<h2>Emotional: Home office decorating and home office decorating ideas.</h2>
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Whether you're working full-time out of your home, or it's mainly for occasional personal use, you'll probably spend quite a few hours in your home office. Here are some helpful ideas to help make this area a more enjoyable and productive space.

As well as the overall appearance and feel, the colors you choose can also affect your productivity in your home workplace. That's why it's important to ask yourself some questions before you begin decorating, to make sure this space will truly fulfill your needs.

Do you want a relaxing environment, or do you need your workspace to be more stimulating? Will you be having visitors at your office? What style (see Defining your Decorative Style feature) are you going to decorate with? Should the look of your office fit in with the rest of your home? Will it complement or clash with the type of business you conduct?

Whatever you decide, your office should be a place where you will enjoy working. Choose the colors and style that best suit your needs.

Tip: In home offices, try to strive for a look between residential and commercial. For example, smart and warm rather than cool and corporate. Use colors from the rest of the house to help tie your office in with the living areas.

Some colors motivate, while other colors can distract. Having the right colors can make your office a better place to work.

If you are easily distracted, you may need to surround yourself with soft, muted colors to relax and calm you, and help you get down to work.

If you find motivation difficult, you may want to surround yourself with brighter colors to provide you with more energy. Decide which colors best motivate you, and project the right image for your working environment.

Cool Colors
Cool colors (see The Creative Power of the Color Wheel feature) such as blues, greens, and purples, are passive in nature, receding into the background. They don't distract or disturb, making them a perfect choice for a home office.

Cool hues help to quiet the nerves, lift the spirits, and soothe the soul. Psychologically, these types of colors are calming and meditative, lending well to thoughtful concentration.


Tip: If you will not be having business visitors, you have complete control over how you decorate your office. If you will be having visitors, you may need to adjust your style to fit their expectations, or to project a more professional image.


Think Green!
Natural, restful, yet rejuvenating, the color green is perhaps one of the best colors to use in spaces where the main goals are thinking and creativity—one reason this color is often chosen for classrooms and study areas.

Ranging from soft, subtle sages, to soothing sea greens, to the deep, dignified forest and hunter shades, greens ease stress, stimulate the thought process, and promote feelings of balance and harmony.


Tip: New furniture not in your budget? Give a fresh face to your old office furnishings by painting them with colors that coordinate with your palette. Use ColorSmart™ by BEHR™ online (or at any Home Depot paint department) to find your coordinating colors.



Warm Colors
Warm colors (see The Creative Power of the Color Wheel feature) such as reds, yellows, and oranges, are active—and actually appear to move towards you, making rooms painted in these hues appear more intimate and cozy.

Warm hues are cheerful and invigorating. Great for creative spaces and for people seeking stimulation from their work environment, these colors can be used to help awaken the mind and enliven the spirit.

Warm, muted tones tend to work better than bold, bright colors in office environments. Psychologically, bright colors are very stimulating, but also tend to be distracting in working spaces.



Tip: In offices, use bright hues as accents, rather than as the main wall colors. Use vibrant colors sparingly in these areas to create the level of stimulation you desire.

Whites
Representing peace and purity, the color white can be used to give an open, spacious feeling to a smaller work area.

Soft, muted, or tinted whites are the best choice for the main wall colors in offices. Pure, bright white, when used in large quantities, can strain the eyes in a brightly lit work environment. Instead, use bright whites for trim and moldings to create a crisp, clean look.


Tip: Adequate lighting is critically important for office work—and your eyesight. Use adjustable desktop lamps and task lighting to create warm, decorative pools of light, especially at night. They also reduce glare to your computer screen.



Neutrals
Soothing, comforting, safe and secure, neutrals make a great background for almost any office environment. (see The Hidden Power of Neutrals web article)

Neutrals blend with every color, making them the perfect choice for offices that are open to other rooms of the home.

Neutral colors are comfortable, yet elegant and understated. Their subtlety makes them versatile, simple to use, and very easy to work with.

Lending well to the thinking process, neutral colors are open-minded and cooperative. They are not distracting, making it easy to concentrate on the task at hand.


Tip: Use warm accents to "perk up" home offices painted in cool or neutral hues. Add a touch of vibrant color with artwork or furnishings to enliven the space and stimulate the senses.

Ultimately, you need to evaluate your own response to color, because it varies from individual to individual. Remember—it is your space. Make it a place where you want to be, and you're sure to be more productive!

Try the ColorSmart™ by BEHR interactive program to experiment with thousands of different color combinations and see how they look in actual room settings.

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