I Asked 3 Designers Their Favorite Bedroom Paint Color, and They All Basically Picked the Same Shade

The average person might spend a third of their life sleeping, but a bedroom is so much more than a spot to score some shut-eye. Unlike the rest of your home, which is potentially meant to be enjoyed with company, your bedroom decor should put you first. It’s the one place where you can find some solace from the rest of the world and just, well, chill out. 

Plush-bedding, cozy window treatments, and spot-on lighting can certainly enhance your space, but the color you choose to paint your bedroom can really set the mood for a dreamy, relaxing oasis. I’ve seen bedrooms coated in every shade of the rainbow — from rosy pinks to moody blacks — but I was curious to see which hues designers turn to time and time again. So I asked three pros about their favorite bedroom paint colors, and the verdict was unanimous: Neutrals rule, and it’s not too hard to see why. 

Sure, great design lies in the eye of the beholder — so there are really no wrong answers here! — but many people seem to find bright, unapologetically bold colors to be a little too loud for their cozy respites, at least if the response I got from the designers I polled are any indicator. Neutrals, on the other hand, offer a visual exhale. “I love serene, calm bedrooms,” explains designer Gabriela Eisenhart, founder of an Atlanta-based firm called Silo Studios.

But with so many tones to choose from — whites! off-whites! grays! taupes! tans! — neutrals aren’t a one-shade-suits-all situation. If you’re looking for somewhere to start your search, designers say these three similar neutral paint colors are downright dreamy. 

Designer Joel Wong of Los Angeles-based firm OWIU Design calls Sherwin-Williams’ Skyline Steel (SW 1015) a “definite go-to.” Think of this shade as the ultimate greige: Its warm undertones create a soft, welcoming backdrop without detracting from the rest of a room’s decor. While Sherwin-Williams says a greige like Skyline Steel will go nicely with a warm white, Wong drummed up the drama by pairing this color with black window frames. The result: a space that is moody and modern but still serene.

If you’re looking for a classic color that will go with virtually any bedroom design, you can’t go wrong with a crisp white. According to Eisenhart, Benjamin Moore’s Decorator’s White (CC-20) has the slightest cool undertones that will make you feel like you’re sleeping on cloud nine. “Decorator’s White is the perfect soft, cotton-like white that reflects natural light beautifully without making the space feel too sterile,” she says. 

While a crisp neutral like Decorator’s White will look good solo, Eisenhart likes to team this no-fail shade up with a “wow” moment. “We often incorporate a lot of accent walls in our bedrooms, and Decorator’s White pairs really well with the neutral wall features we lean towards,” she explains. In this bedroom, the white delicately offsets a slotted wood accent wall to create a space that’s timeless and trendy in equal measure. She’s successfully used this shade with wallpaper, too, as seen in the bedroom at the top of the page. 

Light, airy neutrals might be obvious choices for your bedroom, but if you’re craving something more unexpected, designer Mason Meyer gives you permission to go to the dark side. “I love choosing a rich, moody color in the bedroom,” the Los Angeles designer explains. “ Offsetting the darker wall color with lighter furniture like cane, and lighter bedding and textiles, make a stunning contrast.” While Meyer is partial to Benjamin Moore’s Cromwell Gray (HC-103), which sits somewhere between a true gray and brown, he gave this guest room the textured treatment by mixing equal parts of the shade’s lime wash and stain finishes. “This Benjamin Moore Cromwell Gray lime wash has beautifully layered tones and textures, adding dimension and visual interest,” he says.

This post originally appeared on Apartment Therapy. See it there: I Asked 3 Designers Their Favorite Bedroom Paint Color, and They All Basically Picked the Same Shade