Home Office Paint Colors This Designer Uses Again and Again

Kitchen Design, Home, Paint Colors, Home Office

By Deborah von Donop

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( +free color sheet download below )

Plan Your Office: When working from home, often our work areas are planned and created primarily as an afterthought. But they shouldn't be. You need to create a space that will support you and help you stay on task and productive. Did you know that your paint color not only finishes the room but it can be the finishing touch that makes your home a productive workspace and learning environment?

In today’s environment, the home office is a necessity. Whether it is functioning as a replacement office or satellite, you need to plan your space. Many times we are also planning for remote learning, for schoolchildren and adults! (the last few years have accelerated the need) for the work-from-home trend all across the country, and now builders are starting to provide home-office packages as part of new home options.

UPDATED HOME OFFICE: We use to be excited about the versatility of a laptop. We can work anywhere we want to, whether it be on the sofa in our bed, or at the dining room table. But given the frequency in which we work in these non-office areas, the effects of how not being aligned and supported properly will eventually cause harm or injury. ( a crick in your neck, tennis elbow, backache)

The sofa, and dining room table are the typical go-to locations, but now we are shifting to be more deliberate with the location we choose to work at home, as we spend more time at home working! And all those Zoom/ Web-Ex calls dictate the need for a space that is quiet and with a door, so as to not be disruptive to the other people living with you. So hopefully you’ve moved to claim a corner, a room, or even a closet to spend your days, someplace with a good chair, and worksurface that is the right height for our head, shoulder, and wrists, and not slumped at the sofa all day.

OFFICES FOR LEARNING: An office area can also be designated for REMOTE LEARNING for a family or professional: Oh the hoops we have through to set up our children for learning at home! Now they are designated for homework, crafts, or days at home learning. For tips on setting up remote learning for your children, I found this article helpful with resources and ideas for children. Once you are set up, desks, tables, and storage, this space will continue to support your children on their learning adventures.

GET ORGANIZED for DIFFERENT TYPES OF LEARNERS: Some children are quiet and contemplative, and some are kinetic and need to move. When my children were young, I had the pleasure of meeting Leslie Josel of “Order Out Of Chaos”, and I bought her organizing agenda for my boys. She has a great FB Group where she answers questions and a book with lots of tips.

If you need further assistance in getting your home organized for your children, consider hiring a professional organizer who specializes in educational support for children of all learning types. Depending on the company and where you live, professional organizers typically charge between $30 and $80 per hour, according to CostHelper.com, and per-project rates for a single room such as a kitchen, utility room, or home office range from $200 to $375. Visit NAPO to find an organizing consultant in your area, and create the best learning environment possible for your children and yourself.

CREATE A ROOM YOU LOVE you’re going to be spending a lot of time in it.

Assuming you have committed a room or corner, and some office furniture to work at for your setup, now its time to really claim it. It’s no secret that one of the quickest and least expensive ways to transform a room is with paint. And now that we are working from home more than ever, you may want to consider giving your space some love and paint it! ( I recently wrote a guide on Affordable and Original Art For Your Home Office you may enjoy.)

CHOOSE A COLOR TO SUPPORT YOUR WORK: Countless books have been written about how to boost your work productivity. Color and pride in your space are definite drivers to productivity, creativity, and creating a space for you. In this post, I’m sharing with you the most popular home office paint colors.

HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT OFFICE PAINT COLOR?

Choosing the right paint color, however, can be tricky. It’s always recommended to paint a few sample colors in the room you’ll be painting. Both natural and artificial lighting play huge roles in how the hues appear at different times during the day. You also need to see how the color interacts with existing furnishings, like your carpet, furniture, fabrics, and more.

See below some of my go-to paint colors, which can help promote a productive space, make your office feel more complete, and offer a sense of happiness every time you enter. Honor your office, and choose the best paint colors for your home office. You spend a lot of time there to not make sure it feels like your best outfit when you are working.

Our Tried and True Colors:

I find that I frequently work with the same colors again and again, coming back to their staying power and perennial freshness. We should all practice trying other colors but these are the ones that I come back to! 1. Grays and Whites, and 2. Blues.

Please keep reading for visual examples of these and feel free to download for reference later.

Or you can PIN IT FOR LATER!

office colors 2020 Greays and Whites checklist color guides (8.5x11).png

download the best office paint colors “Office Color Trends: Grays & Whites”

Stonington Gray

And of course, you can’t talk about gray without mentioning Stonington Gray and its sister Coventry Gray. They are both very neutral – not too cool and not too warm – and would like great in the living room, bedroom, and kitchen. I have been using Stonington Gray for many years. I keep trying other grays but keep coming back to Stonington. It’s just so appealing.

