Paint is well known as one of the least expensive and easiest ways to change the look of any room, but if you pick your colors carefully you can give the space a new feel as well as a new look. Certain colors can make your bedroom walls feel closer or farther away.

If you have a small bedroom and you want it to feel more spacious, then consider painting the walls a receding color. These are the blue – green – purpleish colors and any combination thereof. Look at a basic color wheel – you’ll see that those colors are all next to each other on one side. You probably want to avoid the darkest of these combinations, however as painting a room in very dark tones can make it look smaller overall.

If you want to make a large bedroom feel more cozy, then paint the walls advancing colors. These are the colors on the other side of the color wheel – the reds, oranges and yellow. Bright warm colors will close in the space and make the room seem cheerful and cozy. Also if you have a large cavernous room with a very high ceiling, consider painting the ceiling a medium or dark color which will make bring the appearance back down to a normal height.

When painting your bedroom, make sure you buy enough paint to do the job! Consider how many coats you will need. A dark color may need several coats. IF you are trying to paint a light color over a dark, you may need to use some primer and also a couple of coats. 1 gallon of paint can do about 400 square feet so keep this in mind. To measure your room, go around the edge of all the walls with a measuring tape and record the total width. Measure the height from floor to ceiling and multiply by total width to get the square footage. Measure all the doors and window opening and subtract this from the total square footage (or not, it’s always a good idea to have a little extra paint then not enough!).

Don’t forget to protect your wood moldings with painters tape, remove all the covers from the electrical outlets and plugs and cover the floor and furniture with drop cloths!

Lee Dobbins is owner and editor of Bedroom Designs And Decorations where you can learn more about bedroom colors and decorating schemes.