the darker hues of red which will create a more romantic, intimate and luxurious feel in the bedroom.

Add Some Texture

Here are some creative ways to add a litte more style to your everyday bedroom walls:

Create a texture by using a sponge or brush when you paint your walls. This can create a linen texture, or mimic wallpaper. To see how it is done, check out my post here: Textured Wall Painting Ideas: From Faux Wood to Linen Effects.
Add some crown molding to finish off the edges of the walls.
Trim pieces or wainscoting can be added to the bedroom walls to add frames and shapes – much like period homes.

Adding Another Color to a Red Bedroom

Since red is such a powerful color, it is be hard to mix in another color into the palette. Most well designed bedrooms will stick to matching red to neutral colors. You have red and black, grey and red, red and white, and red and brown.

Blue is one color that does blend well with red. Dark blue will create a bold combination since the two colors will be competing for attention. While using a light, almost pastel, blue with red will create a more muted combination.

Remove Other Colors

If you want to create a solid style and design for your red bedroom, then you’ll want to remove colored objects in the room. Say you have a yellow lamp, or a green trash can – all of these colored items will take away from the red palette that you want to create. You are better off using neutral colored items in the room, that way the red pieces will stand out.

The Focal Pieces of a Bedroom

Focal pieces are the things in a room that take up the most space, physically and visually.

The bed, including the bedsheets and pillows
Curtains
Walls
Closets
Furniture
Closet doors (DIY Challenge: Give Your Closet Doors a Makeover)

It is these items that you’ll want to focus on when designing your bedroom. For example if you were to go with the all white bedroom walls option above, then just by having red bedsheets you’ve instantly create a red palette for your room.

Here are some more posts that can help you with designing your bedroom:

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