The best bedroom colours: paint inspiration

In 2026, bedroom decorating shifted toward warmer, more natural tones – think sage and olive greens, soft neutrals, dusty pinks, and clay, plus richer shades like burgundy and navy when you want to stand out.

Ready to refresh your bedroom? Here are some colour ideas from our team of experts to get you started.

For affordable ways to try a new shade, explore the wilko paint range, which includes tester pots, alongside wall and ceiling paint.

Bedroom decorating trends in 2026

The trending bedroom colours for 2026 have a much warmer feel compared to previous years. There are plenty of familiar shades that people keep reaching for, but they're being used in more interesting ways than ever!

Earthy green bedroom ideas

We all love a calm and cosy corner to tuck ourselves into after a long day, so relaxed green tones are always a hit.

Pale sage can work well if you're decorating all four walls and want to keep the room feeling light. Olive green is a touch cosier and works well in rooms with wooden furniture or cottage-inspired decor.

The great thing about green paint is that you can use it as a starting point. A green feature wall behind the bed can add colour while leaving the other walls neutral.

If you like the idea of bringing more patterns into the room, green also works nicely as part of botanical wallpaper. We have a great range of floral and feature wallpapers that can be used to create a more decorative look.

Warm neutral bedroom ideas

Warm neutrals were another big part of bedroom colour trends for 2026. Think sandy beige, warm taupe, mushroom and softer cream shades.

These colours are useful if you want a bedroom that can easily change with the seasons, while looking completely at home through each of them. Keep the walls neutral, and you can bring in different colours through your bedroom furniture without having to repaint.

Warm neutrals can also work well with darker furniture. A soft beige wall against a wooden bed or dark wardrobe gives off a lovely contrast that tends to work really well.

If you've previously gone for cool grey, a warmer neutral could be a simple way to give the room a different feel without making a dramatic change.

Muted pink and clay bedroom ideas

Pink colour schemes might’ve not been on your bingo card for 2026, but we’re all for it. And we’re not talking about bright Barbie pink (although we do love that too) – go for softer shades such as dusty rose, blush or muted clay.

Pale pink works beautifully when paired with furniture that’s using cream, beige or other warm tones. A clay or terracotta-style look can also work really well if you’re a big fan of an earthy look.

You could use a muted pink across the walls and bring in darker colours through your bedding or furniture. Or, if you're not ready to commit to pink across the whole room, try it on a single wall.

Deep burgundy and navy bedroom ideas

Deeper colours are another way to make a bedroom feel cosier. Navy and burgundy can both work well if you want something that feels a little more moody.

A dark navy wall behind the bed can create a strong backdrop for lighter bedding and furniture. Burgundy can give a warmer feel and works well with cream, beige and wood effects.

If your room doesn't get much natural light, test your chosen shade before painting the whole room. Dark colours can look very different depending on the amount of daylight and the lighting you use in the evening.

Which colours work best in a small bedroom?

Small bedrooms are notoriously difficult to decorate well, but that doesn’t mean they need to be boring. Lighter tones can work especially well in smaller spaces if you know the right ones to go for.

Soft sage, warm beige and pale pink can all work well in smaller spaces. If you like the idea of a darker shade, try using it on one wall rather than across the entire room.

The finish of the room matters too. Keeping your walls, ceiling and larger pieces of furniture relatively simple can stop a smaller bedroom from feeling overcrowded.

Wallpaper can work in a small room too - a striped wallpaper design can help create the impression of more height or width, depending on how you position it, while a subtle pattern can add interest without taking over the space.

Are dark colours a good choice for bedrooms?

Dark bedroom colours can look great, especially if you want the room to feel cosy in the evening with some good lighting.

Deep green, navy and burgundy are all worth considering. You could paint the whole room in a dark shade for a more enveloping look, or keep things simpler with a feature wall behind the bed.

Think about the other colours in the room before you choose your paint. Lighter bedding can stand out against a dark wall, while warm lamps can help the colour feel softer once the main lights are off.

Dark colours can also work particularly well with wood. A deep green or navy wall alongside a wooden bed or bedside table can give the room a warmer, more traditional feel.

If you're unsure, start with a tester pot. It's much easier to decide when you can see the colour on your own wall rather than relying on a small colour card.

Should you use paint or wallpaper in a bedroom?

Paint and wallpaper are both useful in their own right, so there's no reason to choose one over the other!

Wallpaper is great when you want to introduce a pattern or create a feature wall. Floral and botanical designs work well with the earthy greens that have been popular in 2026, while a geometric design feels more contemporary. We also stock plain wallpaper if you want something more subtle.

You can easily use paint alongside wallpaper too. Pick out one of the quieter colours in your wallpaper and use a similar shade on the remaining walls. This is an easy way to make the different parts of the room feel connected.

If you're working with a patterned wallpaper, you don't necessarily need to match the paint exactly. Choosing a similar or complementary tone is often enough.

For more bedroom decorating ideas, browse the wilko wallpaper range, with options ranging from plain and floral designs to geometric, striped and textured styles.

How do you choose the right bedroom paint colour?

Start by looking at the room as it is now. Your flooring, furniture and bedding will all affect how a new colour looks, so it's worth thinking about what you want to keep before choosing your paint.

Natural light is important because a colour that looks pale and warm in the morning might look much deeper in the evening. If your bedroom faces a darker side of the house, a strong colour could look quite different from how it appeared in the shop.

This is where tester pots are useful. Paint a small section of the wall and leave it there for a day or two. Look at it in daylight, then again with your bedroom lights on.

You might find that a colour you weren't initially considering works better than expected once it's on the wall.

And don't feel like every wall has to be the same. You can use a stronger shade behind the bed and a lighter version elsewhere, or keep the walls neutral and bring colour in with wallpaper.

Ready to give your bedroom a colour refresh?

There are plenty of bedroom colours to choose from, but you don't need to follow every decorating trend to create a room you like.

Earthy greens, warm neutrals, muted pinks and deeper shades such as navy and burgundy are all worth looking at if you're planning a change. Start with the colours you already like, think about how much light your room gets and try a tester before committing.