A Blue Bedroom Earns High Marks

As a Paint Color Consultant, I do lots of blue bedrooms – it’s true.  Occasionally it’s a greige, once in a while a green, possibly a grayed lavender, but by-and-large I help my clients choose just the right blue for their bedrooms.  I guess that’s because it’s peaceful, calming, soothing – when it’s just right.

benjamin moore imperial gray

Color Design – The Decorologist

 

My favorite blues right now are those on the green side, which I believe to be particularly soothing.  This client wanted to retain her bedding, but freshen up her master bedroom. Here’s the room before:

DSC_7098

Bedroom Before 

 

We tested at least a dozen light to medium blues until we found just the right one.  The owner of this bedroom is a former teacher of one of my girls, so I wanted to make an A+ on this Color Consultation!

blue bedroom

Blue Bedroom After

 

The bedding and bed remained, lamps were switched around, and the loveseat was swapped for this updated club chair and ottoman.  I guess I scored a good mark, since she had me return recently to choose colors for the rest of her home.  Let’s take a poll:  what color are the walls in YOUR bedroom?

Oh – and if you are in the Nashville area, don’t forget to sign up now for my Just the Right Furniture Arrangement Workshop in less than two weeks (May 9).  I’m going to be teaching my method of arranging furniture and accessories that will make your home feel “just right.”  I’d love to meet you there!

 

 

64 Comments

  1. ange

    Blue of course! Although we went with navy which is dark and moody. I really wanted something different but still blue. That bedroom looks beautiful in blue, great work as always! 🙂 I’m working with a client right now who requested a soothing bedroom and wants a blue color on the walls. What’s the most unusual bedroom color you’ve ever done for someone? Anything crazy?

    Reply
    • Kristie Barnett

      Ange,

      Yes, your bedroom is beautiful and I love the navy! As to your question: My client’s children sometimes want something crazy or unusual, but my clients typically don’t! I recently did a very dark gray bedroom, then a mid-range purple, but that’s about as unusual as my client’s bedrooms have gotten. Most just want a peaceful, calming retreat.

      Reply
  2. Rebecca

    I am so glad I found your blog (through Pinterest, I believe)! I really love your style. My bedroom walls are still green … actually “acanthus green” by Benjamin Moore. Painted this color a few years ago. I know blue is more on-trend, but is this green still OK? (will be selling the house later this year) http://www.benjaminmoore.net/1962.html

    Reply
    • Rebecca

      Oops — it’s “aganthus green” – not “acanthus” 🙂

      Reply
      • Kristie Barnett

        Light green bedrooms are appropriate for staging to sell. If you still love the color, keep it!

        Reply
  3. jeannie casey

    what color blue is on that wall? you picked a blue for my bedroom walls but i have not tested the color yet
    and we decide to redo the whole bedroom.

    Reply
    • Kristie Barnett

      Jeannie –
      I can’t recall what we chose for your room. Can you email the color we chose for your bedroom? I’ll email back the color of this room 🙂

      Reply
  4. Christine

    Growing up, my parents always had a light blue bedroom. So, I associate light blue bedrooms with my parents’ bedroom. As a parent, I’ve painted my son’s room blue, but am thinking of changing out his current ‘watery’ blue for a more gray/green/blue (Benjamin Moore’s ‘Gossamer Blue’).

    Reply
    • Kristie Barnett

      Christine,
      I bet your parents’ room was powdery blue, right? I think the blues that look the most current are the blues on the green side. Gossamer Blue is beautiful, but it’s a bit on the feminine side – make sure to pair it with some other colors that will “toughen” it up for your son 🙂

      Reply
  5. Laura

    My bedroom is …. BLUE! I painted it blue when we got married 4 years ago and kept it the same when we moved last year. I just love the color. I have been looking at it recently to see if I wanted to change it, but no. Blue it will be! The color is matched to an old Porter Paint color called Palmetto Gray. It’s the perfect blue/green/gray! I had them cut out an old swatch from a book years ago and I have protected it with my life. I blogged about my bedroom here if you want to see the color. 🙂

    http://www.theturquoisehome.com/2012/10/diy-headboard-master-bedroom-update.html

    Reply
    • Kristie Barnett

      Your bedroom looks great! And I love your wall color – looks a lot like Ben Moore’s Gray Wisp (in the photo, anyway).

      Reply
      • Laura

        Thanks Kristie! I’ll have to check out Gray Wisp and see if I like it better. 🙂 Love your blog!! (I’m a Nashville girl, and used to work at Thomas Nelson with your friend Michelle. Miss that place – Nashville & TN!)

        Reply
        • Kristie Barnett

          Wow, it’s a small world! I’ve been best friends with M. since 2nd grade 🙂

          Reply
  6. Julie

    One of my bedrooms is Quiet Moments blue by BM, it really is spa like. A very small simple bedroom really with a white coastal bed and a grey bachelor’s chest for a night stand. Everyone just loves this room.

    Reply
    • Kristie Barnett

      Yup – that’s one of my fav light blues, Julie! It’s also great on porch ceilings 🙂

      Reply
  7. Denise

    Sea Salt (blue/gray) by Sherwin Williams. LOVE it!