Nickel

Nickel by Benjamin Moore is a gray with blue undertones and is great for a home office space. The color is light and calming and goes perfectly with rustic wood tones found in furniture. The blue hues stimulate the mind, increase productivity, and help you stay focused!

Design Tip:
Color can really affect your mood, so when it comes selecting a color, choose a color that give off pleasant vibes. I know this sounds a little woo-woo, but ask yourself this question when considering different options. You may find an answer for which is the best home offfice paint color for you.

BENJAMIN MOORE SHORELINE

This is a great color for a home office. It’s a light crisp gray that is calming. I highly suggest you try it as one of your options. This may be the perfect entrance for all your other elements in the room.

BENJAMIN MOORE CLASSIC GRAY

NOTHING lackluster ABOUT THIS COLOR. You may not see the gray, but it’s here, and yet this color is light, bright and warm.

FULL MOON

Full Moon is a calming white, yet fresh and bright. Great for rooms with north facing windows, to keep the lightness of the room throughout the day.

PALE OAK

YES, Pale Oak looks very beige here, but it does have a green undertone. Green is a calming color and it works well for an office space to help you feel more restful. These undertones become stronger given the other furnishings, their colors or the wood tones that were chosen.

Design Tip:
I am not calling out the color names on the photos I have offered here, because how a color looks in a picture, is not how it will look in your home. You have to know that all the pictures in magazines and Pinterest that you see have been altered with filters and printing techniques to create a pleasing and inspiring image, not to represent color correctly. You must buy sample pots or larger sheets from your designer, to see how it works in your room with the furnishings too.

Office Colors Blue Family cheat sheet color guides (8.5x11).png

You can download the best office paint colors here :

“Office Color Trends: Blues”

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NICKEL

Yes, I have this color on both color sheets. It is a gray, but it has the blue undertones that make it a great color for both color families. When it comes to the psychology of color, Blue is like the sky and water, and it has calming factors. It is not too heavy, and it goes perfectly with rustic wood tones found in furniture.

BLUE NOTE

A strong rich color is perfect for a home office. If Hale Navy does not work with your furnishings, then this is your #2 go-to color.

HALE NAVY

Blue in general is a great color for an office and one that I usually recommend. It is strong, pleasing and calming. Once you walk into a room in this color, you know you’ve arrived. This is the most popular blue in my book for a reason. This is a great color for strength and intellectual reflection.

SLATE BLUE

An easy-to-use blue with a good deal of gray, this classic color is reminiscent of the wonderfully weathered slate found along an age-old pathway.

WEST COAST

The color of sky. This blue is warm and embracing. I like to also use this on trim areas (windows, crown and base). A great option for a lighter more feminine blue.

BLUE ECHO

THIS IS A COLOR-LOVERS COLOR. Hints of gray keeps it from being too bright. You can use this on trims, furniture or on your walls. A rich color that won’t disappoint, as long as it goes with the other items in your room.

HONORABLE MENTION- BENJAMIN MOORE MOUNT ST. ANNE 1565

Sampilize: Order you samples through samplize. Super easy and affordable.

Mount St. Anne #1565 is a medium grey with blue undertones. It fits both pallets. As you can imagine, clients are not always sure about a navy color for cabinetry, making this color a perfect option. I use this for Offices, Dens, and bedrooms.

interesting fact: Mount St. Anne is also known as Kentucky Haze AC-16. This color is part of the Classic Color Collection. Yes, sometimes the same color has 2 names and is listed in two collections, but is the same color.

Select a color that makes you happy.

How do you do that? I recommend that you purchase a few sample pots of colors you like whether online or at your local Benjamin Moore Supplier. Paint the top colors you are considering either on the walls or on poster board boards, and live with them for a few days in the room you will be painting. It is important to be viewing them at different times of the day when there are different light intensities. You may be surprised how you like certain colors better at certain times of the day in your work area. Skip this step and you may regret it, or you may end up painting your room twice!

home office paint colors the designers love.

Design Tip:
In feng shui, blue represents the water element: clarity, inspiration, relaxation, renewal, and nobility. Therefore, blue is an excellent color to use in skills/knowledge, career/journey, and the abundance/prosperity.

My Thoughts on Selecting Color.

Color can really affect your mood, so when choosing colors, think about which color gives you pleasant vibes. Remember, though, that some colors work well in some rooms but not in others. Each color has a unique quality meant for something different, so make sure you know your goals for a room and paint a test in the room first, not just selecting one that is recommended, without trying it out.

Design TIP:
Pick 3 of these colors that you like, any three or more.
There is no wrong answer. All colors go together, pretty much. Color is personal, and you may like the color in the fan deck below and above (lighter and darker).
NO, I can’t just tell you what color to pick. What works well in your room, with your furniture, with your personality and natural light is totally different than in my office. Don’t rush it, stick to the process.