Best Paint Colors for a Dreamy, Beach Theme Bedroom

My bedroom room used to be brick red. When I painted it this color, I thought it was bold and would stand out - and it did. I quickly found, however, that the I became nervous whenever I went into the room. Perhaps it is because I have a lifelong "red" trauma due to an unfortunate carpet sale my mother found when I was a child, leaving our entire house carpeted in crimson shag; I really don't know. What I do know, however, is that the red of my bedroom turned it into a room I never wanted to enter. I knew I needed to do something, and fast. I love painting rooms, and I know how quickly and inexpensively some paint can work miracles. Going for a completely different look and feel, I decided I wanted the cool, calming colors of a faraway beach. I went to Sherwin-Williams, picked out my paint colors, and got to work - and the bedroom turned out better than I ever imagined! My family and friends also love the room and constantly ask how I did it, and I've helped two of them create their own "beachy" feeling bedrooms and living rooms.

Creating your Beachy Bedroom Getaway
This room has a bluish-green base, using a "combing" technique to make the walls look watery and tropical. The first thing you need to do is prime all your walls with Sherwin-Williams Preprite Classic Primer, which covers anything(even horrid red paint) in one coat and dries fairly quickly. Once the primer was dry (and I give it a day, just to be safe), I painted three the walls with Lime Rickey (#6717), which is a lovely, soothing green - not too bright, and not too olive. I used two coats for this just to give it optimum sheen and durability. I used the satin, which was perfect - not too shiny, but not flat and makes the walls "pop."

The final wall was going to be the "focal point" of my room, so I wanted to make it a little bit special. I painted that wall with a basecoat of Intense Teal (#6493), which is a lagoony blue that brings you right to the "beach place" of your mind. Again, I used Satin and, because it was so bright, I used two coats to make sure everything was covered and as beautiful as possible.

After I let that dry, I started on the "combing" technique that would give such a great texture and visual interest to my wall. I mixed one part of the Lime Rickey paint to three parts of Sherwin-Williams Illusions Faux Glazing Liquid. I began at a top corner and rolled the glaze mixture onto my wall in 3 foot sections (from top to bottom) - doing it in small sections ensures that your glaze will not dry.

After making sure the glaze was rolled on evenly, I took a comb (which works great, but you can also use a wallpaper brush) and dragged it through the glaze, from top to bottom. Wipe the comb after each pass, making sure you always start on a completely wet section - never overlap with a section you've already done! As you finish each 3 foot section, roll out another 3 feet, and continue working in this manner until your entire wall is complete. The result is a beautifully textured wall that looks, very subtly, like rippling water - the greens and blues mix and combine to make it a truly calming, serene wall.

I finished my room by painting my stark white ceiling a more calming color: Morning Fog (#6255). It is a lovely shade of cool gray that enhances the calm feel of the rest of the room. Again, I used the satin and found it to be a perfect match with the rest of the room. Because it is so light, I only used one coat and got incredible coverage with it.

For some added visual interest, we added faux "trim" around the perimeter of the ceiling. I used blue painter's tape to mark a 2-inch strip around the entire ceiling and painted it a sandy color, so it would truly be reminiscent of the beach. I used Hardware (#6172) - only one coat - and it brought an extra layer to the entire room.

Although I used several colors and products, the entire room was completed - and without much stress! - within a weekend. I still get compliments and - best of all - I love my bedroom. Where I used to find any excuse to get out of it, now I never want to leave! With a little bit of creativity and some moderate work, you can have the bedroom of your dreams too.