Paint colors for your home, inside and out
Home office · colors from 5 paintings
A home office color scheme should keep walls calm and put the stronger colors in objects you can change. Each of the five schemes here is the palette of one painting from the Metropolitan Museum or the Art Institute of Chicago.
Quick answer
For focus, try the Inness scheme: soft green-beige walls (#D6D3BC), a sage main color (#939F90) and a deep green accent (#596123). For a lighter room, try the Canaletto scheme.
Each scheme is one painting's palette, split into walls, main furniture, wood, one bold piece and one textile.
From The North Cape by Moonlight, Peder Balke
#FFF7D5#CCC09D#988662#565344#2D2F29Pale cream walls with an olive main color and a charcoal textile make a quiet office. The dark shades work in a chair or rug.
From The Empress Elizabeth of Russia (1709–1762) on Horseback, Attended by a Page, Georg Christoph Grooth
#FAC29A#BBA98D#685B43#403428#C77B62Warm peach walls with an olive main color and a terracotta textile give a more social office. Keep the dark brown for the desk.
From The Grand Canal, Venice, Looking South toward the Rialto Bridge, Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal)
#E4E3C1#9FC3B2#6D5636#537954#BC734APale yellow-green walls with aloe green furniture and a deeper green accent suit a bright, calm office.
From A Huntsman and a Peasant Woman by the Isar River with a View of Munich, Wilhelm von Kobell
#DFBD9E#94A2DA#8F6D47#6D75A5#684531Sandy walls with a periwinkle main color work as a cheerful office, especially with a warm wooden desk.
From After a Summer Shower, George Inness
#D6D3BC#939F90#6B5440#596123#9B8D3APale green-beige walls with a sage main color and moss green accent give a focused, natural office.
The same paint reads differently in cool north light, warm south sun and under evening lamps. Find the column closest to your room.
| Color | Neutral daylight | North light | South light | Evening lamps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soft Aloe Green | ||||
| Periwinkle Blue |
Pick which color goes on the walls, the big furniture and the bold piece. Floors, shadows and trim follow your choice.
The framed picture on the wall is The North Cape by Moonlight.
Choose a wall color you can look at for hours. Five schemes here have wall colors from LRV 55 to 93, and the lighter ones suit rooms with little daylight. The Balke scheme has walls of #FFF7D5 at LRV 93, nearly white. The Inness scheme uses #D6D3BC at LRV 65, which is soft and slightly green.
Peach and sandy walls, as in the Grooth and Kobell schemes, feel warmer and more social. Pale green walls are calmer.
If you take video calls, consider the wall behind you. A mid-light, even color is easier to light than a very dark or very bright one.
Put the stronger colors in things you can swap. The moss green #596123, at LRV 11, makes a good bookcase or chair. The periwinkle #94A2DA can be a pinboard or cushion. The charcoal green #2D2F29 at LRV 3 works for desk legs or a lamp.
A useful rule is one bold piece and one textile per scheme, as each scheme here is arranged. Walls and main furniture stay quiet, and the bold color goes in one place.
For wood, the schemes suggest warm browns such as #6B5440 or #8F6D47. Match your desk to one of those so it looks part of the palette.
There is no color that guarantees focus, so choose by comfort. Many people find that soft greens and muted neutrals feel steady, because they are not bright and they do not shift much through the day. The aloe green #9FC3B2 at LRV 50 and the sage #939F90 are examples.
Bright, saturated colors are better kept small. Dark colors can feel enclosing, which suits some people and not others. If you work in a small room, use them on one wall or in furniture rather than all four walls.
Whatever you choose, light the desk well. A good lamp does more for focus than a wall color.
Paint a sample board and place it where your screen and desk will be. Screens add their own glare, so look at the board with your monitor on.
Check the sample in daylight and at the hour you usually work. If you often work in the evening, test it under your desk lamp.
Hold your desk, chair fabric and any bold color next to the board, and ask whether the whole group feels calm. Take a photo of the board in place, then look at it later on your screen, since that is how the room will appear on calls. Repeat the test on a cloudy day, when the wall will look at its flattest. The commercial paints listed are the closest measured matches, so compare real chips with your board before ordering a gallon.
Calm walls with one bold piece work well. The Inness scheme uses #D6D3BC walls, #939F90 furniture and a #596123 accent.
An even mid-light color is easiest to light. Soft green-beige or sandy colors work well behind a desk.
Yes, on one wall or a built-in. #596123 has an LRV of 11 and works as an accent.
Each scheme here has walls, main furniture, wood, one bold piece and one textile. That is plenty for most rooms.
Warm browns such as #6B5440 or #8F6D47 fit the palettes. Pick the one closest to your desk.
A card with every color on this page, its LRV and the paintings it comes from. Pin it, or take it to the paint store.
Painting images: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, public domain (CC0). Colors measured by Light & Pigment. Paint names belong to their brands and matches are approximate. Colors look different on screen than on a wall, so always test a sample.
