Because it’s the place where we’re meant to wind down, bedrooms don’t always enjoy the same level of experimentation that other rooms in the home do. Most of us are more likely to lean into neutrals—especially when it comes to the walls—but in this lush and cool bedroom design, interior designer and Clare Collective ambassador Hema Persad makes the case for going bold. Below, her best advice for color-drenching a bedroom and making this statement look work in any space.

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Create a Cool Bedroom Design with Tons of Color

“Personally, I prefer a bold escape, and our studio’s philosophy is that bedrooms are the most important space,” Hema says. “They’re where you reset, recharge, relax and escape,” so the focus should always be on what makes you feel most at ease. Sometimes, clients want bedrooms that are bright and airy, so she will lean into neutrals, but her favorite bedrooms to design are ones that “that take me away,” ones that are “bold, moody, and special.” In this bedroom, designed for her sister, the bold color in question is Daily Greens, a mossy olive green with a subtly cool undertone. This highly saturated hue pairs well with the crisp black of the pillows, art and bedframe, but also feels organic enough to harmonize with wood tones and creamy textiles.

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Paint the Ceiling for an Enveloping Effect

Ceilings are referred to as the “fifth wall,” although they’re often overlooked and are instead left a default white—a move that can make the room feel larger and lighter, but isn’t always ideal for every design scheme. In a bedroom, for example, continuing wall color onto the ceiling has an enveloping, almost cave-like effect, which is perfect for a space that’s meant to be relaxing above all else.

The decision to color-drench the entire room in Daily Greens was a no-brainer for Hema, who says the only time she doesn't paint the ceiling is when the ceiling flows into another room. “I like immersive design. It’s about designing for a feeling, and with a color like this, the ceiling paint makes you feel like you’ve been embraced,” she says. The lack of visual cutoff between walls and ceiling makes the space feel cozier and more cocoon-like, and who doesn't want to feel enveloped in a cool bedroom design while they’re settling down to sleep?

Maintain Symmetry to Prevent Visual Clutter

If you’re not sure why your bedroom doesn’t feel complete, or perhaps it’s disjointed in a way you can’t put your finger on, there’s a good chance that it’s lacking a certain amount of symmetry. Well-designed rooms, no matter how eclectic they are, often follow time-tested formulas. Dining rooms revolve around the table and chairs, living rooms point furniture toward each other for conversing and bedrooms usually feature a bed centered on a wall with nightstands flanking both sides.

 

In bedrooms in particular, symmetry creates a calming effect, so if you’ve got the space, consider centering the bed and repeating elements on both sides, like nightstands, wall art and lighting. This cool bedroom design, for example, features two black nightstands, two wall mirrors, two wall sconces and two decorative throw pillows. Symmetry doesn’t mean that everything should be perfectly matching, but a cohesive base leaves room to play with styling with art, plants and decorative objects. Hema also points out that she never designs bedrooms with matching furniture sets. Instead, she more loosely coordinates pieces and layers different textures and materials for a collected effect.

Tricks to Make the Space Feel Larger

If your bedroom is on the smaller side, that doesn’t mean you can’t go bold with color. Instead of holding back for fear of making the room seem smaller, there are a few classic tricks you can implement that interior designers use time and time again. If you only have room for one nightstand, for example, Hema recommends a wall-mounted sconce (or two!) like the ones she used in this project, as they don’t take up precious bedside real estate. In this room, she mounted the articulating sconces above the headboard as opposed to the nightstands, “similar to the reading lights in an airplane,” she says, since it’s the most functional way to illuminate your bedtime reading.

 

Creating a buffer of two feet around furniture with your area rug will make the space feel visually larger, and Hema also recommends mounting curtains all the way to the ceiling and wider than the window frame to create the illusion of tall ceilings and towering windows. Painting the ceiling comes in handy here, too, since there’s no line between the walls and ceiling, so your eyes can move around the room without feeling disjointed.