Home Office Design Ideas

If you are working full time out of your home, or is it mainly for occasional personal use, you probably spend a few hours in your home office. Here are some useful help in this area more pleasant and productive space are considered.

What are you needs?

As well as the overall appearance and feel, the colours you choose can also affect your productivity in your home workplace. That's why it's important to ask yourself a few questions before you begin decorating, to make sure this space will truly fulfil your needs.

Do you want a relaxing environment, or do you need your workspace to be more stimulating? Will you be having visitors at your office? Should the look of your office fit in with the rest of your home? Whatever you decide, your home office should be a place where you will enjoy working. Choose the colours and style that suit your needs best Take a look at the psychology of colour.

Tips

• In home offices, try to strive for a look between residential and commercial. For example, smart and warm rather than cool and corporate. Use colours from the rest of the house, to help tie your office in with the living areas.

• Use warm accents to brighten up your home office if it is painted in cool or neutral colours. Add vibrant coloured artwork to stimulate the senses.

Colours to work with!

Soft coloured home office

Some colours motivate, while other colours can distract. So by choosing the right colours you can make your home office a better place to work. If you are easily distracted, you may need to surround yourself with soft colours to relax and calm you and help you get down to work.

If you find motivation difficult, you may want to surround yourself with brighter colours to provide you with more energy. Decide which colours best motivate you, and project the right image for your working environment.

Cool colours such as blues, greens, and purples are passive in nature, receding into the background. They don't distract or disturb, making them a perfect choice for a home office. Cool colours help to quiet the nerves, lift the spirits, and soothe the soul. Psychologically, these types of colours are calming and meditative, lending well to thoughtful concentration.

Think green! Natural, restful, yet rejuvenating, green is perhaps one of the best colours to use in spaces where the main goals are thinking and creativity, which is why this colour is often chosen for classrooms and study areas. Ranging from soft, subtle sages, to soothing sea greens, to the deep, dignified forest and hunter shades, greens ease stress, stimulate the thought process, and promote feelings of balance and harmony.

Use colours for inspiration

Warm colours such as reds, yellows, and oranges, are active and actually appear to move towards you, making rooms painted in these tones appear more intimate and cosy. Warm colours are cheerful, invigorating and great for creative spaces and for people seeking stimulation from their work environment. These colours can be used to help awaken the mind and enliven the spirit. Warm, muted colours tend to work better than bold, bright colours in office environments. Psychologically, bright colours are very stimulating, but also tend to be distracting in working spaces.

Whites representing peace and purity. The colour white can be used to give an open, spacious feeling to a smaller work area. Soft, muted, or tinted whites are the best choice for the main wall colours in offices. Pure, bright white, when used in large quantities, can strain the eyes in a brightly lit work environment. Instead, use bright whites for trim and mouldings to create a crisp, clean look.

Ultimately, you need to evaluate your own response to colour, because it varies from individual to individual. Remember it is your space. Make it a place where you want to be, and you're sure to be more productive!