To Decor or not Decor…That’s the question.
Okay so that title isn’t grammatically correct but whatever. I have jounalistic license.
Clothes make a statement. Make-up makes a statement and strangely enough, so do bedrooms.
Your bedroom can define you as romantic, mysterious, confused, gothic, dramatic, cultured…In fact whatever you please. It’s not just the accessories and the colours you choose but how you’ve chosen them and for what. What objects dominate your room? How do they dominate your room? So here are some tips for your ‘dormitorio’.
Red rooms tend to represent passion, energy, warmth, adventure and optimism. Can be unbelievably overpowering and is more of a social colour (so works fabulously in living rooms and dining rooms) however it can be used for bedrooms when used as an accent colour (a colour that off-sets the main colour). The colours it works best with are creams and whites. This colour combination is very modern if used with silver and clean lines but you can make it old worldly by using golds (in moderation and preferably dull gold) and some very neo-classic furniture.
Rooms that are pink can vary in impact. If it is at the lighter end of the spectrum then it can feel romantic or nauseating (depending on how it’s used) and if at the darker end of the spectrum can induce headaches or passion (depending on your constitution). So in order to deal with that you can introduce a contrasting colour like grey and black and using both colours in moderation. I have a friend who has a pink bedroom – I always feel like I have been swallowed by a giant pink marshmallow or some form of candyfloss. And I am not fond of either. You can also create fabulous boudoirs out of pink but it is still not advisable.
Orange is another colour that is more for living and dining rooms and associated with stability, reassurance and warmth so if you are going to make a bedroom out of it, you once again need to use it as an accent colour because orange can make rooms smaller (so use it in a room with a very large window and lot of space). Or better yet, don’t use it…at all.
Nature, energy, calming, restful, balancing (mix of red & blue), security and stability are associated with the colour green and is an ideal colour for bedrooms but once again it needs to be counteracted with other colours. Creams and browns work well but if you are looking for vibrancy then perhaps yellows and oranges will come in handy. Too much green is like being swallowed by a caterpillar (if their insides were actually green). It can be off-set well with gold as well. You can create a peaceful hideaway with this colour and add a few candles and the world is your peace-loving oyster.
Water is seen as soothing, deep and philosophical therefore it should come as no surprise that blue is considered to be calming, soothing, promoting intellectual thoughts, serenity, authority, pensiveness and protection and is an ideal colour for rooms. But choose the right blue. Choose a blue with a warm undertone and it too needs to be off-set in different shades of blue or with a very neutral colour like beige.
Yellows are not clever colours for bedrooms. They are overpowering and exciting which means sleeping like a baby is not really an option, so if this colour is used it should only be used as an off-setting colour and in minimal amounts.
Lilac is a very gender biased, a colour that is ideal for the feminine deity and therefore making a woman feel powerful and a man feel like a useless creature. Not a good idea. But it is also very bland – use blacks and silvers to give it a little oomph and once again don’t use it as a dominant colour. This too can be nauseating.
Purple is the colour of royalty, fertility, joy, magic, death and sex and has worked beautifully with black to create gothic atmospheres. Keep it away from white and gold. It looks horrendous with those colours. In fact of all the colours on the palette, it works in perfect conjunction with black and silver. Other colours just take away from the drama of the colour. It also works well with wooden furniture and with many accessories (like throws, cushions etc).
Brown is a nice earthy tone that represents security, stability and pragmatism (though strangely enough, not nature). While it can work in a room, it works best as an accessory and as an off-setting colour and not the dominant colour otherwise it feels dull and drab and without personality. Blue works beautifully with this colour as do greens, creams and beiges and certain shades of pink (though in this case brown should be the more dominant colour with white being the basis).
Another colour that is not for bedrooms is black (unless solely being used for the purpose of controlling the sweet colours such as lilac and pink). The colour represents death, drama, eccentricity and abyss (where it absorbs and gives nothing back). Not an ideal colour for people in hot countries either. So use it to temper or to work in stark contrast with white (think bachelor pads).
Of course colours are not the only way you can decorate a room – you can use period styles (1920s – the glitz and the glamour, 1950s – think Grease, 1960s – the groove and neon colours, 1970s – the retro hippy style, art deco, geometric shapes and animal prints, art nouveau – think clean lines with natural and offsetting colour, gothic, Japanese, modernism – steel and bold primary colours, Victorian, rustic, Shaker, Scandinavian, Indian, Turkish and now I will stop since the possibilities are endless).
Period styles require a lot of research – the colours and objects of that particular feel are crucial to making the room a period room. Or you can have themes (with the use of murals and objects).
Whatever you do, you want to make sure that your room looks amazing and it is something you can live with for a considerable period of time because after all, that is what you will be doing.
