The Best Paint Colors for Home Offices, According to Experts

Energizing Paint Colors

Let’s face it: We’ve all dialed into a really boring conference call, complete with confusing jargon and spreadsheets that look like they were written in another language. And if you have yet to down your morning coffee, you may feel yourself dozing off mid-presentation. These colors will add a jolt of energy to your walls—no neutral paint colors here. Not ready to paint your entire space in a bright, bold hue? Consider an accent wall a happy medium.

Vibrant Coral

“If Pop was a person, you’d want them at your party,” says Nicole Gibbons, interior designer and founder of paint company Clare. “Playful, punchy, coral-y, it’s a vibrant pop of color that adds to any space.”

Orange-Red

“Red is often described as vibrant and intense,” explains Julien Chapuis, CEO of Ressource Americas. “It is often seen as a very exciting color, evoking love, strong emotions, and warmth, [and] orange shades are found to increase oxygen supply to the brain, stimulating brain activity.” To boost your energy levels, Chapuis recommends Cleopatre NR03, Moorish Red HC55, or Mikado POP07.

Yellow-Orange

“Light and dark affect our circadian rhythm,” explains Lisa Rickert, CEO and creative director of Jolie Home. “If you are struggling to stay awake during the work day, bring a touch of sunshine into your office. Our Marigold is a balanced yellow-orange that is bound to keep you awake and cheerful.”

Uplifting Paint Colors

At first glance, working from home seems like a dream. Not only do you get to avoid a time-consuming commute, but you can also stay in your sweats all day long. There is a downside, though. With no co-workers to have water cooler chats with or space to separate work and life, having a home office can be isolating—more so if it’s a small space. (Clever small office ideas can help with that.) That’s exactly why it’s so important to design your office with positive vibes in mind—and these home office paint colors can help uplift your mood.

Blush

“Zen offers subtle blush undertones to stimulate joy and happiness,” Rickert explains. “This color is included in our white range, which reflects light, also enhancing positivity.”

Golden Yellow

“I’m a huge advocate for using color to channel positive vibes in any space—especially in your home office, where you can spend most of your day,” says Gibbons. “Yellow is associated with cheeriness, and Golden Hour is the perfect warm hue—not too bold or bright.”

Marigold Yellow

“Yellow sparks feelings of joy, will inspire optimism, and helps our brains to think positively and creatively,” says Annie Sloan, color expert and creator of Chalk Paint. “English Yellow is my brightest, zingiest yellow, and ideal if your meetings tend to run on!”

Productivity-Boosting Paint Colors

Do us a favor and take a look at your to-do list. Is it an endless scroll of tasks? Does one glance at your list give you a headache? Take a deep breath; it’s going to be okay with a little time-management prowess. Scheduling your time efficiently and banning social media from your office are two ways to increase your productivity, but the following office paint colors can give you an extra boost of motivation.

Sage Green

“Green—like Velours Tilleul I26—is nature's color. It’s considered energizing, cheerful, health-giving, and refreshing, which is a perfect choice to boost productivity,” Chapuis says. “Green also is known for improving concentration and reading ability.”

Deep Magenta

“Warm vivid colors can energize and stimulate activity and movement,” Rickert says. “My absolute favorite is Jolie Paint in Hibiscus because it is a modern bold pink that uses magenta pigment, which allows it to be chic and sophisticated instead of feeling kitsch.”

Light Blue

“If your job requires long stretches of focused time, choose a fresh, bright blue like Nairobi Blue,” Gibbons says. “Blue is universally known as a productive color that can help you stay focused on the task at hand.”

Dark Blue

“My office is painted in Napoleonic Blue, which is a high energy, bright blue packed full of pigment,” Sloan says. “It’s a vivid, high energy color which feeds my energy and helps me maintain focus over a typically long working day.”

De-Stressing Paint Colors

We’re not going to sugarcoat it for you: Between that looming deadline and completing everything on your to-do list, there’s a good chance your job is seriously stressful. Sure, the color of your walls will not squash stress once and for all, but it will give your home office a more peaceful vibe. These expert-approved soothing tones can let your walls give you a gentle reminder to slow down and take a deep breath every once in a while.

Sky Blue

“Blue is a color often found in nature such as the sky and the ocean,” Chapuis says, pointing to serene hues such as Bleu Nuage S09. “It is for this reason that blue has a calm and serene effect that can promote relaxation. Blue is considered the most stable color, peaceful and tranquil.”

Muted Blue

“Muted blues are known to be calming, so if you work in a high stress environment, a great choice would be Jolie Paint in Misty Cove as your wall color,” Rickert says.

Green-Gray

“Chill is a cool, barely there gray with a slightly green undertone, perfect for creating a calming space to get your work done,” Gibbons says.

Neutral Gray

“Paris Grey on the walls is effortlessly cool and neutral enough to allow for almost any and every furniture or design style,” Sloan adds. Even Sloan will admit that gray can look a little lackluster and—dare we say it?—corporate. To infuse some personality into your space, she recommends using different paint colors to create the illusion of paneled walls.