Peach Color for Bedroom: Orange Shades and Pairings from Paintings
The peach and orange shades on this page are soft and earthy, not bright. Each one was measured from a museum painting and comes with its LRV and the closest commercial paints, so you can judge how much light it will give your bedroom walls.
Quick answer
Use the buttery apricot #FFDB7E (LRV 73) on bedroom walls and the caramel orange #C88E53 on the main furniture or the wall behind the bed. Keep the deep #7A462E for one small bold piece.
Every color on this page was measured from one of these public-domain paintings.
Shades of orange
#CCA176LRV 40
Dusty Apricot Tan
A mid-tone (LRV 40) with a warm yellow undertone, good for curtains, a bedspread or a rug that adds apricot warmth without taking over. Measured from Cow in a Barn by Camille Corot at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
A mid-tone (LRV 32) with a warm red-orange undertone. Use it on a bed wall or on larger furniture for a clear orange note that is still muted. Measured from Saint Andrew by Simone Martini, ca. 1326, at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
At LRV 22 it sits near the dark end, so it suits wood tones, a headboard or a small accent wall in a bedroom with good daylight. Measured from The Crucifixion by Stefano da Verona, ca. 1400, at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
A light shade (LRV 58) with a warm red-orange undertone, the closest thing here to a quiet peach. Use it on walls, trim or a large rug. Measured from New England Scenery by Thomas Cole, 1839, at The Art Institute of Chicago.
A deep red-orange brown (LRV 9) that anchors lighter walls. Keep it to a bed frame, dresser or bench rather than a whole wall. Measured from The Crucifixion by Stefano da Verona, ca. 1400, at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Very light (LRV 73) with a warm yellow undertone, so it bounces light and gives walls a soft apricot glow, even in a smaller bedroom. Measured from The Crucifixion by Stefano da Verona, ca. 1400, at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The same paint reads differently in cool north light, warm south sun and under evening lamps. Find the column closest to your room.
Color
Neutral daylight
North light
South light
Evening lamps
Dusty Apricot Tan
Caramel Orange
Pale Peach Beige
Buttery Apricot Yellow
Try these colors in a room
Pick which color goes on the walls, the big furniture and the bold piece. Floors, shadows and trim follow your choice.
The framed picture on the wall is Cow in a Barn.
Which peach or orange works best on bedroom walls?
Start with how much light the room needs to hold. The lightest shade here, #FFDB7E, has an LRV of 73, so it reads light and bounces light around. Its warm yellow undertone gives bedroom walls a soft apricot glow rather than a loud orange. The pale peach-beige #DFC4AE, at LRV 58, is the quieter choice if you want a hint of peach that stays close to a neutral.
The three orange hero colors sit in the middle of the scale. #CCA176 has an LRV of 40, #C88E53 has 32 and #A87543 has 22. They are muted, earthy oranges, closer to caramel and gold than to tangerine. On every wall they make a snug, enclosed room. In a small or dim bedroom, keep them to the wall behind the bed or use them on furniture and textiles.
None of these is a bright, sugary peach. It helps to know that before you buy a sample.
What goes with peach and orange in a bedroom?
For a two color combination on the walls, pair a light shade with a mid-tone from the same family. Try #FFDB7E on three walls and #C88E53 on the wall behind the bed. Or put #DFC4AE on the walls and use #A87543 as the accent. The undertones are all warm, so the pairing looks calm rather than busy.
Use #7A462E, LRV 9, in small doses: a bed frame, a dresser or a bench. It is deep enough to anchor the lighter colors. Wood furniture in the tone of #A87543 and a bedspread or curtains in #CCA176 tie the scheme together.
For trim and ceiling, choose a soft warm white or the pale #DFC4AE. Pure bright white can look harsh next to these shades. Mid or dark wood flooring suits all of them, and a pale rug in #DFC4AE keeps the floor from feeling heavy.
How does bedroom light change these colors?
Warm colors react strongly to light. In a north-facing bedroom, daylight is cooler and flatter, so the mid-tones #CCA176, #C88E53 and #A87543 can look duller and darker. The lighter #FFDB7E or #DFC4AE helps there. In a south-facing room, warm light adds richness and the deeper shades stay lively.
Evening matters most in a bedroom. Warm bulbs push these colors toward orange and deepen them. Cool white bulbs flatten them toward tan. Pick bulbs with a similar warmth across the room and keep them consistent.
LRV is a useful guide. A color at 22, like #A87543, reflects little of the light that reaches it, so a room painted in it needs lamps in the evening and a lighter ceiling. A color at 73 reflects far more. Look at your sample in the morning, at midday and at night before you decide.
How do you test peach and orange paint samples?
Paint a large sample, at least two feet square, on the wall or on a board you can move around the room. Apply two coats. Small swatches of orange can mislead, because the colors beside them change how they look.
The closest paint matches measured are a good place to start. #FFDB7E is near-identical to Sherwin-Williams SW 6901 Daffodil. #CCA176 is very close to Sherwin-Williams SW 9024 Vintage Gold and near-identical to Behr PPU4-16 Kenya. #C88E53 is near-identical to Sherwin-Williams SW 6369 Tassel. A match is a starting point, so confirm it in your own room.
Place the sample next to your bed linens, floor and trim. Check it in morning light and under your bedside lamps. Live with it for two or three days before you buy gallons.
FAQ
What is a good peach color for a bedroom?
The closest to a quiet peach here is #DFC4AE, a light peach-beige with an LRV of 58. Its near-identical paint matches include Sherwin-Williams SW 2859 Beige and Behr PPU3-08 Sienna Dust.
What is a good apricot paint color for a bedroom?
Try #FFDB7E for walls. It is a very light, warm yellow apricot with an LRV of 73. For a deeper apricot note on textiles, use #CCA176.
Is orange too strong for a bedroom?
The oranges on this page are muted, with LRVs from 22 to 40. Use them on one wall, furniture or textiles, and keep the walls lighter if the room gets little daylight.
What color combination works for orange bedroom walls?
Pair #C88E53 with the lighter #DFC4AE or #FFDB7E. Add #7A462E in a small piece, such as a bed frame, for depth.
What trim and ceiling color goes with peach walls?
A soft warm white or the pale #DFC4AE works well. Both keep the warm undertone consistent and avoid the harsh contrast of pure bright white.
Save these colors
A card with every color on this page, its LRV and the paintings it comes from. Pin it, or take it to the paint store.
Painting images: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, public domain (CC0).
Colors measured by Light & Pigment. Paint names belong to their brands and matches are approximate. Colors look different on screen than on a wall, so always test a sample.
From Cow in a Barn, Camille Corot
