Skip to main content

10 soothing paint colors to transform your home office

Your home office is meant to be a place to focus and get work done. It is a place, separate from the rest of your home, that is designed specifically to be a place of hard work. It should fit your style while remaining functional, modern, and classy. One way to really transform your home office is with a soothing paint color that will help bring your stress levels down.

Color can be associated with emotions, and the color of a room can make you feel a certain way. It is important to pick a calm, neutral color that dissuades distraction, calms the nerves, and promotes focus.

Woman working from home at desk
Elly Fairytale/Pexels.com

Beige

First up on the list is the classic color of beige. Beige is known for its pale, yellowish-brown color. It is a good choice for a home office because it goes well with many other colors. You can bring more fun color to the room with paintings, your stylish desk chair, or other decorations. Beige provides you with a calming, blank canvas that you can fill in other ways.

Recommended Videos

Ivory

Off-white colors like ivory soften the color of true-white. It resembles the color of tusks and teeth from certain animals like elephants. Ivory is a great, nonaggressive color for your home office. It provides a tint of interesting color without distracting you from your work. Ivory allows you to easily decorate and design around because of its clean yet warm appearance.

Woman holding papera at desk
gpointstudio/Shuttrestock

Brown

Brown is a powerful, yet warm color. It is perfect for any home office that needs to feel strong and empowering. Brown comes in many shades. It is a color that goes great with blues, teals, oranges, and pinks, so you can easily add some color with fun, sophisticated decorations. Brown is a nice, neutral color that will help bring sophistication and power to any home office. Martha Stewart says, “A warm brown office can help you stay serene and focused all day long.”

Laptop on desk with white wall
bongkarn/Pexels.com

Gray

Since gray falls between white and black (two intense opposites), it gives off a neutral appearance. Gray feels serious and professional, making it ideal for a home office. It can be seen as a more mature, responsible color to evoke feelings of formality and dependability. This color is a great choice if you are trying to achieve a professional look.

Man at desk working from home
taramara78/Shutterstock

Navy blue

The color blue stimulates the mind, leading to more productivity. The darker shades of the blue color palette are ideal for staying focused in repetitive industries. The color is relaxing and promotes productivity. Navy is a very dark, matte shade of blue. There is no vibrancy in the color, but it adds a great deal of interest to any room. Navy in a home office can best be showcased on a feature wall or throughout the entire room.

Laptop on desk with green wall
Floral Deco/Shutterstock

Olive

A rich, dark, and velvety color like olive will surely alter the feeling of any home office. It is the best way to maintain a professional look while enjoying the unique and fun that the color green entails. Olive falls into the cool-color category. This means that it will give off a calming and soothing feel to any room, perfect for promoting relaxation while working.

Woman at desk working from home
Elizaveta Starkova/Shutterstock

White

White is a crisp color. It makes you feel pure, fresh, and clean. An entirely white home office can be a calming environment. It provides a clean feeling and ensures no distractions with vibrant colors. White is the perfect wall color for someone who likes to decorate and for someone who enjoys a minimalistic style.

Laptop on desk with orange wall
bongkarn/Pexels.com

Orange

The key to using orange on your home office’s walls is to use it in moderation. You should choose an orange that is soft and not overwhelming. It is the perfect color for a vibrant, fun feature wall and can be the perfect way to incorporate your favorite color into your workspace. Orange is a warm color, so it evokes feelings of happiness, optimism, and energy, which is perfect for stressful days in the office.

Purple

Like any other color, purple has many shades in its palette. Purple is a cool color, and so it promotes feelings of calmness and relaxation. Lighter shades of purple can create a colorful and calming feeling in your home office, while a darker shade will bring a louder and more fun feel to the space. Purple in general is a creative color. It inspires creativity, making it perfect for the home office of someone who is creative on a daily basis.

Blond woman at desk with laptop
Ketut Subiyanto/Pexels

Yellow

Yellow is a happy color. Every classic smiley face you have ever seen features a vibrant yellow color for a reason. The brighter the yellow, the more optimistic and energized you will feel. It is important, however, to not go overboard in your home office. It is also important to choose a shade of yellow that is bright enough without being overwhelming and distracting. Soft yellows will promote calm happiness in your home office and create the perfect environment for working hard and creatively. Bob Vila states, “Yellow stimulates creativity, excitement, and innovation.”

