Curious about how the pros pick paint colours for their own homes? 

You’d be forgiven for thinking that choosing colours must be a simple, snap decision for Interior Designers. But no - choosing the right colour and design direction for a room is a process that takes time and planning.

As the UK’s top rated Interior Design service, the designers at My Bespoke Room know a thing or two about picking the perfect paint colour! In this article, two designers transform their own bedrooms and share their top tips.

Celine’s master bedroom with a (not so) Humble feature wall and ‘The Record Store’ woodwork 

Before and after

Image credit: My Bespoke Room

What were the challenges with this room?

“As you can see from the before shot, this room was a complete blank canvas when we moved in and needed a total rethink! It’s not the largest master bedroom and so a bulky wardrobe taking up valuable floor space wouldn’t have been the right move. 

So often, the biggest challenges in a room ends up becoming its best feature and this is definitely the case with this feature wall with hidden storage behind this beautiful fabric I fell in love with.”

Image credit: My Bespoke Room

Where did you start with choosing colours for this room design?

“The starting point for our bedroom design was the Poodle and Blonde linen fabric that we used on either side of the bed. The colour inspired the feature wall behind the bed which I chose ‘Humble’ for. I wanted to contrast this with a lovely warm tan colour which mirrors the tan we used downstairs in our living room. I then chose ‘Safe Play’ for the walls and ceiling which is a lovely warm neutral. 

One of the challenges with this room was getting the right shade of orange. It needed to work with the fabric as well as the wood tones in the room. It also needed to be restful being in a bedroom, which can be a tricky balance as orange can be so vibrant and energetic! The mood board enabled me to test different shades to find the perfect one.

To tie the scheme together I added black accents like on the skirting board which I used ‘The Record Store’ for.”

Image credit: My Bespoke Room

How do you choose colours for a room?

“At My Bespoke Room, we provide digital mood boards for our clients just like the one I did for my own bedroom here. It’s a wonderful way to visualise the scheme and an essential part of the design process. Not only can they help you pair colours together, they can also keep you focussed when sourcing products for the room as it can be easy to get distracted and overwhelmed with so many options out there.

Image credit: My Bespoke Room

A hugely important consideration when choosing colours is the direction the room is facing. This room is south facing so it gets a lot of light in the afternoon. I always tell my clients to test paint samples in different areas of the room over the whole day to see how it changes in different light conditions. COAT’s Peel & Stick samples make it so easy to do this that there’s no excuse!

Another important tip is to not think about the room in isolation. Use colour and paint as a common thread throughout your home to create a cohesive scheme. This doesn’t mean painting every room in your home green! But while one room could have a rich green paint on the walls, another could have hints of green carried through in accent cushions or perhaps in lush green botanical prints.”

What do you love about COAT’s collection?

“I love COAT’s collection of neutrals. They all have a really relaxing, soft feel about them and pair beautifully with the brighter colours in the collection. There are so many great ones which made it quite hard to choose! Luckily I had the curtain fabric to keep me focussed and Humble was the most complimentary.”

What we love about this design

“Celine used a really interesting choice of fabric which ties 'Safe Play' and 'Humble' together in a really unexpected way. I also love a wall graphic (I'm doing one myself), and skirting in 'The Record Store' creates a sense of grounding and makes for a great way to make a soft focal point at the bed head.” Aaron Markwell, Colour Lead at Coat.

Get the look here. 

Ria’s ‘Nomad’ bedroom with coral contrasts

Image credit: My Bespoke Room

Before and after

Image credit: My Bespoke Room & @samanthamidgleyphotohraphy

What were the challenges with this room?

“When we moved in, our bedroom was quite low down on the list of priorities as we had a lot of work to do on the ground floor. For many years we lived with a quick fix - using furniture from our old home and creating a neutral backdrop just to get rid of that ‘characterful’ wallpaper from the previous owner. This year, we finally had the chance to create a space just for us!”

Image credit: My Bespoke Room & @samanthamidgleyphotohraphy

Where did you start with choosing colours for this room design?

“The main inspiration for this design came from my existing artwork. I use art a lot for my design schemes as it’s great inspiration for colour combinations

I knew I wanted a dark feature wall behind the bed and ‘Nomad’ was an easy choice for me. I love the fact that it has olive green undertones - in the day with the natural light bouncing off it, you can see the green come through. In the evenings in artificial light it’s very moody, deep and calming.”

“As it’s a small room and I use it to get dressed and ready every day, I didn’t want all four walls to be dark. I chose 'Pampas' for the rest of the walls and the ceiling. It’s a lovely fresh colour with a bit of yellow in it. I always avoid crisp white’s for bedrooms as they’re not very relaxing. I also steer clear of neutrals with grey undertones because I find them too gloomy, so 'Pampas' was a perfect choice - not too bright but not dull either!

I finished off the design by adding in sage green through the upholstered bed and as well as pops of coral inspired by the artwork that really lift and energise the scheme.”

Image credit: My Bespoke Room & @samanthamidgleyphotohraphy

How do you choose colours for a room?

“I always start with a digital mood board to gather ideas and then order samples of the colours that work the best. I live with the samples for a few days testing them not just at different times of the day, but also in different weather conditions. Make sure you test them against existing items of furniture you want to keep too.

Colour has such a strong impact on our mood and so it’s really important to think about when the room will be used the most and how you want to feel in it. In this case as it’s a bedroom, it’s used in the evenings so it needed to feel cosy. 

When finding neutrals to pair with other colours, think about the undertones. For example if you have beautiful, rich terracotta walls, choose a white on your ceiling that has a slight red undertone and they will pair beautifully without being too much of a stark contrast.

Don’t forget about the adjoining rooms - when choosing colours for this bedroom I had to think about how it worked with the colours in the ensuite and hallway:

Image credit: My Bespoke Room & @samanthamidgleyphotography

My last tip is to paint your skirting boards the same colour as your feature wall! It’s a faff for the decorators but totally worth it as the walls look taller and your eye isn’t distracted by the contrast.”

What do you love about COAT’s collection?

“I love how environmentally aware they are - that’s definitely an important factor for me when sourcing products for clients and my own home.

I was also really impressed with the quality of the paint. It has a matt finish which looks more luxurious compared to other paint brands where the finish is a bit shiny. It also took just two coats so our decorator was in and out!

For my next room design I’m going pink - I love some of the ones in the new collection!”

What we love about this design

“Nomad is my fave colour, and Ria has incorporated a really thoughtful scheme with high contrast and the coral colour accents help pull in Pampas' warmer undertone. The lighting is really well considered, and having those smaller black elements helps make the Nomad not look so dark, very clever!” Aaron Markwell, Colour Lead at Coat.

Get the look here. 

Find out how My Bespoke Room can help you reimagine your home. Their room design packages start from just £395 and they also throw in a £100 shopping voucher to help bring your design to life! Find out more and book a free consultation here.

We also sat down with My Bespoke Room to chat about trending colours, head to our YouTube Channel for more videos like this.