The best office paint colors enhance the type of atmosphere you want to encourage in office design. For example, blue and green have been shown to increase concentration and innovation. They reduce stress and are ideal colors for commercial spaces to keep staff focused, comfortable and alert.
In contrast, less effective office wall colors include white and yellow. Studies have shown participants make more errors while working in all-white rooms, and that yellow increases anxiety. However, these shades can make for good accent colors in offices with otherwise darker color schemes.
This guide covers 10 of the best paint colors for traditional and home offices, plus tips on selecting a paint color that suits your location and staff.
Blooming Aster #PPL-23
Blooming Aster #PPL-23 is perfect for professional settings and makes an excellent alternative to off-white. Blue increases alertness and performance in attention-based tasks. This light shade creates a low-stress environment and can brighten an office with limited access to natural light.
If you want to include some white in the office, accent with Winter White #DC-004. Alternatively, combine with a soft brown option like Smoked Tan #HDC-NT-14 or a floral color like teal or peach.
Canary Grass #PPG1114-3
Canary Grass #PPG1114-3 is a light green hue that promotes focus and reduces eye fatigue over long workdays. Green typically keeps stress levels low, and this hue adds life to a room at the same time. Canary Grass works particularly well in home offices, where there is more freedom to accent it with furniture and decorations.
Lavender Cloud #P550-3 is a strong accent color, as the calm purple complements the energetic green of Canary Grass. Bold blues and light oranges offer good alternatives when used sparingly and without overpowering the green.
Classic Silver #PPU18-11
Greys like Classic Silver #PPU18-11 enlarge spaces and convey the atmosphere of modern business. Soft greys also give the eyes a place to rest if your staff spends most of the day on computers. Add color to a grey office with décor, furniture and accent walls to create a tranquil but attractive space.
Try combining sleek grey tones with blues for a stylish and impressive office. A soft blue accent like Americana #PPG1152-4 can energize the space for those who like a change of pace to stay productive.
Chalky Blue #PPG1153-5
Chalky Blue #PPG1153-5 combines the alert and productive appearance of blue hues with the professionalism of greys and off-whites. Use Chalky Blue in a workplace or home office that frequently includes meetings, video calls and group work. Those who work alone may choose to go without an accent color in favor of more furniture or equipment to make the office a multifunctional space.
Chalky Blue is best accented with neutral colors like brown and white. Consider Big Cypress #PPG1062-5 or an off-white with a grey tint to help make the home office more dynamic.
Creamy Freesia #M130-2
Creamy Freesia #M130-2 is a light pink, which is known to help concentration for creative jobs and visual design. The energy of the shade brings inspiration without becoming distracting, which is helpful for home offices. Pink shades can also add a level of sophistication and complements a variety of furniture styles.
Full, bright white is a common choice of accent color because it brings out the floral tones of the pink. Soft greens are a complementary option that can enlarge the space and offer some duality for home offices with more than one desk.
Dragonfly #PPU12-03
Dragonfly #PPU12-03 is invigorating but not overwhelming. Blue hues encourage concentration, and this bright blue pairs well with grey or orange accents to provide productive energy. It is a good choice for commercial offices and healthcare environments where attention is crucial to job performance.
Good accent colors for Dragonfly include Flannel Gray #N520-3, Prairie Rose #M170-2 and Bonfire #270B-7, each of which provides a unique contrast to the blue hue.
Hat Box Brown PPG1085-6
Hat Box Brown #PPG1085-6 is a deep, warm color that makes a space feel cozy and comforting, evoking old-fashioned wood-paneled walls. While brown does not have the same proven benefits for focus as blue and green, it does improve concentration and keeps stress levels down.
This shade of brown pairs well with a deep grey such as Antique Tin #PPU18-03 or a light blue like Frisky Blue #M490-4. Each of these options could energize an office space and increase productivity in a low-stress environment.
Paradise Landscape #P460-6
Paradise Landscape #P460-6 is a deep teal that adds a relaxing atmosphere for teams and solo workers alike. This shade can help soften ambient lights that may otherwise seem harsh when working at a desk for hours. Typical offices may use this as an accent color or to delineate between sections of the work floor, but home offices can use teal across the entire room.
Energetic oranges like Cheerful Tangerine #P210-5 can accent Paradise Landscape, but some may find it jarring. In this case, try a natural wood tone or a light grey to interrupt the teal on corners or an accent wall.
Uptown Taupe #PPG1201-1
Uptown Taupe #PPG1201-1 is a neutral off-white with undertones of brown and coral. Neutral colors work well when a space is well accented with wall art and other decorations. They can bring a unified aesthetic to office areas where staff can personalize their desk space. Home offices with warm ambient light can stay bright even during winter, when there is less sunlight during the day.
Uptown Taupe contributes a tone of safety and comfort, and a light blue such as High Sierra #PPG1149-2 can accent this to add energy. Commercial White #PPG1025-1 is a good option when accenting taupe with windowsills, baseboards and mantlepieces.
Office Paint Color Selection Tips
Keep the lighting in your office in mind when selecting new paint colors. Off-white paints look dreary under fluorescent lightbulbs but give your office a warm glow in natural sunlight. The fluorescent lights used in most offices are cool toned and blue tinged. If possible, use a blue, gray or green paint to pair with the blue undertones of the fluorescent lights.
Cool lighting will enhance cool colors while warm colors will look best under warm lighting. This is why neutral tones, pinks and blues can feel so different across the workday. A blue that is too dark or a pink that is too rich may feel overwhelming at night.
Home offices typically have warmer lights to fit the aesthetic appeal of the rest of the home. This allows for warmer color options that may appear too striking in larger workplaces. They provide a good opportunity to use neutral or bold shades of brown, especially if the office has large windows.
Another option for team-oriented spaces is whiteboard paint. This is typically a bright, blank white type of paint that can be used as a dry erase board. This decreases the need for whiteboards and projector screens in the office, as the dry erase paint provides an open space on the wall to share information. Consider a wide stripe of dry erase paint in the middle of your primary office paint color to evoke the placement of a whiteboard.
Whiteboard paint is also used to reclaim surface area in offices with layouts where the floor is divided by equipment or obstacles like support beams. For example, some offices have large support beams covered by a rectangular framing and drywall. If these beams are in the middle of potential work areas, use dry erase paint on them to give staff extra space to take notes, write reminders and express themselves.
Offices are high-traffic areas, so pick a finish that resists wear. High-gloss and semi-gloss paints are more likely to stand up to stains and scratches. Your investment will last longer, and your painted surface will look clean.
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