Artists have known for centuries that color schemes taken from the Color Wheel have a dramatic effect on the final impact of their paintings. There are hot, energetic colors which leap off a canvas, and there are cool, soothing colors which recede, drawing the viewer’s eye into the distance. The ways in which these colors are juxtaposed can completely change the emotions a painting evokes, and they can do the same for interior spaces.

Interior designers who specialize in home office decorating know that the color schemes they choose will have an affect on the mindset of the home office worker, so they determine in advance if a calming, or invigorating, style of home office decorating is more appropriate.

Those home workers who expect spend several hours at a stretch in the home office should do a bit of self-assessment, and determine if they would benefit more from a home office decorating scheme which helps them stay calm and focused, or a home office decorating scheme which makes them feel energetic and confident.

Calm, Cool, and Collected

The cool colors–blues, purples, and greens–will provide a low-impact home office decorating scheme which quiets the mind and allows the worker to focus on a project instead of his or her surroundings. If concentrating is one of your weak points, stay at the cool end of the color spectrum.

Spicing It Up

If, on the other hand, you feel like falling asleep as soon as you sit down and turn your computer on, you will benefit from a home office decorating scheme which features warm colors. Yellows, oranges, and reds make their surroundings much more invigorating, and stimulate the brain. In office spaces, however, it’s a good idea to limit the pure reds, yellows, and oranges to accents and have larger areas colored with more diluted warm shades like russet. You don’t want to go overboard with your home office decorating scheme.

The Neutral Zone

If you have a very small office space, consider a neutral home office decorating scheme. Light neutral colors, when used without too many dark accents, can make a small space appear much roomier. And neutral schemes adapt beautifully to any type of furnishings. If you find them too boring for your home office decorating scheme, just enliven them with touches of your favorite warm or cool pure colors. You’ll have enough color to soothe or energize you, and a home office which seems much more airy and spacious than its dimensions give it any right to be!