    Reply
    • LibbyP

      I have Sea Salt in several rooms in my house and just love it! In the master bedroom (and in my 17 y.o. daughter’s bedroom) I have Watery, also by Sherwin Williams. I’m afraid I’m not near Nashville, and had to pick colors on my own – Sherwin Williams has a HGTV collection called Coastal Cool and I’ve used many of their colors in my house.

      Love your blog, Kristie!

      Reply
  8. Suzanne Brown

    I like how you stopped the blue at some molding and then went white above that. Do you have a wider angle pic that shows it better?

    Reply
  9. Mary

    On my tiny iPhone screen that sure looks similar to SW Rainwashed that I used in my bedroom. (Just finished painting yesterday). LOVE this range of blues! So calming.

    Reply
    • Kristie Barnett

      Rainwashed is a bit cleaner and brighter (very pretty!) – this one is more grayed down.

      Reply
      • Mary

        Yes – I can see that now on my laptop screen. Just beautiful Kristie!

        Reply
        • Mary

          They have waaay more light coming into this room than I do in my room…

          Reply
  10. Suzy

    I don’t have a blue bedroom, but after this post, I might!

    One of my earliest memories was of my parents’ bedspread. It was this gauzy yellow, quilted thing; it was the late sixties, but, what I’d give to have that bedspread back.

    And someone else mentioned the connection to her parents’ room. But I wonder if parents’ bedspreads aren’t the foundation of all our memories, since we almost seem to start our life their, as babies, prone on the bed, napping.

    Reply
  11. Brenda

    I have a sort of olive green with one light brown wall, but Im tired of my bedspread so I would like to change the wall color….what color is this?

    Reply
  12. Kate

    Greige! Specifically, Sherwin Williams’ Perfect Greige. I love this supercomplex neutral because it changes colors throughout the day. We have dominant morning sun through west-facing French doors and secondary light from a small southern exposure window. In the morning, the walls near the French doors look almost lavender, during the day, they’re the exact same color as my local Neiman Marcus store and at night, they’re a deep beautiful gray. I sometimes think about painting them to achieve that hue during the day but my husband fears it will look like a cave at night – he is NOT into primary lighting in the bedroom so every light source is a soft accent. The overhead is only on when I am home alone or cleaning!

    Reply
  13. Ellen Casper

    What is the brand and color used? It’s beautiful!

    Reply
  14. Lauren

    My bedroom has been painted Silver Sage by Restoration Hardware for several years and I still love the color. It changes with the light throughout the day…very soothing color! I always love the colors you choose. I used BM Stratton Blue in my dining room because you had used it in a clients living room and I fell in love! Can you share the color you used in this lovely bedroom? It’s perfect!!

    Reply
  15. Eileen

    Right now we have a cream colored bedroom but we’re considering Palladian blue. I’ve seen it in several bedrooms that I’ve liked, but it may be a bit too dark. Still deciding.

    I do love the color in your bedroom–more of a gray-lavender.

    Reply
    • Kristie Barnett

      Eileen – I would never consider Palladian Blue dark. It’s actually quite light and clean. My bedroom color is Violet Mist, which is a lavender on the blue side. If you look at it in a fandeck, it reads more blue than it does in my bedroom!

      Reply
  16. Elizabeth

    My bedroom is a very light gray,which my husband thinks is light blue! I believe it’s genesis white by BM.

    Reply
  17. Karen Albert

    Hi Kristie, That IS a beautiful shade of blue. What is the name of it? I would love to use a silvery gray/blue in my master bedroom!

    PS I am having a Paris Book Giveaway!
    xoxo
    Karena
    Art by Karena

    Reply
  18. Sue

    Benjamin Moore’s “Healing Aloe.” I love it so much in the bedroom that now the powder room, dining room and above the beadboard in the kitchen are the same. The kitchen is a semi-gloss that looks so much darker than the eggshell finish, but i like the difference. Sometimes it looks grey or green. Very soothing, bright, fresh and clean.

    Reply
    • Kristie Barnett

      Good point, Sue – a change in the finish makes a difference as to how the color reads.

      Reply
  19. Julie Cottrell

    We have kept out master “confederate blue” for years. It’s a bedroom for sleeping. Still love it!

    Reply
  20. Calli

    I chose Paris Rain BM 1501. I just love this soothing grey/green that changes throughout the day.

    This is my first time commenting tho’ a long time reader/stalker 🙂
    Love all your color choices!

    Reply
    • Kristie Barnett

      Thanks for speaking up, Calli 😉 Paris Rain is one of my favorite grayed greens!

      Reply
  21. Francie

    As you know, my bedroom is red but hopefully not for too much longer. I’ve been torn between greige and blue and must say this pretty bedroom has me leaning toward blue!

    Reply
  22. Pamela

    Kristie,

    Please tell us the name of the gorgeous shade of blue!

    Reply
  23. Taryn

    We have SW Comfort Gray, which is the shade deeper than Sea Salt. It is a complex blue; sometimes it looks gray, other times blue, and then it occasionally reads slightly green in the right conditions. It feels very organic, reminding me very much of the ocean on an overcast day. I love this color, and am glad to hear some other good ‘blue’ suggestions.

