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Have you ever walked into a room and immediately had a certain feeling wash over you? Like, when you walk into a spa, you feel calm and soothed or when you walk into a gym, you feel energized. A lot of this ?feeling? can come from the colors that have been chosen and how those colors stimulate and affect us. If your home office or study space has you feeling less than productive, why not take some cues from color researchers to spruce things up and boost your creativity, energy and productivity.

So, what are the best colors to use in your home office?

Orange ? evokes a sense of energy, enthusiasm and excitement. It can also stimulate collaboration, socialization and teamwork. Painting a bright orange on all your walls would definitely be overstimulating but you could use pops of orange around the room such as in patterned drapes, or throw pillows or in the art on the wall. Pale orange or terracotta are good paint color options.

Red ? is often seen as an aggressive color but it also raises energy and excitement, which can be good to motivate you throughout the workday. As with orange, this would be a good accent color and is best in smaller doses.

Blues ? light blue helps you stay calm, focused and productive and conveys a cool sense of professionalism. Blue-green hues are calming and stimulate creativity. Bright turquoise, however, can create an environment in which it is difficult to stay focused and productive.

Browns ? although we may not think of brown as a creative color, it does give a sense of comfort, security and credibility; great attributes if you are bringing clients into your office.

Yellow ? bright yellow is not recommended as a color for a workspace since it is overstimulating and people often feel frustrated when surrounded by it. Pale yellow, however, can stimulate creativity and clear thinking.

A few other things to consider:
? Size of the room and amount of natural light ? if you have a small space or don?t receive a lot of natural light, you?ll want to use colors that brighten up the room and make it feel larger.
? Furnishings and finishes ? keep in mind the type of wood, color of your office chair, window coverings and flooring in order to have your wall color coordinate with the existing elements in the room.
? The mood or impression you are trying to create ? if you will be welcoming clients into your home office, keep this in mind so that you aren?t choosing a color that you love but that may be a bit over the top for others.
? Adjoining rooms and color schemes ? if it is important to you, you may want to take into account the color palette that you?ve chosen for the rest of the house in order to choose a complementary color for your office.

Now that you have a few ideas, why not visit a paint store to pick up some paint chips to take home and try out in your home office before you start painting. This is your own office, so whichever color you choose, make sure that it is something that you truly enjoy and will be able to live with for hours at a time.

For more information of choosing the right colors for your home office, talk to your local interior designer, painter or home improvement expert.

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Tagged as: complementary colors, creativity, energy, Flooring, furnishings, Home Improvement, home office, home office colors, natural light, painter Fairfax, painter Oakton, painter VA, painting Fairfax VA, painting Oakton VA, painting VA, productivity, window coverings

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