Picking just the right paint color is a tricky business, and even professional stylists the likes of Emily Henderson can have misgivings and make mistakes. Emily's dining-room-to-home-office makeover shows that going with your gut, functionally and color-wise, is the best way to create a space that meets your needs while reflecting your personal style.

Emily recently moved from a one bedroom apartment to a house and decided that she and her husband needed an additional work space rather this dining room. Painted in a green that she had picked but says is less saturated than it looks, the room as-is just wasn't working. Emily decided to commit to navy, a color she had always wanted on the walls. Add in new Ikea flooring and lots of stylish furniture and accessories, and the office looks great.
Emily had her own mid-process concerns that she color she chose was "Smurfy," but the second coat changed her mind. Her advice for committing to a bold shade is that it's "just paint, and even the pros mess up the color all the time."
See more photos and tips at Style by Emily Henderson.
(Images: Emily Henderson)


White Enamel Flatwa...
*swoon*
Who wouldn't want a room like this? Beautiful.
The blue, green, gold combo is stunning. Details on the blue paint?
Those are nice paper chord dining chairs.
Looove the new color! And changing the floor was huge, the old floor looks so... kitchen-y. Not great for either a dining room or an office.
The paint colour is LOYAL BLUE, by Sherwin Williams
If you click the link to the blog it talks about the paint and other colours
The blue really works with the white trim colour; the green doesn't. That's part of the problem right there...
Love it. Give her a hand! ;)
(Also, it would be an awesome reference if she incorporated a seal somewhere in that room.) :)
I painted my Stairway the same color... It was Mesmerizer by Behr. I LOVE it!
whoops! Mesmerize.
Oh, that's lovely but I wouldn't be able to work in it. Any light from a window or lamp behind or beside me reflected in my computer screen instantly triggers a migraine (even in anti-glare screens, and the high contrast between the navy and white would only make it worse), so this would be a completely nonfunctional space for me. A shame because it's such a striking look.
Definitely liking the blue more than the green.
I don't see why take out a dining room. A perfectly functional computer armoire off to one side would accomplish both.
The new color looks awesome, but the new wood floors really make it work. Imagine the blue with the linoleum in the first pic... not so great.
Lovely!
I don't think the original colour is so bad, it's more the change in the layout of the room that has made the difference. Once there was something hung on the bare walls and the table was moved around, it made all the difference. Well done, though, and that blue is gorgeous.
That green was draining the life out of the room. GREAT JOB! Love the redo.
Oooohhhh... Fant'cy
The floor is gorgeous, but the room is still so dark. I was scrolling down looking for the after pic, when I realized the dark green to dark blue was the after pic...