Paint colors for your home, inside and out
Red · Bedroom · colors from 4 paintings
The best red for a bedroom is usually a deep, warm one used on a single wall, or a softer red kept to textiles. This page shows three reds measured from museum paintings, with LRV and closest paint matches, plus three warm colors from the same paintings to pair with them.
Quick answer
Use #A63322 for a red accent wall behind the bed, #7A2F22 for furniture or a large dark room, and #C3696D for textiles or a softer wall. Pair them with #D7CAB2 on the other walls.
A mid-tone red at LRV 23 with a warm red-orange undertone, measured from "Saint Agatha" by Vergós Workshop. Use it for pillows, a throw or a softer wall in a bedroom with good daylight.
From Saint Agatha, Vergós Workshop
At LRV 11 with a warm red-orange undertone, this is a strong choice for a red accent wall behind the bed. It comes from Hans Memling's "Virgin and Child."
From Virgin and Child, Hans Memling
At LRV 6 it is very dark, so it suits a headboard, dresser or a large bedroom more than four walls in a small one. Measured from "Alexander Grant" by Cosmo Alexander.
From Alexander Grant, Cosmo Alexander
A light warm tan at LRV 60 with a yellow undertone. Use it on the remaining walls, trim and ceiling to keep the room bright beside the reds. It comes from Rogier van der Weyden's portrait of Francesco d'Este.
From Francesco d'Este (born ca. 1429, died after 1486), Rogier van der Weyden
A very dark warm brown at LRV 6, suited to floors, a bed frame or other wood. Measured from "Alexander Grant" by Cosmo Alexander, the same painting as the dark brick red.
From Alexander Grant, Cosmo Alexander
A light warm yellow at LRV 56. Keep it to one bold piece such as an armchair or lamp base so it lifts the reds without competing. It comes from "Saint Agatha" by Vergós Workshop.
From Saint Agatha, Vergós Workshop
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soft Parchment Tan | ||||
| Warm Honey Yellow |
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 Saint Agatha.
Start with how dark you want the room to feel. The three reds on this page run from LRV 23 down to LRV 6, and that number tells you more than the hue does.
#C3696D, at LRV 23, is the lightest. It is a mid-tone red with a warm red-orange undertone. It works as a full wall color in a room with good daylight, or as a textile color in a smaller one. The closest match measured is Sherwin-Williams SW 9003 Rita's Rouge.
#A63322, at LRV 11, is the one to pick for a red accent wall behind the bed. One deep wall frames the bed without closing in the whole room. Sherwin-Williams SW 57 Chinese Red is a very close match.
#7A2F22, at LRV 6, is the darkest. It suits a large bedroom, or furniture and details, better than four walls in a small room.
For a two color bedroom, set red against a light wall. #D7CAB2 is a light warm tan at LRV 60, so it bounces light back into the room and lets the red read as a feature. Sherwin-Williams SW 6141 Softer Tan, Behr MQ3-15 Bell Tower and Farrow & Ball No. 4 Old White are near-identical matches.
Use the same tan on the trim and ceiling, and the room stays calm. Paint the wall behind the bed in #A63322 and the other three in the tan. Add #7A2F22 in a dresser or headboard, and #C3696D in pillows or a throw.
For floors and wood, #5A3E27 is a very dark warm brown at LRV 6. Sherwin-Williams SW 6090 Java is a very close match. Keep one bold piece in #EEBD6C, such as an armchair or a lamp base, so the warm yellow appears once and does not compete.
Red shifts more than most colors as the light changes. In a room with north-facing windows, daylight is cooler and the reds can look darker and flatter. In a south- or west-facing room, the warm red-orange undertone in all three reds comes forward, especially in late afternoon.
Evening matters most in a bedroom. Warm lamp bulbs deepen red-orange undertones, and low-LRV colors absorb most of the light that hits them. #A63322 at LRV 11 and #7A2F22 at LRV 6 will make walls feel closer at night. #C3696D at LRV 23 stays more open.
If the room is small or dim, keep the deep reds to one wall or to furniture, and let #D7CAB2 at LRV 60 carry the rest. Use more than one light source so the dark wall is not lit by a single lamp.
Test on large boards, not small chips. Paint two coats on poster board about two feet square, and leave a white border around the color. The paints listed here are the closest matches measured to each painting color, and screens vary, so trust the physical sample.
Move the boards around the room. Tape one to the wall behind the bed, one on the window wall and one next to the floor or the bedding. Look at them in the morning, in the afternoon and at night under your own lamps.
Give it two or three days. Check the red beside #D7CAB2 or the trim color you plan to use, because a red looks different next to each neighbor. If two reds are close, choose the one that looks calmer at night.
It can be, if the depth suits the room. A deep red on one wall or a softer red in textiles is easier to live with than four bright red walls.
#A63322 is the best fit. At LRV 11 it is deep enough to frame the bed, and Sherwin-Williams SW 57 Chinese Red and Behr S-H-210 New Penny are very close matches.
Pair #A63322 on the wall behind the bed with #D7CAB2 on the other walls. The tan is light, at LRV 60, so it balances the deep red.
Use very dark brown #5A3E27 for wood and floors, and a warm yellow such as #EEBD6C for one bold piece. Both come from the same paintings as the reds.
For #C3696D, Sherwin-Williams SW 9003 Rita's Rouge is very close. For #A63322, it is SW 57 Chinese Red, and for #7A2F22 it is SW 2839 Roycroft Copper Red. Behr matches are also listed with each color.
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.
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Painting images: The Art Institute of Chicago, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 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.
