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Bedrooms have long had a traditional design element, making brown a predominant color in bedrooms. It's a natural progression with so much wood in the bedroom from bed bases, headboards, and wardrobes to use stains that enhance the appearance of the wood to fit with the decor.
However, is the color brown in a bedroom limiting? Are you stuck with using soft tones and the dullness of beige and cream color palettes? Well, you will be pleased to read that more colors go with brown in a bedroom than you may have considered.
This article will provide a comprehensive overview of the colors you can match with brown in your bedroom. We will also provide inspiring images for you to replicate or dissect to achieve the color contrast you desire in your bedroom with brown furniture.
Let’s take the plunge and learn what colors are best such as:
There is a wide choice of colors to use with brown furniture depending on the shade of brown your furniture is. You can achieve a contemporary look by adding bolder colors or having a classic bedroom with warmer colors still in vogue.
Here are a few examples to whet your appetite:
There are many ways to make a bedroom with brown furnishings or a brown accent wall spring into life and take on a classic or vibrant vibe.
Let's get at it!
Changing the mood of your bedroom may fill your heart with trepidation as you may not want to go through the hassle and expense of a bedroom makeover, which is understandable. It's easy to take baby steps to change your brown bedroom's vibe with artwork or accessories.
Let's face it, there is not much wrong with a brown bedroom if that's your design and style, but elevating the mood in baby steps is affordable and a great way to experiment with styling that could introduce a new design concept into your bedroom.
This bedroom has added some contemporary artwork with a splash of red to highlight the browns in the wall paintings. It makes the bedroom feel different, not quite so brown but retaining the richness.
The greige ottoman in greige compliments the rug without an audacious announcement of the color fitting the bedroom seamlessly.
Introduce a small amount of vibrancy into the bedroom and then add subtle color changes that meld in with the bedroom's color scheme. If you wish, you could add a burgundy red bed throw to add a further accent to the room that would contrast perfectly with the shades of brown.
How easy is this look to achieve? Working on a simple scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most complex level to accomplish, these bedroom shelves is a 5.
It's a simple introduction of a vibrant hue of red minimally into the bedroom to lift the bedroom's ambiance. Subtle colors like greige are a design insight into how you can divert away from brown in baby steps.
Brown can get a bad rap in the bedroom and it's not always a bad thing to have brown surreptitiously invading the bedroom, albeit with a wood floor or picture frames wood will find a way to make its beauty present in your bedroom.
It's hard to deny the presence of brown on a wood floor in a bedroom is something to be cherished rather than scorned so use light color wall paint to enhance the brown hues of the wood floor.
The perfect choice is gray walls for a brown wood floor, it makes the wood floor the centerpiece of the bedroom with its beautiful visual aspects. Green foliage plants bring nature into the bedroom that can either be contemporary or a more traditionally styled bedroom.
Gray and brown have been used in conjunction with each other for a very long time to create a wonderful bedroom effect that is relaxing and not overwhelming.
If you have the wood floor let the yellow hues take center stage in a room of this dimensions and styling, Add gray paint to the walls, a dove gray is perfect with its lighter soft tones.
How easy is this look to achieve? Working on a simple scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the most complex level to accomplish these bedroom shelves is a 3.
It's an easy look to achieve, it's just painted walls with a gray that you like, and a white ceiling. The patterned gray and white rug will bring some visual contrast to the bedroom.
Independent styling has been around for many decades and is a great look where you do not abide by the rules and laws of conventional decor. This bedroom is incredibly budget friendly and allows a style to shine through rather than a mish-mash of ideas that are tacky in their final conclusion.
If you have light wood tones it's easy to suggest using a dark accent wall to diametrically oppose and contrast the lightness of the yellow hues from the timber.
However, a better way to go is to use a Terracotta tone, it's warm cohesive, and showcases the beauty of natural wood that has not been stained.
If you have light wood browns and tan in your bedroom opting for terracotta is a great selection from the color, add the terracotta as an accent wall or the general color for all of the walls in the bedroom.
How easy is this look to achieve? Working on a simple scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the most complex level to accomplish these bedroom shelves is a 3.
It's another simple room to complete and although the brown tones are light this is a color combo that works well.
If you have the light brown tones of a maple floor or the dark mahogany brown that is associated with traditional bedroom furniture you will need a color that is universally accepted and versatile when it comes to brown tones.
Salmon pink may not be your first thought but when it comes to wood tones dark or light it's hard to find a more versatile color that is bright and airy.
Shades of pink are known to dispel negativity in the bedroom and bring a softening of mind and hearts with its gorgeous sumptuous tones.
If you like the soft sensual feeling of pink in your bedroom this is perfect for you, it will contrast beautifully with light and dark wood tones.
How easy is this look to achieve? Working on a simple scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the most complex level to accomplish these bedroom shelves is a 3.
It painted walls to showcase and contrast with natural wood tones, it works better with darker timber stains like mahogany. Add some gray to prevent the bedroom from being overwhelmed with one color.
If there were ever two colors that were meant to be paired for life they must be brown and orange. The perfect blend of color, the warm glow, and vibrancy of orange compliments brown like no other color, well, maybe gold but it's close.
If you have light wood tones you may need to add some dark browns and contrasts to balance the bedroom decor perfectly, particularly if you have white walls such as the image.
Without the dark brown and orange accessories, this bedroom would be a white out, like being snow blind, it would be hard to define the style and design cues.
Accessories carefully with light wood tones and white walls, you need contrast that are not so bold they will dominate the bedroom.
Add accessories that will compliment and contact each other, brown and orange are the perfect example but there are other should you wish to change things around a little.
How easy is this look to achieve? Working on a simple scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the most complex level to accomplish these bedroom shelves is a 2.
