brown bedroom decor ideas for a cosy, calm and chic space

The colour brown has been having a moment for over a year now, but if you love neutrals like me, it’s likely been on your radar for a lot longer. I’m planning a makeover for my bedroom and this is one of the colours I’m feeling drawn to as brown is so cosy making it perfect for a bedroom. I’m still in the early planning stage so I’m exploring different ways to incorporate brown.

While brown can bring in the cosiest of vibes in a bedroom, it’s also not the the easiest colour to decorate with. When it’s not done right it can make a space look dated and drab. I think that’s why brown gets a bad rap sometimes. When it is done right though, it can elevate a bedroom and make it look and feel so calm and cosy.

Below I’ve shared some tips on how to use this colour if you’ve been drawn to it too but weren’t sure how to add it to your bedroom colour scheme. I’ve included lots of inspiring pics of brown bedrooms using varying amounts of brown as well as different shades of brown as they’ll give you plenty of ideas to make your own.

brown bedroom decor ideas for a cosy and calm space

consider the size of the room

A large bedroom with high ceilings and architectural features can handle a lot of brown, including very dark brown, but the same isn’t true for smaller spaces with average ceiling height. Smaller bedrooms can look heavy and dreary especially when you use a lot of brown or use very dark shades of this colour. Instead a few brown accents like bedding, brown artwork or a brown rug can be enough to give you that cosy feeling that brown brings.

vary the shades of brown

Don’t stick to just one shade of brown whether thats a dark brown or a lighter mid-brown like mocha, unless you’re using brown purely as a small accent colour. Instead decorate with different shades of brown from lighter tones to darker ones. Keeping the undertones similar will help make the space come together better especially if you’ve never decorated with this colour before.

bring in some lightness

I’m a big fan of adding soft creamy whites and pales beiges in to the mix when decorating with rich shades of brown. If you have brown walls then you could have bedding, curtains and rugs in creams and beiges. Alternatively if you have pale walls then add rich brown textiles in to the mix. This balance of light and dark will create contrast and stop your space from looking too heavy.

colour drench with caution

While I’m all for colour drenching a bedroom, rich browns are tricky to do this with. If you’re confident using browns then go for it as you can create an incredibly chic and cosy bedroom. But if you’re new to using brown then I wouldn’t recommend colour drenching your bedroom in this hue. If you still decide to go down this route, my recommendation would be to mix in at least one or two lighter shades of the same brown used on the walls to add depth and to avoid it looking flat.

remember wood is brown too

If you have a lot of wooden furniture in darker tones, this will naturally read as brown too. When planning the amount of brown to introduce to your bedroom, keep this in mind. Also most dark woods have warm undertones so the shades of brown you introduce should also have the same undertones for a cohesive look.

choose your brown shades carefully

Whether it’s brown paint, a brown rug or a brown throw cushion, choose carefully. Brown comes in so many different shades but not all shades of brown are equal. Generally speaking brown decor tends to look drab and dated when you pick browns that are flat and one-dimensional. Instead choose rich shades of this hue like browns with red undertones or even hints of green or pink and avoid ones with strong orange or overly yellow undertones.

materials matter

Cheap brown decor made of synthetic fabrics looks, well… cheap. Brown tends to work best in natural materials like linen, wood, wool and stone. The best way to explain this is with an example — compare a brown polyester blanket with a brown wool blanket. While this can sometimes be true for other colours too, it’s always true for brown. That’s not to say that you have to always splurge when it comes to brown materials, but it is something to be very aware of and pay attention to when choosing textiles in shades of brown.