    Reply
  24. Jen

    That’s lovely—perfect colour. It makes her bedding pop, too.

    And yes—our bedroom is blue, “November Skies”, IIRC. Our last bedroom was a soft but more turquoise-y blue, and we just painted our guestroom a soft, greyed blue! There’s something about it, isn’t there?

    Reply
  25. Kelly

    Just beautiful Kristie!! Great color choice- she must have loved it too have you do the rest of her home! Great job as always!

    Reply
  26. Pat

    Such a peaceful and soothing room. Our bedroom is also blue: Smoke by BM. I love a blue bedroom!

    Reply
  27. Melanie

    My bedroom was a blue/grey and as much as I loved the colour something just wasn’t right. The room has beautiful architectural features like a large bay window with lots of trees outside and a stained glass window. Now it is a warm white and feels more serene.

    Reply
    • Kristie Barnett

      Melanie,
      That goes to show that color is relative – it can read differently with different lighting and surrounding colors, and it’s highly personal what appeals to individual people. It has to work for YOU.

      Reply
  28. Connie Nikiforoff Designs

    Right now our bedroom is a very soft green with yellow undertones. We both like it but when it’s time to repaint, I’m going to go with a green that has a little more blue undertones. We get tons of light in that room all day long but the best part is, the room feels like waking up in a garden because the green. At night the walls take on a hushed feeling of quiet. Green is a very pretty color to work with for bedrooms…especially if the client doesn’t like blue. It’s all in the undertones 🙂

    Reply
  29. Sabrina

    our bedroom has very litlle sunlight so we painted it white but we have navy blue trimmings on all the doors and on the fireplace. this makes for a bit of of a greek vibe and makes it really beautiful if decorated with antique porcelain in white and blue.

    Reply
  30. MK

    Beautiful, as always–I love your style. I would love to know what color you used in this bedroom. Thanks!!

    Reply
  31. Ruth Elder

    Funny you should ask…. we just painted our bedroom today…. charcoal grey. Lots of white floral Shabby Chic type bedding and a huge white four-poster bed and I wanted something masculine to offset it. With light colored walls it was too much frosting… not enough cake. If you know what I mean.

    Reply
  32. Heidi

    I’ve been reading your articles for about six months, and I’ve learned so much! My bedroom wall color is the same as the “before” picture, but I’m hoping to go blue/gray soon. Thank you!

    Reply
  33. Janice

    A+, Kristie! You really are THE BEST! Thanks so much!

    Reply
  34. Michelle Mallett

    What is this beautiful color?

    Reply
  35. Dena

    Love your bedroom! My bedroom is SW Amazing Gray which I am going to change. It looks drab against our honey wood trim. I am trying to find a nice blue like you painted to turn my daughter’s old room into a relaxing guest room. What color is your room please? I want to use some ocean pictures I took in Cancun One has anarondack chairs in it.

    Reply
  36. Chez

    Wow I love that after photo! The blue is so calming and soothing – reminds me of a beach on Antigua with that touch of green. I’m also noticing the trim color. It looks white but not overly stark. Does trim color need to be the same throughout the house? Our living room has cream trim based on the creamy marble fireplace. Our kitchen has bright white cabinets and white subway tile with carrera marble counters. The kitchen is open to the family room which has light/cool gray walls (BM Cascade White). Is it okay to use white trim in the kitchen/FR (BM Chantilly Lace or BM Simply White?) and a creamier trim in the LR — or should all of the trim in the house be the same? Thank you so much – painters coming soon!

    Reply
  37. Nancy Keffeler

    I have 4 different blue/green samples and swatches on my bedroom all. I don’t love any of them. What is the blue paint color that you have in this after bedroom picture?

    Reply
  38. Sue Ponzillo

    I’m looking to paint my bedroom with a Colorado like this. It’s calming. Would you email me this shade name? And instead of white woodwork…would cream be ok? I have two bureaus that I did in a cream. Thanks…I’ll be doing the painting myself….any assistance is appreciated.

    Reply
  39. Jenny

    I’m not sure, like many of the readers, what that gorgeous colour of blue/green/grey is in the “Blue Bedroom After” bedroom picture. It’s gorgeous!

    We just painted our bedroom something similar, but it didn’t quite work.

    What is this beautiful colour in the “Blue Bedroom After” picture (name, paint company)?? Thanks!

    Reply
  40. Dayla

    Any chance you’ll share the source of this beautiful color? I LOVE it!

    Reply
  41. Marilyn

    Can you share the name and paint company? Thanks!

    Reply
  42. Danni Mac

    This is Benjamin Moore’s Annapolis Green I am sure

    Reply
  43. Amy

    Hi, Kristie! I’m looking for a special color after 14 years of white walls. Will you share the name of this color? I think this is “the one.” 🙂

    Thanks!
    Amy

    Reply
  44. Sandra

    can you please tell me the color of blue you used in the above room?

    Reply
  45. Jill

    I love the shade of blue but the article is not saying what it is. Please tell us what it is!

    Reply

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