Interior design is a fun process that involves the consideration of multiple facets of psychology and aesthetic preferences. Your choice of color depends not only on your interests but objective coordination between hues.
Most homeowners are faced with the choice of whether or not they want to integrate grey or white bedside tables into the bedroom. The steps below will walk you through this process and ensure you get the best results for your personality and needs.
Determine Whether the Room is for a Child or Adult
This may be the easiest step of them all: You’ll need to clarify whether the room is being designed for a toddler, child, teen, or adult. Why? It comes down to simple logistics. While an adult won’t have any trouble keeping their white furniture clean, a rambunctious kid is likely to destroy the thing in a matter of days (or hours).
A grey bedside table may be the better choice for the little one’s room, as it will alleviate cleaning and maintenance responsibilities. An age-appropriate selection will also ensure that your furniture lasts as long as possible without sustaining permanent damages (i.e., permanent marker, food stains, etc.).
Choose the Bedroom Theme
Before you even get to choosing whether you want grey or white bedside tables, you first need to establish your bedroom’s theme and mood. Consider your personality and what you want your bedroom to represent. Will it be your place of creativity? Do you intend for your bedroom to be meant for rest only?
Think of what you will primarily be using your bedroom for, and choose your theme from there. You might also want to incorporate some of your personal style and interest into your room. For example, suppose you prefer natural tones (many of which are quite accommodating to shades of grey). In that case, you might like a Mediterranean or Boho theme.
On the other hand, someone with a preference for brighter colors (great for incorporating white) would feel most comfortable in a Contemporary- or Modern-themed bedroom. Establish what you want to see and feel in your bedroom, and then you’ll be ready to select your color palette. (Source: Home and Garden TV)
Decide if You Want Your Furniture to Match the Bed
Matching furniture is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it can help everything feel cohesive and create a consistent look throughout the room. On the other hand, your theme can become quite monotonous and mind-numbing to look at.
This is especially the case with white furniture. The two scenarios can play out as follows:
- Too much white in one room can be quite blinding and can start to feel as informal and cold as a doctor’s office.
- Too much grey is likely to feel sad and melancholy.
It’s important to mix your bedside table’s hue with the complementary colors listed below to eliminate the possibility of feeling exasperated by your bedroom décor.
Pick Your Color Palette
The process of selecting your bedroom’s color scheme can be as simple as you defaulting to your favorite colors, or as complex as identifying the psychological impacts of your chosen hues. This is another aspect that should be considered in the context of your intentions for your bedroom.
For instance, if you plan to spend lots of time meditating in your bedroom, you may want to choose calming colors, such as shades of blue. You must also realize that bright colors like yellow and pink may disrupt your rest. (Source: Healthline)
Once you get these details down, you can move on to choose whether grey or white bedside tables complement your room’s coloration better. The best examples of bedroom color palettes and white or grey furniture are below (Source: Home Beautiful ‘N Creative; SF Gate):
| Room Colors for White Bedside Table | Room Colors for Grey Bedside Table |
| Turquoise White Brown Beige Teal Navy blue Lavender Red Orange Yellow | Common undertones of gray: Green Blue Purple Peach Red Yellow |
Consider How Color Combinations Influence Mood
As mentioned above, you might want to mull over how the different potential color combinations can influence your mood as you spend time in your bedroom. Some schemes may look beautiful during the day while you’re awake and alert but can be far too distracting when you’re trying to relax and sleep.
If you want your bedroom to truly be your haven, then you’ll need to dedicate some time and energy to incorporating tranquility into your design. Popular paint colors and their corresponding effects on mood are listed below (Source: Color Psychology):
- Red: This color tends to evoke strong emotions, both negative and positive. Upon seeing hues of red, you are likely to feel passion, powerful, energetic, or even anger. However, keep in mind that researchers have observed faster respiration and heightened blood pressure in people who spend extended time around the color red.
- Green: Depending on the specific shade you choose, green can be either calming or invigorating. We associate this color with rejuvenation and freshness. So, having it envelop your bedroom’s walls in complement to either a white or grey bedside table can be beneficial to your rest and emotional health.
- Blue: This is a soothing color that promotes enthusiasm and self-reflection. It is highly beneficial for those looking to improve their sleep, as it influences a slower heart rate and metabolism. Fortunately, this color goes well with both white and grey furniture.
- Orange: Those looking to enhance their optimism and nurture feelings of freedom and vitality would do well to choose orange as a focal color in their bedroom. It stimulates creativity and happiness but can potentially be disruptive to sleep. It’s best to pair this color with a white bedside table.
- Yellow: Need inspiration for brainstorming creative or business decisions? This is the perfect color for you. Researchers have discovered that the color yellow can support strengthened cognitive abilities and raised awareness. You can make shades of yellow match either a white or grey bedside table.
Consider the Possibility of Future Renovation
Are you someone who enjoys change? Do you find yourself switching up your interior décor often? If so, a white bedside table may be the right choice for you. The primary reason for this is that white furniture is significantly easier to re-paint than other colors, especially darker hues like greys.
You don’t have to know for sure if you’ll be redesigning your bedroom any time soon, but if this is a tangible possibility in the near future, it’s best to make things easier on yourself and go with the white. (And if you change your mind down the road and feel that grey works better, you can easily paint the table grey!)
Determine Your Room’s Focal Point
Decide which piece of furniture, art, or other item is going to function as the focal point of your bedroom. Your bedside table is meant to function as a secondary, supportive element to your room’s overall aesthetic, so it probably shouldn’t stand out too much from everything else.
For example, if your bed is dark-colored, it may not be a good idea to pick a white bedside table. It’ll only appear as an eyesore and will take away from the room’s look. The same is true of grey pieces in brightly colored or white rooms.
Be Wary of Pets in the Bedroom
Similarly to how you should consider whether the room is for an adult or child, you should also be mindful of any pets that live in the room with you. Stains from wagging tails knocking food and drink, or arts and writing utensils on the table’s surface, or even scratch and bite marks, are far more likely to show up on white furniture.
While you should still be careful about maintaining your grey furniture, white is far more vulnerable to destructive pet behavior (intentional or not).
In Conclusion
Choosing whether you want grey or white bedside tables may seem to be an easy choice at first but involves quite a bit of planning and consideration. You’ll need to be mindful of the following details to make the appropriate choice:
- Who the bedroom belongs to
- Whether you want your furniture to match
- The psychological impacts of your color palette and theme
- Future renovation plans
- The presence of pets in your room
Take your time when choosing this element of interior design to make your room perfect for you now and into the future.