There are so many beautiful, soothing colors to choose from for your home office. Choose one that fits your design style so you can get the most out of your home office. You can choose from more colorful options like navy or olive for feature walls or stick with the plain neutrals like beige or taupe for an overall calming feel. Regardless of what you choose, ensure it is a color that promotes a stress-free, sophisticated home-office feel.

Deb Goncalves
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Deb's work has appeared on Moms, Babygaga, and WorldAtlas. When she's not working (that's hard to say about a Capricorn), she…
Can you paint in high humidity? What you need to know
Make sure your paint job is still gorgeous when conditions aren't ideal
Red roller brush black paint on white wall

Are you planning a painting project but worried about the moisture in the air and how it will impact your paint job? If you're concerned about humidity levels while you paint, you've come to the right place. Since paint needs to dry properly to have a beautiful and smooth-looking result, humidity is certainly an issue. So, is painting in humid weather possible? While the answer to that question is yes, we'll discuss some of the concerns and tips for dealing with humidity and painting indoors or outdoors.
How does humidity affect your paint job?

Moisture in the air means there's moisture on the surface you're about to paint. A damp surface is not ideal for painting, and you may find that your overall result doesn't look as great as you'd hoped. Let's dig into the specifics of how high humidity negatively impacts your paint job.
Moisture could lead to mold growth
When you're dealing with high humidity, surfaces tend to dry slowly. When you're painting indoors, for example, you always want to wash your walls before slapping down a coat of paint, so high humidity could slow down the drying process. If your walls are damp when you start to paint, this could lead to mold growing between the wall and the paint. The mold will eventually grow through the new layer of paint, and you will need to clean the area and paint again.
Paint will struggle to dry
For most paint types to dry, the water in the paint needs to evaporate faster than the solvents. In high humidity, the water struggles to evaporate, making for a gunky, gel-like layer of paint. Eventually, when the humidity level falls, you'll find that this type of consistency will dry with a wavy texture since it has not been set properly. You likely won't be satisfied with the result.
Wood surfaces could swell
As you may know, moisture on wood causes it to swell. If you're painting wood when there's a lot of moisture in the air, the wood could start to swell a bit after you've put on a coat of paint. This swelling could cause cracks or chips in your coat of paint, which will eventually lead to the surface needing to be repainted.
Paint may not adhere to metal surfaces
Painting metal objects can already be difficult since paint doesn't adhere to them as easily as it does to wood or other materials. Humidity can worsen this effect, so if you're trying to paint something metal, it might be best to leave that for a drier day.
What is the ideal humidity level for painting?

Read more
How to paint your kitchen cabinets in 9 simple steps
A simple and low-cost way to refresh your space
Man holding paint rolling after painting kitchen cabinets

Kitchen renovation is one of the most impactful and cost-effective home remodel projects, with returns on investment of about 87 percent. While it’s no wonder that kitchen remodels are popular, but they’re also very expensive — cabinetry alone runs $5,000 to $6,000 on average. If money is tight, or your kitchen only needs a minor update, painting the cabinetry, rather than replacing it, will save you thousands of dollars while giving the room a completely new look. Plus, you can do it yourself in a couple of days.
Tools and supplies you'll need for the job

Rosin paper
Painter’s tape
Plastic sheeting
Screwdriver 
Household cleanser or trisodium phosphate commercial degreaser
Abrasive pad
Liquid deglosser
Wood filler
Putty knife
100-grit sandpaper
220-grit sandpaper 
Tack cloth 
Latex caulk 
Paint scraper
Primer paint
Trim or enamel paint with a durable, high-sheen finish
4- or 6-inch roller, with foam cover
3- or 4-inch square brush
2 ½- or 3-inch angle brush

Read more
What is enamel paint (and when should you use it)?
A tough, hard shell for all your high-traffic surfaces
Painting exterior house white

Enamel paint is a versatile and durable option for various painting projects, known for its glossy finish and long-lasting protection. Whether you're a seasoned DIY enthusiast or just looking to refresh your space, understanding what enamel paint is and when to use it can significantly impact your project's success. Let's dive into the specifics of this type of paint, explore its pros and cons, and highlight the best painting applications for this robust paint type.
What is enamel paint?

Enamel paint is a type of paint that dries to a hard, glossy finish, providing excellent durability and resistance to wear and tear. It's often used for both interior and exterior surfaces that require a tough, resilient coating. Enamel paint can be an oil-based or water-based product, with oil-based varieties offering superior durability and water-based options being more environmentally friendly and easier to clean up.

Read more