You have all heard the phrase “location is everything”. This is so true when choosing the location for your home-based office. We determined that whatever the space you will choose it should be away from high traffic areas and if possible have a window that would allow some natural light. The next step in the process of setting up your home-based office is to determine what color and finish of paint would work best in your new office space. A high gloss finish adds energy to the space while a flat finish is more soothing.
A fresh coat of paint is a great way to make a positive upgrade to the home-based office space. Psychologists do tell us that color has a direct impact on mood and that our mood has a direct impact on our energy. Our energy of course will have an impact on productivity and job performance. Additionally, no matter how much time we are spending in our home-based office we must feel comfortable there. We might not have thought that making the right color and paint finish choices could affect the success or failure of your home-based business but it certainly can. Color has a different effect on everyone. Purple is a favorite color of mine so for example, I would like to incorporate different shades of purple into my office design. I would do this with the use of paint or another way is to use accent walls or accessories such as throws or pillows. Even a piece of furniture could add an accent color.
Other things to take into consideration when choosing a paint color and finish is the size of the home-based office, the furnishings, how much time you will be spending in your office and what time of the day you will be working in the home-based office. I would recommend that If your office space is small choose a color that will make it appear larger. It is suggested that you never paint a small space a dark color. If you find yourself working in a large space you can add an accent wall to help make the space feel a bit smaller. Also consider the color of your furnishings when picking a paint color. Dark woods would match better with warm colors and the light woods with variations of pastels. So when you have decided on your paint color this is the time to head over to the paint store and get some samples. Put your samples up on the walls and look at them at different times of the day so you can determine, based on what time of day you would be working in the office, that this is absolutely the correct paint choice.
Another critical item is the type of paint that you choose especially if you are going to be spending 8 hours a day in the home-based office. You want to pick a paint that will not be emitting noxious substances that could make you ill. Choosing paints that are no-VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) is critical for home office health. Make the paint color you choose something a little different from the rest of the home. It is important that you can easily transition from the home to the work environment and vice versa.