Whether it be a home office or large office building, anyone can create workspaces that people are excited to come to. By paying careful attention to our office space and thinking about the day to day experience of our employees, we can change the mood of a room simply with color.
Changes, like adding a new paint color or including a space to unwind, can make such a big difference in our mental state. An office remodeling offers the opportunity to do something that will benefit your business and everyone who works there. One way to do that is with a subtle palette of colors that will motivate employees or keep them vitalized in the office.
Planning 101
Some thought should go into the space ahead of time to determine how best to design and paint your creative workspace.
How Will the Space Be Used?
Painting the walls of a room is only one part of creating a creative workspace. You should at least give some thought to what your space is used for, and how it should flow as a result. You should also think about who will be using the space. Is it just for you or will a large team share it? Answers to these questions will set different priorities in color choices and layout.
What Type of Mood Do You Want to Set?
Choosing a theme for your workspace can help set the mood of the room. Depending on the type of work that will be done in this workspace, themes can range from sports to photography. When a visitor walks in, do you want them to feel relaxed, calm, comfortable, exciting or dramatic? Knowing the theme and mood of the room can help narrow paint color choices for the walls.
Function of the Walls
Will you have a display area to show your work? Or do you want to keep the walls bare? Creative workspaces provide people the type of area they need to be productive. The space should include a practical design. Shelving, bookcases, and other storage units can be used to display work. If you want an uncluttered look, go bare and stick with a great paint color.
Think About the Layout
The layout of a workspace varies greatly depending on the type of work that will be performed. There’s more to your workspace than your paint choices, and this can be especially true of spaces in which artists and photographers work. While we encourage you to come to us with a vision of what you want, we’d advise a degree of flexibility.
Choose Your Wall Color
Wall color is one of the most important decisions when designing a workspace. The color will help set the mood. (See below for tips on choosing the right color.) Use paint samples to help decide on which color to paint your walls. These samples can then be applied to the wall side by side and you can determine which color you like best. Also, be certain to examine the paint color in daylight and at night.
Prepare the Room for Painting
Once you decide the color of the paint that you want, purchase a quality paint for better coverage. Before painting, the room should be properly prepared. This includes removing dirt from walls and trim. It is also important to protect furniture from paint splatter by covering it with plastic or moving it to another room. Painters tape should also be applied along the trim and ceiling to ensure the paint does not get on these areas. Don’t forget paint brushes and rollers!
Complete the Design of the Room
Once the walls are painted, allow them to dry completely before uncovering furniture or moving it back into the room. Once the paint is dry, hang artwork, shelving and place furniture in its desired place. When designing is complete, your new workspace should leave you feeling productive.
Does Color Affect Workspaces?
To make use of color in your workspace you need to understand the importance of color. Don’t just choose your favorite colors or stick with white because it’s easy. You need to research various color choices and consider how they could affect your business and its occupants.
Research has shown that colors impact employees’ behavior, moods, and productivity. Selecting the right colors for a workspace can play an important role.
Choose Colors That Work Best for Each Space
How do you and your team want to feel in your workspace? Since each color represents a different mood, you can incorporate different paint colors for specific parts of the workspace. Use green for a relaxing space, or red and orange for meeting rooms to encourage productivity. You also need to consider the type of business and industry when it comes to painting colors in a workspace.
Neutral Colors
If you have a more serious company, neutral color schemes for your workspace are the best. Neutral colors include cream, beige, off-white, and light browns. These colors are good for knowledge related matters. For engineers, the use of reduced browns, tans and grays help impact the mind and also helps with concentration.
Blue
The color blue is a nature-inspired color. It is said to calm the mind and promotes open communication. This can be helpful in workspaces where collaboration and teamwork are required to complete assignments. Cooler colors like blue are good for stressful jobs like those of a lawyer or an accountant. This color gives a more calming relaxing effect.
Blue also stimulates the mind. Professionals who do a large amount of mental work should use the color blue in their office or workspace. It is also recommended to use blue with dashes of orange. The orange adds a little emotion, while the blue color balances the mind.
Green
Green is another nature-inspired color. Its low-wavelength pigment promotes a sense of balance. This can have a calming effect, allowing you to worry less and focus more on innovation and creative tasks. It can also help to balance or offset office environments where there are a lot of computers and other technology.
You can also use the color green in your workspace or office, especially where money is going to change hands frequently. Green brings balance, calm and reassurance.
Orange
Orange is an energizing color that can exhibit extra energy and enthusiasm. Since it’s especially bright, you might consider using it as an accent color on one wall. You can also use it to paint the doors and trim. Small amounts of orange can offset neutral colors like beige or tan and boost creative energy in your newly remodeled workspace.
Select vibrant colors like orange to convey a vibrant workspace. This color will not overwhelm the room if it is used as an accent color.
Yellow
Light shades of yellow are usually recommended for workspaces that are creative and knowledge related. Yellow gives a cheerful and exciting mood. This cheerful color makes for ideal office paint colors as it encourages the ego as well as the spirit. It is suitable for designers and other areas where creativity is needed.
In addition to giving employees an energy boost, the color yellow can also make people feel more optimistic, which can help them be comfortable in sharing creative ideas. Like orange, it is better to use it as an accent color to offset cool or neutral shades.
Red
The color red impacts the body. It is ideal for workspaces such as fitness gyms, offices of builders and contractors. If you meet with many customers face-to-face, red would create a social atmosphere for business meetings.
Red helps show stimulus and physical strength. For workspaces used by designers or writers, choose shades like yellow, orange and red for more creative energy.
Size Matters
For small office spaces, neutral paint colors like white, beige, cream can be used to paint the ceilings. This can help create the illusion of a larger room. Conversely, darker colors are ideal for large office rooms, as they can make the room more compact and cozier. This applies to workspaces in lofts, open-plan studios, and home-based businesses.
The workspace in which you’re working isn’t necessarily the same one in which you’re conducting consultations or closing business deals. Not only should you have separate areas set aside for each function of your business, but you should also choose a specific color to set off these areas. If you’ve got a large open space, get creative with your use of furniture and storage.
Let’s Get Creative!
Choosing the right colors for your workspace does not have to be a stressful process. Hiring professional painters from The Painting Pros will make creating the perfect workspace easier for you. We will help you with your painting needs and give you professional advice on which colors to choose.
If you’re looking to boost creativity in any of your workspaces, you need a trusted painting service that can bring your vision to life. The Painting Pros is an experienced and dependable painting company that serves businesses and homeowners throughout the Silicon Valley area. We are more than equipped to provide a variety of services, including interior and exterior painting.