What Is the Best Colour Combination for Small Bedrooms?
We don't tell you just one, but 8 winning colour schemes for small bedrooms
It’s true that light colours ‘open’ up a room, ideal if your bedroom is already starved for space. However, while the traditional colour rulebook would have you err on the side of neutrals, the truth is, you can still inject colour into a modest-sized room without overwhelming the space. From playing with accents to employing wall colours, patterns and designs, seek inspiration from these paint colour combinations for small bedrooms – combos that will transform your bedroom from bare to beautiful.
In this small bedroom, mud brown comes to life through the ombré wall panels (that are actually part of a wallpaper picture of massive classic columns), a buttoned headboard and a chocolate bed cover. The use of colour is clever – just enough to lift the room, but restrained enough to let the underlying cream palette breathe openness into the bijou space.
Find a designer near you to plan your dream bedroom
Find a designer near you to plan your dream bedroom
2. Deep blue and pearl white
Blue and white is an evergreen combo, one of the best colour pairs for small bedrooms. If you prefer using a darker shade of blue, build colour into your space in doses – create a feature wall, pick bright bed linen or go big with accents. A dark colour on one wall can actually elongate your room and make it feel more spacious.
This cerulean wallpaper is the star of this moody chamber, doing well to set the ambience. The remaining walls, bed linen and selection of pillows, all in white, offset the heady blue and lend a sense of airiness to the compact space.
See how blue can channel peace and relaxation into your boudoir
Blue and white is an evergreen combo, one of the best colour pairs for small bedrooms. If you prefer using a darker shade of blue, build colour into your space in doses – create a feature wall, pick bright bed linen or go big with accents. A dark colour on one wall can actually elongate your room and make it feel more spacious.
This cerulean wallpaper is the star of this moody chamber, doing well to set the ambience. The remaining walls, bed linen and selection of pillows, all in white, offset the heady blue and lend a sense of airiness to the compact space.
See how blue can channel peace and relaxation into your boudoir
In this bedroom, a nautical theme leaps out with blue-striped wallpaper, a navy headboard, and cobalt throw pillows and blanket. The interplay of white provides relief to the deep blue palette, lending light to the tight room. The stripes are laid horizontally – a smart strategy to ‘stretch’ the pocket-sized space. Orange pillows add visual variety to the colour scheme and elongate the room by urging the eyes to travel sideways across surfaces.
Discover why you can never go wrong with orange and blue
Discover why you can never go wrong with orange and blue
3. Grey and timber
Matte grey and polished timber can conjure a hushed yet characterful haven in a small boudoir – and be subtle enough to bounce light around.
In this pint-sized Mumbai bedroom by Studio Osmosis, grey elements cocoon the room in warmth, taming the hardness lent by the timber headboard frame. Indigo scatter pillows add a burst of vibrancy to the bijou room without dwarfing the space.
Matte grey and polished timber can conjure a hushed yet characterful haven in a small boudoir – and be subtle enough to bounce light around.
In this pint-sized Mumbai bedroom by Studio Osmosis, grey elements cocoon the room in warmth, taming the hardness lent by the timber headboard frame. Indigo scatter pillows add a burst of vibrancy to the bijou room without dwarfing the space.
4. Mocha and biscuit
Shades of light brown can warm a small room, without seeming like a space-swallowing imposition. If you plan to paint your walls, consider using a muted brown on three walls, and a slightly darker brown on the fourth. Pick accents in the same colour family and layer them to craft an earthy vignette.
Biscuit-coloured walls in this contemporary Mumbai bedroom work their way to a central statement wall in a coffee hue. The palette straddles the fine line between neutral and full-blown colour, presenting the benefits of both – optically expanding the room while injecting oodles of personality.
Need more brown and cream colour inspiration for your walls?
Shades of light brown can warm a small room, without seeming like a space-swallowing imposition. If you plan to paint your walls, consider using a muted brown on three walls, and a slightly darker brown on the fourth. Pick accents in the same colour family and layer them to craft an earthy vignette.
Biscuit-coloured walls in this contemporary Mumbai bedroom work their way to a central statement wall in a coffee hue. The palette straddles the fine line between neutral and full-blown colour, presenting the benefits of both – optically expanding the room while injecting oodles of personality.
Need more brown and cream colour inspiration for your walls?
5. Canary and cotton
Leave your walls cottony white and use canary accents – rugs, throw pillows, bed covers, headboards and more – to channel sunlight and space into a little bedroom.
