5 Bedroom Paint Colors To Pair With White Bedding

There is nothing quite like returning to a cozy hotel bed after a long day of travel -– but why? While the half-dozen pillows and ultra-puffy duvet certainly aid in providing a sense of comfort to your hotel sleeping experience, the real reason your hotel bed might feel extra cozy and inviting after a long day of travel is the white-colored bedding that most hotels tend to use.

As it turns out, hotels using white bedding is not just the result of a random color choice –- there's a very specific reason they use it. Laura McKoy, Creative Director and Vice President of Interior Design of Omni Hotels & Resorts, said via Reader's Digest that the company uses white bedding in all of their rooms to give them a "fresh, crisp, and clean feel." In addition, because all-white linens look and feel so clean, they help give the impression of luxury -– which can give you an added sense of comfort.

And while you may never be able to master the art of tucking your sheets into your mattress as crisply and neatly as a luxury hotel can, incorporating hotel-like white bedding into your bedroom is a great way to add a sense of comfort and luxury to your own space. Pairing your white bedding with the perfect wall color can elevate it even more, leaving your space feeling like a five-star resort.

While an all-white bedroom may look stunning on Pinterest, the reality is that when translated to a home that is actually lived in, an all-white bedroom will be impossible to keep clean — especially if you have any pets or children in the house who can easily grime up clean, white walls. Not to mention, a neutral room lacking any dimension or depth with color is simply a boring and overly safe design choice.

"Pure white is blindingly bright and sterile-looking," Andra DelMonico, the lead interior designer for Trendey tells Real Homes. "It's also insanely hard to keep clean, making it impractical for anyone that actually lives in their home."

If you want to pair your white bedding with a neutral paint scheme, DelMonico suggests incorporating a variety of warmer neutral shades and textures into the space to make it feel less sterile and boring. Choosing a warm, neutral paint shade for your bedroom is a great way to keep the palette neutral while also adding warmth and dimension –- making it much more welcoming and inviting. Warmer-toned walls also tend to hide things like dirt, grease, and handprints better than stark white walls.  

Kylie M. Interiors adds that neutral paint colors with more warmth than a stark white will also help resale value if you decide to sell your home down the road, as design trends are moving away from cool, stark whites.

If you want your white bedding and your bedroom as a whole to read more contemporary, consider choosing a darker paint color in contrast, such as navy blue or charcoal gray. According to Crane and Canopy, walls in these hues paired with your white bedding can help give your bedroom a more modern and elegant vibe -– particularly if you keep the wall decor to a minimum after painting is complete. Adding patterned or textured pillows or curtains to this color scheme is also a great way to incorporate an additional layer of elegance and design intentionality. The stark color contrast of the white bedding against these darker tones is a great way to add visual interest to your bedroom and give a subtle sense of moodiness while not sacrificing the clean and airy feel that your white bedding provides.

The Home Depot also says that chrome or silver fixtures and accents stand out the best against dark hues like charcoal and navy, which can lend itself to an ultra-modern vibe.

While the idea of black paint might seem terrifying, incorporating it into a room with white bedding can help make the idea of having the darkest possible walls less overwhelming and instead help elevate your space to a whole new level of elegance and style.

And while the ultra-dark hue used to be the least popular selection of paint in any given hardware store, Paint Zen says the modern style that black paint can help embody has led to it becoming a super popular choice in recent years –- especially as current trends are moving away from traditional whites and light grays. And while white paint is a notoriously popular color choice for its ability to reflect light throughout a room, Paint Zen also says that ultra-dark colors like black have the tendency to create the illusion of blurring the corners and edges of the walls – helping make your bedroom look and feel much larger than it is.

The Sleep Judge also adds that black bedrooms with white incorporated throughout, such as in the trim, the ceiling, and the bedding, can help bounce light around the room and offset some of the darkness that black provides –- meaning your bedroom can still feel light and airy with black walls, challenging the preconceived notion that many have about the ultra-dark hue.

Because white bedding pairs so well with every color, it is a perfect excuse to splash your walls with a bold and brightly-colored hue. The neutrality of white bedding provides a completely blank canvas, so you can be confident in choosing bolder and unexpected tones like orange, red, and yellow, knowing that they will pair perfectly with your bedding while providing your bedroom with a dose of bold personality and fun that you might be hesitant to try in other rooms.

The Home Depot says that your white bedding is a great jumping-off point when it comes to introducing bolder shades into your bedroom, keeping in mind that a little bit of color goes a long way in contrast. Because of that, a single brightly-colored accent wall behind your bed can have a striking impact by itself -– otherwise, you can paint all four walls for an ultra-dramatic and stylish statement.

While many people incorporate bold patterns into their bedrooms through their bedding, having white bedding is an excellent way to allow yourself to experiment with patterns elsewhere in your bedroom, such as the walls.

Foregoing paint in your bedroom altogether and choosing a patterned wallpaper is a great way to play off the neutrality of your white bedding and add visual interest to your space. However, while wallpaper gives you the freedom to go as bold as you want, a very subtly patterned wallpaper can still make a drastic impact if you aren't quite ready to commit to something bolder.

According to The Urban Guide, wall stencils are also a great alternative to wallpaper if you want to try patterned walls but also want to be able to customize the color palette. Painting with stencils to create shapes and lines can help you exercise your creativity while giving your bedroom a look that is totally unique to you.

If you do choose to go with patterned bedroom walls, Wallpapers & Fabrics to Go suggests taking the size of the room into consideration. Smaller, more subtle patterns and designs in cooler tones are well-suited for smaller rooms as they can help a room look larger while also not overwhelming the space, whereas larger bedrooms can more easily get away with big, bold patterns.