Deep Colors in Children's Rooms

When designing children's rooms, people often think of pastels or light and airy colors. I always say that there are no wrong colors. It's all in how you use them. This 5-year-old girl's room has only one window, dark wood floors, and a large bed that partially blocks the window. Conventional wisdom would say to use light colors to make the room feel brighter and more spacious. In this room, I took a different approach. Going lighter on the walls would create a lot of contrast with the mocha-colored floors and dark furniture. Instead, I chose violet and fuschia colors that were similar in value to the dark woods. Value is the relative lightness or darkness of a color. Choosing a color palette with similar values creates a harmonious feel in a room and a home. There is another advantage to choosing deep colors in a room with limited light. When a room is dark, less saturated colors tend to become washed out and actually lose the essence of their color. Pastels, for example, can become grayish or neutral-looking. As you can see in the photo, the deeper colors remain rich, maintaining the feel of the room. Furthermore, these colors will grow with her. They don't feel juvenile and can transition with her as she grows older. The bedroom feels cozy, welcoming, and timeless--a beautiful retreat for this lovely little girl.