As any home decorator or interior designer can tell you, sometimes one of the quickest, easiest, and most effective ways to freshen up your bedroom decor is to change your bedding. But doing that presents a plethora of choices, including what color bedsheets shall I get?
That may sound like a quite simple question to answer; whatever color you like best. But such is the emotional, and even psychological, power of color that the answer can be a lot deeper than that. And it is those deeper issues we are going to delve into here.
[no_toc]
What Color Sheets are Best for Sleeping?
Even if you have never though too much about it, you are probably aware that there are psychological meanings behind every color, – in fact color psychology is a real scientific discipline – and that the colors in a room can affect your mood and even, in a bedroom, the quality of your sleep.
Obviously, the last thing you need when trying to get a good night’s sleep is for your bedsheets to be in a color that might prevent you from getting a good night’s sleep.
But what are the best colors for promoting sleep? According to color experts calming shades of mid to light blue or a lighter, softer green are excellent choices, and as it is a neutral, but still light and bright, white is an excellent choice, as is a soft, buttery yellow, a calming beige or, if you want to make a very trendy choice, greige, a subtle combination of greys and beiges that is a big hit with designers right now.
Colors to avoid? Red is a big no-no as it is an exciting, stimulant color that can raise the heart rate – which it is why it is often considered the color of passion – and bright yellows and oranges are not very calming either. Or very easy to match to the rest of your bedroom decor.
Want to learn a little more about possible color choices for your bed sheets and their effects on your mood? Check out the chart below:
Should Bedding Match Wall Color?
Some people do like to match their bedding to their bedroom wall color closely, but it is far from a must. What it should do however is complement the color of your walls, as well as the rest of the furniture in the space.
One thing that can be highly effective is if you take color cues from one element of your room and match the bedding to it.
For example, if you have a chair in a certain color you love, and that you would like to make a focal point of the space, matching its color in your bedding can do that with ease.
You can also use bedding to add pops of color to a muted or very neutral color scheme. This way you can make use of bright colors you love without overwhelming the room and potentially disturbing your sleep!
Why Do Hotels Use White Sheets?
Hotel rooms vary greatly from town to town, city to city and country to country, but one thing always seems to a be constant: there will be white sheets on the beds. Have you ever wondered why that is?
The choice is not one of aesthetics or even one made for budgetary reasons. Instead, it is a bit of a psychological trick.
The fact is that by only making use of bright, pristine white bedding hotels not only plant the impression in a guest’s mind that the room is sparkling clean but also that it is rather luxurious, even if that is not really the case.
There are other advantages too. White sheets can bleached as needed without the hotel laundry staff having to worry about bleach stains and the thick cotton they are usually made from can withstand a hotter wash, which can be better for sanitizing sheets between uses.
Going back to the most restful colors for bed sheets white certainly is among those, and the better a guest sleeps the better that Yelp! review is likely to be!
Mayfair Linen
If you want to add a little hotel luxury to your own bedroom – or make use of that little psychological trick yourself in your guest room perhaps – then the Mayfair Linen 100% Egyptian Cotton Sheets are an excellent choice.
With their generous 800 thread count and bright white brushed cotton construction they can turn almost any bed into a ‘hotel quality’ one in just a few seconds!
Click here to see this sheet set on Amazon
What Are the Best Colors to Hide Stains on Bedsheets?
Sometimes stains on bedsheets, while never pleasant, are unavoidable. Knowing what the best color bed sheets to hide stains are can come in handy, particularly if you want your sheets to last for years to come, whether you are dealing with pet messes, menstrual blood, the remnants of sweaty nights, bed-wetting accidents or intimate stains.
As you might imagine, in many cases darker colored sheets work best.
Bloodstains
Navy blue, for example, is especially good at hiding bloodstains, better, in many cases, than black.
Urine
As it has such a strong yellow component however urine is often best concealed by a mid to mahogany brown color.
Other stains
And for annoying ‘intimate stains’ a light white or cream-colored sheet will often do the best camouflage job.
No one is suggesting, by the way, that any of this should mean that sheets are not laundered as soon as possible after a stain of any kind occurs, just that if they do not quite come out the first time it will be far less noticeable.
When it does come to washing stained bedsheets you should treat the stain before you wash them, and avoid scrubbing at the stain too hard, as doing so will loosen the fibers and quickly leads to rips, tears, and holes.
The Oxiclean Gel Stick is an excellent choice, especially as it can be used on all your other stained laundry items as well, no matter what color they are.
What is the Best Color Sheets for Guys?
The days when the ‘rule’ was pink for girls and blue for boys are long gone, so men should feel free to make use of whatever color bedsheets happen to fit their bedroom decor and match their own design aesthetic.
As a lot of men tend to stick with neutral colors for their bedrooms, that often extends to their choice of sheets as well. If stains are a concern then make use of the guidelines above, otherwise almost anything goes.
Guys can make use of a checked bedsheet set to add a pop of visual interest to their bedroom decor with ease, or a brighter colored bedsheet set in an all-black room.
PeachSkinSheets
You can even opt for pink, especially if you choose a very unisex, and sophisticated, bedsheet set like this Cotton Candy Pink choice from PeachSkinSheets, which is also very affordable and durable, two more pluses guys should love.
Check out this bedding set on Amazon
Best Color for Bed Sheets and Feng Shui
You have no doubt heard of Feng Shui, the ancient Chinese practice that utilizes the energy forces around the home to harmonize people with their surroundings and, some say, even change their luck and fortune.
Feng Shui touches almost every aspect of home decorating and furniture placement, including the bedding you choose.
According to Feng Shui law for a calmer, better night’s sleep you should choose bedding – including bedsheets – in quiet colors such as light blues, greens, and lavender. To create a warmer, cozier bed in the winter months it suggests switching to a rich copper, pink or mid brown shade, advice that is very much in line with that of today’s interior designers.
Bed placement also matters in Feng Shui too though. The best location, it states, for your bed is as far from the door as possible, while still allowing you to keep an eye on the entrance of the room. When you relax and are ready to sleep, this allows for a sense of security and safety.
Find more bedding inspiration in the blogs below: