The best and fastest way to transform a bedroom is with the perfect paint color. We can’t wait to show you some of our favorites. Find color inspiration from your comforter, window coverings, area rugs, tile floors, carpets or art.
White Bedroom Paint Colors
Let’s start with the current hottest trend – white paint colors for everything. Don’t try to paint match these white colors (learn more here). Use the specified manufacturer or find a similar color on easyrgb.com.
White Dove
This serene bedroom was painted with Benjamin Moore White Dove OC-17, a gorgeous off-white paint color with a nice soft glow.
Master bedroom painted with White Dove – Photo by M. Camilli
Extra White
Sherwin Williams Extra White 7006 is a crisp white paint color, perfect for a bedroom with tons of southern exposure. We don’t recommend this color for rooms with windows that face North or low light. We added Gentleman’s Gray 2062-20 as an accent on the headboard wall and it was gorgeous. Walls and ceiling are both painted Extra White to highlight the architectural features of the room.
Master bedroom with SW Extra White walls – Photo by M. Camilli
Photo by M. Camilli
Ballet White
Ballet White OC-9 is a cream color with warm pink undertones. We picked it because there was an evergreen tree outside the window that reflected green into the room. The pink undertones in Ballet White countered the green and made it go away. Read more about this Zen bedroom makeover here. Trim and ceiling were painted with Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace OC-65.
Bedroom with Ballet White walls – photo by M. Marceny
Pale Oak
This beautiful Miami master bedroom was transformed (from red) with an online color consult and Benjamin Moore Pale Oak OC-20. The trim and ceiling are a creamy white similar to BM Swiss Coffee that complements the beige tile floor with soft pink undertones. We love Pale Oak – it’s like a warm hug for your soul!
For trim and ceilings we prefer crisp whites such as Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace or soft whites such as BM White Dove, but BM Swiss Coffee looked lovely here.
Master Bedroom with Pale Oak walls. Photo by M. Berroa
Classic Gray
This is one of our favorite paint colors. Classic Gray OC-23 soft light greige that will look white. You can use it in a darker room, and I’ve had great results with this color in basements. Read more about Classic Gray here. Trim is painted with Chantilly Lace.
Bedroom with Classic Gray walls and ceilings. Photo by J. Maynard.
Blue Bedroom Paint Colors
We’ve often heard that blue is the best paint color for a bedroom, and it’s true. A UK Travelodge study found that Britons sleep the longest when their bedrooms are blue, an average of 7:52 hours a night. According to the study, purple rooms had the shortest average sleep time and was found to provoke nightmares. It’s too bad, my favorite color is purple!
Smoke
Smoke 2122-40 is a lovely muted blue that looks great almost anywhere, as long as you find other blue elements in the room to tie into.
This gorgeous master bedroom was in one of our favorite projects last summer. This was the original color and it stayed the same because it matched the colors in the art. Smoke (similar) has the perfect tone and hue for this low-light bedroom. Trim was a crisp white similar to Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace.
Master bedroom with Smoke walls – Photo by M. Marceny
This gorgeous boy’s nursery was from another project with an awesome family. We found Smoke 2122-40 in the colors of his comforter and area rug (not shown). This beautiful room was flooded with light from south facing windows. Trim and ceiling were painted with Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace.
Blue nursery walls BM Smoke – Photo by Duringerdesigns.com
Nimbus Gray
Nimbus Gray 2131-50 is a darker gray with strong blue undertones. We frequently pick a gray with blue undertones for a client that wants a blue room. This is especially important if the room has cool blue northern or east facing windows that will intensify the blues in a color. If we had picked a regular blue, it would glow in a bad way.
This room had lots of architectural interest, so we painted the ceiling and walls the same color. The trim is a crisp white similar to Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace.
Nimbus Gray bedroom – Photo by T. Anzurea
Calm Neutral Paint Colors
We love soft neutrals for a restful night’s sleep, but they need to tie in to your existing design elements.
Collingwood
Collingwood OC-28 is a Benjamin Moore warm gray color with subtle violet undertones. I love to use this color in rooms with low light or windows that face North.
This bedroom belongs to a brilliant student at Florida State in Tallahassee who was looking for a timeless gray paint color. She needed a calm space for her online courses as she sheltered in place in Tallahassee.
