Brown Bedroom Ideas
Brown makes a bedroom feel warm, grounded and cosy. It works best when you mix two or three browns of different depths with plenty of cream and one fresh contrast such as sage, rust or soft blue. Choose art with warm, sunlit tones or a light background so it stands out against brown walls or wood.
Below: choosing a brown, colours that go with it, bedding and headboard ideas, and wall art for brown walls.
Prints for this look
The colour palette
Chocolate, caramel or mocha?
- Chocolate brown is deep and enveloping. Use it on all four walls for a cocooning bedroom, or on the wall behind the bed.
- Caramel and tan are warmer and lighter, and feel relaxed and slightly retro.
- Mocha and mushroom sit between brown and taupe. They are the easiest browns to live with in a small room.
Browns with a red or orange base feel warm and glowing in lamplight. Browns with a grey or green base feel calmer and more muted. Keep your other colours on the same side, so a red-based chocolate gets rust and caramel, while a grey-based mocha gets sage and stone.
Not ready to paint? Bring brown in through a walnut bed, a leather chair, wood panelling or a chocolate velvet headboard instead.
Colours that go with brown
Cream and ivory are essential. They stop brown from feeling heavy. Rust, terracotta and burnt orange warm it up further. Sage and olive are the freshest contrast, because green and brown sit together naturally. Soft blue is a less obvious but lovely partner for chocolate brown.
As a guide, use the 60-30-10 rule: about 60% brown and wood, 30% cream, 10% accent. Our decorating rules page covers it in more detail.
Brown bedroom decor: bedding and texture
Cream or ivory bedding is the simplest choice and makes a brown room feel fresh. Add caramel, rust or ochre cushions and a textured throw. On chocolate walls, a sage green duvet or a blue linen set gives welcome contrast.
Brown loves texture: velvet, boucle, leather, rattan and wool. A patterned rug in rust, cream and brown ties everything together, and brass or amber glass lamps add a warm glow in the evening.
Wall art for brown walls
On dark brown walls, art with a light, cream or sunlit background reads best: warm landscapes, botanicals, travel scenes and abstracts in rust, ochre and cream. On lighter caramel or mocha walls, deeper colours such as sage, navy or terracotta give contrast. Oak, walnut or brass frames suit a brown bedroom better than stark white.
Above the bed, go for one A1 above a double, or a pair of A2 prints above a king size, hung 15 to 25 cm above the headboard. Browse our brown wall art, or add warmth with burnt orange and contrast with sage green prints.
Sizes at a glance
| Size | Centimetres | Inches | Works for |
|---|---|---|---|
| A4 | 21 x 29.7 | 8.3 x 11.7 | Shelves, desks, small gaps, sets of 3 |
| A3 | 29.7 x 42 | 11.7 x 16.5 | Hallways, side walls, pairs |
| A2 | 42 x 59.4 | 16.5 x 23.4 | Above a sideboard or small sofa, the anchor of a gallery wall |
| A1 | 59.4 x 84.1 | 23.4 x 33.1 | Above a standard sofa or bed |
| A0 | 84.1 x 118.9 | 33.1 x 46.8 | Large walls, open-plan rooms, statement pieces |
All our A sizes fit standard off-the-shelf frames, and every print is made to order on museum-grade matte paper.
