Bedroom Painting

Bedroom painting refreshes the room you spend the most hours in, so paint choice and odor matter. Safe Choice Painting uses low-odor, low-emission paints, flat or eggshell walls that hide flaws in soft light, and clean lines at the ceiling and trim. Closets, doors and nurseries can be painted with the room.

Low-emission paint for bedrooms

Bedrooms get slept in soon after painting, so we lean toward low-odor paints. One way to compare paints is UL's GREENGUARD Gold program. UL says Gold-certified products meet emission limits on more than 360 volatile organic compounds, line up with California public health department rules, and are meant for settings with sensitive groups such as children. Many interior paints carry it. For nurseries and kids rooms, we suggest a paint with that mark.

When can you sleep in the room?

That depends on the paint, the airflow and who is sleeping there. Our answer on how long after painting you can sleep in a room covers it in detail. On the job, we keep windows cracked and fans running when the weather allows, and we can paint bedrooms one at a time so you always have one to sleep in.

Choosing a sheen

Bedroom walls see soft side light from windows and lamps, which shows every patch. Lower sheens help:

• Flat or matte hides flaws best and suits adult bedrooms and guest rooms.
• Eggshell gives a little wipeability for kids rooms and nurseries.
• Satin or semi-gloss on trim and doors.

See our paint sheen guide by room for the full list.

Bedroom colors

Bedrooms tend toward calmer colors: soft grays, muted blues and greens, warm whites and light taupes. A darker accent wall behind the bed is common. Kids rooms are where brighter colors show up, and those are the walls most likely to be repainted in a few years. Dark or bright colors often need a tinted primer and two finish coats to cover evenly. We can paint sample swatches on two walls so you see the color in morning and evening light.

Nurseries and kids rooms

• Low-emission paint, ideally with GREENGUARD Gold.
• Eggshell walls that wipe clean.
• Paint early so the room has time to air out before it is used.
• Accent walls and stripes taped and painted by hand.
• Repainting a kids room later, when the theme changes, is a short job.

Guest rooms and home offices

Spare bedrooms often double as guest rooms or home offices. Guest rooms do well with a quiet neutral that suits any visitor. Home offices see video calls, so we steer away from strong colors behind the desk that cast a tint on your face, and toward an eggshell that wipes off scuffs from chairs. Wall patches from old shelves and TV mounts are filled and sanded before painting.

Closets

Closets are often skipped and look tired next to fresh walls. We can paint closet walls, ceilings and shelves with the room. Many people pick a lighter color or bright white inside the closet so it is easier to see into. Closet contents need to come out first so we can reach the walls.

What a bedroom job looks like

1. Walkthrough to note wall damage, colors and any closets.
2. Move items to the center of the room and cover them, and cover floors.
3. Patch and sand nail holes, dents and old anchors.
4. Prime patches and any dark color changes.
5. Paint ceilings first, then walls, then trim and doors.
6. Clean up and put outlet covers back.

Bedrooms in newer and older homes

Bedrooms in newer homes often still have the builder's flat paint, which marks easily. In Argyle about 54 percent of homes were built in 2000 or later, by Census estimates. Homes from the 1980s and 1990s may have textured walls and older patches; in Highland Village about 49 percent of homes and in Corinth about 54 percent were built in those decades. See interior painting in Argyle, in Highland Village and in Corinth.

Bedrooms with the rest of the house

Bedrooms are often painted with the hallway and living areas. Our living room painting page covers shared spaces, and interior trim and door painting covers baseboards and doors.

Nearby

• Bedroom painting in Denton, TX
• Interior painting
• Living room painting
• Interior painting in Argyle, TX
• Bathroom painting
• Bedroom painting in Ardmore, OK