The Paint Trend That’s Arguably Helping Us Sleep Better

Color theory has long suggested that if you paint your bedroom walls a shade of creamy white or sage green, you will feel calmer and thereby more likely to fall asleep with ease. But what if we told you it doesn’t actually matter what color you paint your bedroom, as long as that space is monochrome? Take it from Garance Doré, who chose a deep blue shade for her space because she is “obsessed with sleep.” “L.A. (and my house!) is all about brightness and sunlight, and sometimes you just want to truly chill down,” she writes. The French photographer, writer, and O.G. influencer combined black out shades, the color Dark Night by Sherwin Williams, and sheets dyed by Flaneur to complete her monochrome scene. She wanted to take it one step further with a matching carpet, but her designer, Sarah Sherman Samuel, told her to pause on the idea.

The lesson is: Pick a color (any color) and really go for it—on the walls, the ceiling, the bedding, the window treatments. The result is nothing short of serene, especially if you opt for a deep jewel tone or dusty pastel. Lately, we’ve been seeing what some designers have been calling “color drenching” play out in our favorite bedrooms. Accent walls were already on the outs, and now it seems the breakup is official. Here are six tips for pulling off the soothing scene. 

Keep the Paint Brush Moving

The idea of selecting one swatch for the walls, another one for the ceiling, and another for the trim can feel overwhelming. So make your life a little easier and cover every surface in the same hue and finish. With the exception of the window sashes, every flat surface in this bedroom, designed by Sally Breer, is a dark rosy pink, including the drywall bump-out the designer incorporated for leaning art. 

Add Fabric to Unusual Places

Renters can get in on the look, too, with this temporary solution. Designer Hugh Long enveloped his client’s bed in the same raspberry pink fabric from Gray Lines Linen that he used for her actual bedspread, resulting in a cocoonlike corner that she can take with her when she moves. 

Find a Perfect Match

Up the tranquility of a soft blue like this by really committing to it. While it takes more time to find bedding or, say, a lampshade that matches the tone of your paint choice perfectly, it is worth the extra effort. Feeling inspired by this space by New York design firm Charlap Hyman & Herrero, Domino’s style editor, Julia Stevens, decided to paint her entire studio apartment in a similar shade. “It was one of the reasons I went all in and used blue bedding, too,” she says.

Amplify the Effect With Mirrors

Laura Yeh wanted to feel “wrapped in color” in her bedroom. Mission accomplished: Her punchy choice of Farrow & Ball’s Breakfast Room Green looks like it goes on for infinity thanks to the clever mirror placement in the corner. 

Bring Curtains Into the Fold

After a few trips to the Benjamin Moore store and many samples painted up on the wall, designer Tamarra Younis of Union of Art landed on the color Bali, “an elegant minty tone,” for this client’s small guest bedroom. She worked hand in hand with her drapery fabricator to create coordinating curtains that hang from custom valance boxes wrapped in the same color. Ceiling tracks who? “By using the wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling drapery, we were able to give the room a sense of grandeur and glamour,” she says. 

Get Weird With Your Color Choice

Murky greens, blue-blacks, and earthy purples might not be universally popular, but they tick the moody box, which matches the energy of the theatrical scene you’re setting out to create. In fact, they read as romantic when you top them off with a canopy or linen roman shades.