We offered three paint colors through our online color consulting service and she picked Collingwood. We love the way it ties in with her chair and contrasts with her creamy trim. Collingwood is so seamless with her décor that it looks like a monochromatic study in whites!
Collingwood looks great with crisp white colors such as Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace, soft off-whites such as BM White Dove and even creamy whites like BM Swiss Coffee.
Bedroom walls with Collingwood – Photo by S. Berroa
Stonington Gray
When you think of a crisp pure gray, Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray HC-170 is the one. It has subtle blue undertones with a flash of green. I like to use it in rooms flooded with light. It can glow blue in rooms with north facing light.
This was the master bedroom in our old home. It had two walls of windows and was flooded with light. We picked a blue gray carpet for a lovely monochromatic look. The trim was Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace.
Master Bedroom with BM Stonington Gray Walls – Photo by J. Maynard
Shoreline
Benjamin Moore Shoreline 1471 is another crisp blue gray with more blue than Stonington. This was the guest room in a historic house that we helped renovate last summer. Shoreline (similar) looked so perfect with the red brick that we decided to keep the color. Trim is painted with a clean white like Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace.
Bedroom with Shoreline walls – Photo by VisuTour
Portland Gray
If you are looking for a sophisticated version of pink, Benjamin Moore Portland Gray 2109-60 is the color for you. We love to use this color for a girl’s nursery, a pre-teen hangout or a teenage refuge. It has heavy purple undertones and reads a subtle pink that changes all day long with the light. Trim and ceiling were painted with Chantilly Lace.
We don’t always use this color, but in the right space it can be magical.
Girl’s nursery with BM Portland Gray walls – Photo by Duringerdesigns.com
Girl’s nursery with BM Portland Gray walls – Photo by Duringerdesigns.com
Abalone
Abalone 2108-60 is another iconic Benjamin Moore gray color with subtle violet undertones. We have used it in offices, bedrooms and living rooms. It is beautiful in a bedroom with windows that face South and warms up a room with Northern light and lots of windows. I would avoid rooms with low light.
The color is shown here in a basement bedroom with a large window that faces South. The trim and ceiling are Chantilly Lace. We love the bamboo lining in the window well.
Bedroom painted with Abalone – Photo by J. Maynard.
Bedroom with BM Abalone walls – Photo by M. Camilli
Manchester Tan
Manchester Tan HC-81 is a Benjamin Moore light beige with slight green undertones. In this case it tied in with the art and the Zen vibe for a teenaged boy. It’s a basement room with a window that faces East. Check out the bamboo lining in the window well, just like the Abalone room.
This is a color that we often use to update Tuscan era hard finishes, and it was perfect here!
Bedroom painted with Manchester Tan – Photo by J. Maynard.
Agreeable Gray
Last but not least, we feature Sherwin-Williams Agreeable Gray 7029 for the master bedroom in our new house. This color is a gray with green undertones that sometimes flash a bit violet.
I love Agreeable Gray in my bedroom paired with a beige carpet with green undertones. It is such a lovely combination! The trim and ceiling are painted with Sherwin Williams Extra White 7006, a crisp blue-white. I love waking up to that gorgeous Pottery Barn Mia Chandelier.
Bloggers across the internet love this color, and this was the whole-house paint color when we bought our house. Long story short, I love it in sunny rooms such as this bedroom and basements with lots of artificial light. Avoid using Agreeable Gray in poorly lit rooms where it can look like grim prison cell gray.
Master suite with Agreeable Gray walls – Photo by M. Marceny
The Verdict
The perfect paint color can update a bedroom in a flash! Pick bedroom paint colors with inspiration from comforters, art, window coverings, tile or carpet colors.
Whether your paint color is matched or true, don’t forget to test your paint colors. It’s a standard best practice. Whenever I test my paint colors, they are perfect, and when I don’t test they turn out wrong.
NEVER, EVER use paint matches from a different brand than the one you will use. Results are poor and there are no standards for the sheens. Even though your painter may truly believe it can be done, don’t do it. See results from paint matching here.
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Related Posts:
The Best White Paint Colors for Dark Rooms
Our Five Favorite Benjamin Moore Whites (and how to use them)
We love your comments! Please note that the blog is meant as general advice, and it is not possible to give out specific answers to your paint questions. If you want more specific advice, please consider purchasing a color consultation. Thank you for your understanding.
