Color Diary: Play With Color

Filed under: Color, Design, etc

Notes and snippets for people who love decorating with color. Today, a home office makeover that inspires the ultimate pick-me-up -- or the biggest headache. You decide.

Home offices have become a staple in recent years. Whether you work from home full-time or use your home office for the occasional task (or web surfing), you know that having a comfortable, inspired space can make the hours (or minutes) much more enticing.

Not everyone has the luxury of an entire room dedicated to a home office, but if you do, you might find a little inspiration in this colorful makeover. The vibrant use of blue, pink, lime and orange might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it may help you find your way to workaholic bliss.

Interior designer Christopher Coleman hoped to strike that balance while going full tilt on colors for this Westport, Connecticut home, where both husband and wife share the home workspace. You'll be really impressed when you see the before picture (below) -- What a mess!

"We took the family of colors used in adjacent rooms, all inspired by the panoramic views of the outdoors afforded by the home's window-wrapped walls, and brought them into the office area," said Coleman. "It is an unexpected but effective marriage of contrasting paint colors."

Pulling inspiration from other rooms is important in establishing a cohesive feel throughout your home and ensuring that your office doesn't feel completely out of place - you do want it to feel like home after all.

But you also don't want it to feel ordinary.

Color is a great starting place for turning a boring home office into a personal space, says Sonu Mathew, senior interior designer for Benjamin Moore Paints.

"One of the great advantages of having a home office is that you get to pick a palette that pleases you, whereas in most workplaces you have to settle for what is a uniform and sometimes sterile institutional look."

But don't be scared off by brights or colors that you typically don't see on a residential wall. Mathew says to consider color choices that will help to motivate you and keep you alert, stimulated and, above all else, feeling upbeat and happy.

For this project, Coleman selected a vibrant mix of Benjamin Moore colors that include Electric Blue, Pink Mix, Split Pea and Jack O'Lantern, with Yellow Marigold on the ceiling.

The end result may push some to put on their sunglasses, but it was just right for these homeowners.

"This is a colorful home to begin with," Coleman said. "But when you see those ribbons of color in the office, it's an affirmation of the vibrant, charismatic personalities of the homeowners themselves. You sense this is a fun, happy place to spend time at work or play."

To prevent stimuli overload, Coleman suggests keeping furnishings down to the basics, which he did with side-by-side white veneered work surfaces bookended by matching storage units. He gave standard office chairs a domesticated update by covering them in cobalt blue fabric.

The designer's favorite part of the end result? When the office door is open, the room can be seen from across the main living area.

"All the colors are in sync from the inside-out, which is visually satisfying," he says.


Want more color love?
Put your sunglasses on!
Find color inspiration from a photo.
Need help with color?

Or if you're still thinking about a home office, check out these great stories from other AOL sites:
Home Office Under $2000 - AOL Small Business
Create a Home Office

 

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