One of the important elements in home decorating is choosing color. Choosing what color/stain of bedroom furniture to go with is no different. Most people pick colors they believe will “match” the rest of the bedroom. This is a good place to start, but not the only way to look at how to use color in bedroom decoration.

To begin with, you need to be aware of your perception of certain colors. That's right, perception. Environmental psychology suggests that actual colors have no effect on us; it's our perception of these colors that counts. To some, black is clean, pure. To others, it represents death. (The latter individuals should certainly not incorporate too much black into their bedroom setup!) Because of this, make sure to pick colors that make you feel safe, warm – however you want to feel when in your bedroom. It's best to make a list of three or four colors that you're fond of, in case certain bedroom sets that you're interested in aren't available in your preferred colors/stains.

Also, take the colors already incorporated into your bedroom into account. Are your bedroom walls off-white? To be safe, try to keep the color/stain of the bedroom furniture you select in that same “tone.” Colors can either be “warm” (reds, yellows, oranges) or “cool” (blues, pinks, purples). The color of your new bedroom furniture will depend on which category the color of your existing bedroom setup falls into. With off-white walls, we'll want to stay with “warm” colors. For example, a wooden canopy bed and wood furniture would look great in an off-white room. (Or if your bedroom is more “cool” in tone, a metal bed would look great.)

Remember, not all pieces will be solidly colored throughout. Kids' bedroom furniture sets, for example, often feature fun designs and a handful of colors. Don't let so many colors scare you! Pick the secondary colors out of these types of pieces and play those colors up in other areas of the bedroom – in drapes, lamp shades, etc.

Overall tips to keep in mind: Warm colors are great for making large bedrooms appear smaller, while cool colors are great for making smaller bedrooms appear larger. A monochromatic color scheme – in which only one color is utilized but any shade of that color works – is an easy way to make sure the colors reflected in your room complement one another. If you want to work with more than one color, try an analogous color scheme. (Think of the colors as wedges of a pie. The three colors you pick for your analogous scheme would be adjacent to one another in the pie – i.e. red, orange, yellow, or green, blue and purple.) In this case, one color should be dominant and the other two secondary in importance. Most of all, have fun!