BootStrap - How change Navbar colour

Available navbars

You've got two basic navbars :

<!-- A light one -->
<nav class="navbar navbar-default" role="navigation"></nav>
<!-- A dark one -->
<nav class="navbar navbar-inverse" role="navigation"></nav>

Default color usage

Here are the main colors and their usage :

• #F8F8F8 : navbar background
• #E7E7E7 : navbar border
• #777 : default color
• #333 : hover color (#5E5E5E for .nav-brand)
• #555 : active color
• #D5D5D5 : active background

Default style

If you want to put some custom style, here's the CSS you need to change :

/* navbar */
.navbar-default {
    background-color: #F8F8F8;
    border-color: #E7E7E7;
}
/* title */
.navbar-default .navbar-brand {
    color: #777;
}
.navbar-default .navbar-brand:hover,
.navbar-default .navbar-brand:focus {
    color: #5E5E5E;
}
/* link */
.navbar-default .navbar-nav > li > a {
    color: #777;
}
.navbar-default .navbar-nav > li > a:hover,
.navbar-default .navbar-nav > li > a:focus {
    color: #333;
}
.navbar-default .navbar-nav > .active > a, 
.navbar-default .navbar-nav > .active > a:hover, 
.navbar-default .navbar-nav > .active > a:focus {
    color: #555;
    background-color: #E7E7E7;
}
.navbar-default .navbar-nav > .open > a, 
.navbar-default .navbar-nav > .open > a:hover, 
.navbar-default .navbar-nav > .open > a:focus {
    color: #555;
    background-color: #D5D5D5;
}
/* caret */
.navbar-default .navbar-nav > .dropdown > a .caret {
    border-top-color: #777;
    border-bottom-color: #777;
}
.navbar-default .navbar-nav > .dropdown > a:hover .caret,
.navbar-default .navbar-nav > .dropdown > a:focus .caret {
    border-top-color: #333;
    border-bottom-color: #333;
}
.navbar-default .navbar-nav > .open > a .caret, 
.navbar-default .navbar-nav > .open > a:hover .caret, 
.navbar-default .navbar-nav > .open > a:focus .caret {
    border-top-color: #555;
    border-bottom-color: #555;
}
/* mobile version */
.navbar-default .navbar-toggle {
    border-color: #DDD;
}
.navbar-default .navbar-toggle:hover,
.navbar-default .navbar-toggle:focus {
    background-color: #DDD;
}
.navbar-default .navbar-toggle .icon-bar {
    background-color: #CCC;
}
@media (max-width: 767px) {
    .navbar-default .navbar-nav .open .dropdown-menu > li > a {
        color: #777;
    }
    .navbar-default .navbar-nav .open .dropdown-menu > li > a:hover,
    .navbar-default .navbar-nav .open .dropdown-menu > li > a:focus {
        color: #333;
    }
}

Custom colored navbar examples

Here are 4 examples of custom colored navbar :
JSFiddle link

And the SCSS code :

$bgDefault      : #e74c3c;
$bgHighlight    : #c0392b;
$colDefault     : #ecf0f1;
$colHighlight       : #ffbbbc;
.navbar-default {
  background-color: $bgDefault;
  border-color: $bgHighlight;
  .navbar-brand {
    color: $colDefault;
    &:hover, &:focus { 
      color: $colHighlight; }}
  .navbar-text {
    color: $colDefault; }
  .navbar-nav {
    > li {
      > a {
        color: $colDefault;
        &:hover,  &:focus {
          color: $colHighlight; }}}
    > .active {
      > a, > a:hover, > a:focus {
        color: $colHighlight;
        background-color: $bgHighlight; }}
    > .open {
      > a, > a:hover, > a:focus {
        color: $colHighlight;
        background-color: $bgHighlight; }}}
  .navbar-toggle {
    border-color: $bgHighlight;
    &:hover, &:focus {
      background-color: $bgHighlight; }
    .icon-bar {
      background-color: $colDefault; }}
  .navbar-collapse,
  .navbar-form {
    border-color: $colDefault; }
  .navbar-link {
    color: $colDefault;
    &:hover {
      color: $colHighlight; }}}
@media (max-width: 767px) {
  .navbar-default .navbar-nav .open .dropdown-menu {
    > li > a {
      color: $colDefault;
      &:hover, &:focus {
        color: $colHighlight; }}
    > .active {
      > a, > a:hover, > a:focus, {
        color: $colHighlight;
        background-color: $bgHighlight; }}}
}