For many of us, working from home has turned out to be more of a permanent situation than a temporary trend. If you’re going to be there a while, why not take your home office from functional to fantastic?
You want to feel great about where you spend eight hours a day, and one way to quickly enhance a space is with a fresh coat of paint. Be thoughtful when choosing a color for your walls or even a whole palette for your office. The best color for your space depends on your personal taste, but it can also relate to your profession. Do you want your environment to boost your creativity, increase your productivity, or help you and your visitors feel calm?
Some of your answers may depend on how much time you spend in your office — do you work at home all day or just for an hour here and there? Whatever the case, when thinking about how to design a home office, color choice can affect the atmosphere of your space and encourage different energy and emotions.
Let’s take a look at a few associations of various colors. Then we’ll get into how to add accessories and accents, as well as how to work with a very small space like a ‘cloffice.’
What's The Best Color for A Home Office?
What's the best paint color for your home office? Well, it depends on what you like. Different colors serve different purposes, and they all can have an impact. Let's look at some great paint color choices for an office.
For example, blue has positive qualities. It's is recognized for its ability to enhance productivity. It means stability and serenity; it can be refreshing and calm. This means blue is good for people who work under pressure. It also pairs well with yellow, which brings a sense of vivacity.
Sources: Ellie Mroz Design & Oh Joy!
Although I don’t recommend yellow as the main color, it can be beneficial when used as an accent with other colors. Like its relative orange, yellow adds that touch of innovation and vibrant spirit. Both yellow and orange pair well with blues and grays.
If you want to make your office an intense, creative space, red can help you get there! It’s not for the faint of heart, as it delivers significant energy to a room.
Green is very much on trend now – from kitchens to offices, it's a versatile choice for home office paint jobs. Lighter green hues signify calm and reduce stress because it's a tranquil color. It can also be taken to rich extremes when you choose a darker green, which can be enhanced with red or copper for a deep, luxurious feel.
Sources: Making Joy and Pretty Things & Park and Oak
There are also classic home office colors like gray. Opting for gray as the main color in your office gives you a neutral background to work with. Light gray is always elegant, and is a great foundation for adding accents. Be wary, though – depending on the shade, gray can be depressing. You’ll want to carefully accessorize or add punches of color to offset a dull gray.
Light to Dark Palettes in a Home Office
Now that we’ve covered some of the basic color options let’s explore how to work with color palettes. I’ve already mentioned that gray can offer a perfect backdrop for a home office. Neutral palettes are great for creating a calm, Zen-style space.
White is another neutral that is timeless, elegant, clean, and minimalist. In a small room, light, bright colors can make the space feel larger. If you have a room without much natural light, choose a lighter color and a neutral background.
You may like the look of a monochrome palette. Whichever color you select, this palette will create harmony and offer reassurance. Just make sure you play with texture when you work within the same color to keep the space from being boring. Don’t be afraid of mixing textures and even patterns – it’s easy to do when you stay in the same color family and add different shades.
At the other end of the spectrum, there are dark colors that really make a statement. Think dark green, navy, or even black. These can be moody and surprisingly calm. Because dark colors will make a room look smaller, I recommend using them if your office is larger. You can pair them with a dark patterned wallpaper for a dramatic and elegant look.
Bringing in the Right Accessories and Accents
In addition to the wall color, you’ll want to put some thought into how your home office furniture coordinates with a chosen palette. The color of the furniture can change everything – it’s not just about the vertical surfaces.
Right now, style trends favor lighter woods over dark ones. For example, if you have green walls, oak furniture will continue an earthy theme, while dark wood may just look old-fashioned. The exception is if you have dark walls. In that case, you can choose dark furniture too and make a bold statement.
Choose the best office furniture for you, then consider other elements. If you have a gray or neutral office, you can bring in uplifting colors with wall art. Depending on the size of your space, you can add a sofa and chairs, too. This is another opportunity to add a touch of color. Think about how spectacular a blue office with a red or yellow chair would look.
What Is A Cloffice? Using The Space You Have
Sources: The House That Lars Built, Sugar And Cloth
What is a cloffice? It's a new word for tiny home offices that are located in a closet. It may be all the space you have to work with, and that’s ok! Make it a mini room and treat it like a special, unique space. And just because it’s small, you don’t need to go completely white.
With an exceptionally small space, putting up a bold wallpaper is fun. Depending on your personality, you could go for something like tropical leaves or a metallic pattern. Wallpaper is a matter of color, too, of course. Keep in mind the same color-emotion connections discussed above, then don’t hesitate to bring pattern and interest to the wall!