Could it be any easier? If you struggle with the concept of contrasting tones use a color wheel, they are free and can be found online such as Adobe color wheel.
If you have darker wood tones and you wish to elevate the mood of the bedroom try to introduce some lighter wood tones, like the bed in the image. Unstained beech is almost white in color and is a fantastic contrast both texturally and color-wise to the darker tones of the stained timber.
Add some dark gray accessories into the bedroom for a contemporary feel with a white rug and you have the perfect bedroom setting.
The white walls and white ceiling accentuate the tones of the wood while retaining a simple minimalist theme to the bedroom.
Keeping its simple and minimalist vibe, the tones of the wood above the bed are handsome and the white of the beech bed frame is a masterful use of timber toines. Gray is the obvious choice for accessories in the bedroom.
How easy is this look to achieve? Working on a simple scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the most complex level to accomplish these bedroom shelves is a 6.
There is more to this bedroom than meets the eye, the superb colors of the timber may be difficult to replicate precisely but close will achieve the same feel and vibe. Painted walls and a simple white rug, an awesome look for a bedroom.
Having bold dark browns in your bedroom can be a necessity at times and without the dark brow in this bedroom, the room would be a design failure.
The brightness of the white walls is checked with the dark brown accent in the furnishings and the lighter wood floor with its tight grain pattern calls for the use of subtle shades of gray. The bed throw and pillows are a combo of teal and gray, almost a tape color, and the gray top drapes are soft and inviting.
The clean lines of this bedroom, possibly in a hotel, are accentuated by the dark mahogany timber accents that achieve a wonderful look of sharpness and cleanliness.
It's a hotel room so take the design concepts to recreate your own sharp and crisp lines in your own bedroom, teal and gray match wonderfully with darker tones of brown.
How easy is this look to achieve? Working on a simple scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the most complex level to accomplish these bedroom shelves is a 4.
It's a simple look to create if your dark wood tones are not overpowering the bedroom. If you do have this overwhelming dark look to your bedroom white walls and white drapes should be an easy fix.
Chocolate brown accent walls are in vogue for a good reason, they look tremendous and add that dimension of warmth and depth to a bedroom but decor can be a challenge.
There is only one thing for it! Break out the bright colors and let's go all in on a vibrant color like this deep yellow that continues the theme of depth and warmth with a gray bed throw with a distressed finish.
The deep yellow gold tones are undeniably inviting and grab your attention as soon as you walk into the bedroom. The use of the woodworking bench converted into a bed bench is an incredible addition to the bedroom.
Soft tones from rugs and accessories compliment the chocolate brown and the foliage ties the bedroom together in a glorious crescendo.
How easy is this look to achieve? Working on a simple scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the most complex level to accomplish these bedroom shelves is a 5.
A deep yellow such as sunflower yellow is the natural choice to match with a chocolate brown accent wall. The foliage is key in this bedroom so make sure you add big green leaves!
Making a modern bedroom is relatively easy in a square bedroom but introduce some beams and you introduce traditional styling. However, the juxtaposition of the two styles is perfect in a bedroom that has a luscious bed with a padded chocolate brown headboard surrounded by a light green traditional wallpaper, it could not get better than this!
The simple neutral tones of the bedding are in the shadows of two extraordinarily bright and vibrant pillows that could have been dropped on the bed from another world. But, somehow they match and elevate the otherwise muted tones of the bedding. Is it by design or by chance? Who cares, it works.
The textured rug is stylish and again the traditional drapes are juxtaposed with this bedroom of contradictions that work cohesively.
Shades of green and taupes work extremely well with chocolate brown, the bedroom is a mix of contemporary and traditional design themes and it worlds well to make a beautiful bedroom. Should you be bold with some accessories? Absolutely, you have nothing to lose and much to gain.
How easy is this look to achieve? Working on a simple scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the most complex level to accomplish these bedroom shelves is an 8.
So many design aspects going on in this bedroom, wallpaper, curtains, wood beams, a contemporary bed, and headboard. It's a masterful application of a couple of design cues, it's not an easy look to achieve, but it's doable with patience.
If you want the ultimate perfect combination of dark wood tones then there are a few colors that stand out from the crowd and make a bedroom look awesome, one of those colors is mint green.
You may have been aware of this color combination from being a child when minty green candies surrounded a chocolate center. Not only did they taste great, they looked awesome as the colors tantalized the taste buds.
Well, the good news is not much has changed, and mint green is still a fantastic companion for dark wood tones in the bedroom.
You may not consider mint green and decide white is your best option, and white does work well, but it has a clinical vibe and can be hard to accessorize without your bedroom losing the subtle calm vibe you would like to achieve.
Find a shade of mint green you like. If you are young at heart, you could select a key lime green that is bright and vibrant but works equally.
How easy is this look to achieve? Working on a simple scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most complex level to accomplish, these bedroom shelves is a 5.
Paint an accent wall and make sure the wall is prepared perfectly to allow a smooth coverage without defects.
It is a blessing because you can do so much decor and accessories to elevate the room's mood and vibe, from the dark tones to the vibrant tones of reds, purples, yellows, and orange, and so many more colors that look awesome in a bedroom.
If your wood floor is dark, make the most of it with gray walls to create a contemporary bedroom styled with a hint of bygone years.
It doesn't all have to be about paint. Introduce other woods that are lighter in color and use those as accents, picture frames, plant pots, and even a headboard or bed frame just to change the bedrooms around.
Keep things simple and clutter-free in a bedroom that has dark wood furniture. You need to lighten the vibe and allow light to shine into the bedroom.
Use colors that are made for each other such as minty green. Could you find a better color combo than dark brown and minty green? Be brave with accessories and create an unexpected look that you can claim as your own individual design and styling for your bedroom.
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