This white and yellow bedroom shows us how it’s done, with sunny headboards artfully arranged on beds of pure white. The white floor and walls cleverly blur the edges of the room, lending a sense of seamlessness, while the yellow works wonders in creating a light-filled, open vibe.
Leave your walls cottony white and use canary accents – rugs, throw pillows, bed covers, headboards and more – to channel sunlight and space into a little bedroom.
This white and yellow bedroom shows us how it’s done, with sunny headboards artfully arranged on beds of pure white. The white floor and walls cleverly blur the edges of the room, lending a sense of seamlessness, while the yellow works wonders in creating a light-filled, open vibe.
6. Baby blue and buttercup
Hushed blues and yellows can make for a summery retreat inspired by bright days and blue skies. What better way to open up your small room to unbridled sunshine?
Be inspired by this happy bedroom, which works a tapestry of elements to build a light-loving palette of blue and yellow. Beau-blue walls are matched by a tufted headboard, while yellow sheer curtains, deco pillows and lamps lend the other half of the palette. The elements serve as aesthetic decor pieces, while working as undercover reflectors to double the daylight.
Hushed blues and yellows can make for a summery retreat inspired by bright days and blue skies. What better way to open up your small room to unbridled sunshine?
Be inspired by this happy bedroom, which works a tapestry of elements to build a light-loving palette of blue and yellow. Beau-blue walls are matched by a tufted headboard, while yellow sheer curtains, deco pillows and lamps lend the other half of the palette. The elements serve as aesthetic decor pieces, while working as undercover reflectors to double the daylight.
7. Beige and ivory
Turn your small bedroom into an opulent boudoir with beige and ivory. Soft and elegant, these hues can transform even a compact room into a retreat fit for a royal.
This bijou bedroom is stylistically layered with various elements that give it a regal air – a beige tufted headboard, sumptuous ivory bedding, a copper lamp and satin throw pillows. Note how the full-length wall mirrors and shiny accents serve to reflect light, turning the small bedroom into a seemingly sprawling slice of paradise.
Turn your small bedroom into an opulent boudoir with beige and ivory. Soft and elegant, these hues can transform even a compact room into a retreat fit for a royal.
This bijou bedroom is stylistically layered with various elements that give it a regal air – a beige tufted headboard, sumptuous ivory bedding, a copper lamp and satin throw pillows. Note how the full-length wall mirrors and shiny accents serve to reflect light, turning the small bedroom into a seemingly sprawling slice of paradise.
8. Emerald and silver
A great way of infusing a deep colour like emerald into a small room is to go with a pattern. Pick a wallpaper design that highlights your colour scheme against a light-toned background. Light shades can serve as a calming antidote to heavy greens and open up your space to light. Pair your green palette with silver decor — lamps, queen pillows, bed covers and more. The sheen of silver can multiply the luminosity of a small room.
In this compact bedroom, moonshine-inspired bed accents complete the scene, while the white walls deflect light, disappearing into the background and giving the impression of a spacious, breezy room. A leaf-patterned wallpaper adds cheery pops of green to the restrained backdrop without appearing overbearing.
Read more:
Timeless Wall and Sofa Colour Combinations
8 Unusual Colour Combinations for Interior Walls
Tell us:
What do you think are the best colours for a small bedroom? Tell us in Comments below.
A great way of infusing a deep colour like emerald into a small room is to go with a pattern. Pick a wallpaper design that highlights your colour scheme against a light-toned background. Light shades can serve as a calming antidote to heavy greens and open up your space to light. Pair your green palette with silver decor — lamps, queen pillows, bed covers and more. The sheen of silver can multiply the luminosity of a small room.
In this compact bedroom, moonshine-inspired bed accents complete the scene, while the white walls deflect light, disappearing into the background and giving the impression of a spacious, breezy room. A leaf-patterned wallpaper adds cheery pops of green to the restrained backdrop without appearing overbearing.
Read more:
Timeless Wall and Sofa Colour Combinations
8 Unusual Colour Combinations for Interior Walls
Tell us:
What do you think are the best colours for a small bedroom? Tell us in Comments below.
Rich, elegant browns, used in measured amounts, can spell magic on a cream canvas. The secret lies in using them in moderation so as not to have them swallow your space. Reserve them for a statement wall or for bed accents, and experiment with designs and patterns to diffuse the effect of colour.
In this compact bedroom, the recessed wall behind the headboard is dressed in geometric-patterned brown wallpaper, while bourbon-toned euro shams complement the dominant colour scheme. The is a great colour palette for small rooms – the deep colour is effectively cured by the surrounding light-toned walls and white bedding, saving the room from being engulfed in darkness.