apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I think a lighter green, maybe with yellow undertones would work better. There seems to be a lighter green in the rug that might work.

If not green, I'd say a golden yellow similar to the color of that pillow on the chair.

How about going dramatic and doing a gorgeous chocolate brown? It looks like you have plenty of light in that room and so it shouldn't be too dark. Also, your light wood wall shelves and orange desk chair would really pop against the rich background. Your sofa would also contrast very nicely with the darker backdrop.

I have to admit I am very partial to brown walls and I have a chocolate brown accent wall in my family room on the TV/media wall and it is totally yummy. I get more complements on it than any other feature in the room!

I agree with Monica - a chocolate brown would look nice.

Green!

How much time-- and what hours of the day-- do you spend working there? And do you work with color while you are working?

If you work there a lot, pick something with minimal vibrancy, or else you will get some serious eye fatigue.

If you work with color, I'd say a neutral... otherwise, it will interfere with whatever colors you are working with.

My own personal goal would be to pick a color that knocked back the contrast of the books/bookshelves. And if it were me, I'd match your sofa color.

Loves me some chocolate brown, but I think it will turn that area into a black hole. And not in a good way.

Also, if it were me, I'd want some way to shut the office space off from the living area... sliding (stiffened) fabric panels from Ikea, or the similar system from Smith and Noble. Since these options are more limited than paint, perhaps start there and match your paint to the partitions.

Pick as color that energizes you and the work you do in that area, or else something that you know will soothe you. Have you considered stripes of white along with the two colors you've picked? Could be a good compromise. :)

i'd say something on the warmer side. the green in the rug would look nice. something yellow would look nice too.

Putty.

I love the yellow pillow on your chair- I would try something bright and crazy like that. Or red.
Greenish cement color, darker than your couch, will compliment the room nicely I think.
Chocolate will make it cozy but darker than it is right now.

No green! I agree with you, Diana, there is enough green already. I like the idea of the blue but would go with a more teal sort of powdery one instead. What about this: http://www.dominomag.com/galleries/rooms/livingdining/diningroom/daringdining

What about Grecian Green, a BM color? Or try Gossamer Blue (also BM). For yellow I would try the Restoration Hardware "Butter." Have the swatch mixed at Lowes to save money. I wish I could see your print on the other side of the wall in the office. Maybe take a color from there. I wouldn't go chocolate brown in your office. You need light, even if it has natural light at night it will soak up all your lamps. You are picking colors way too dark and saturated, especially your blue. Smoke (BM) is nice too, a subtle gray blue.

I veto the green; I think it would look too matchy-matchy with the rug. I like the idea of the blue, but maybe just a tad more subtle hue.

I don't see any color on the living room walls and the sofa looks like a khaki color. I think a cork color on the office wall would be calm and sophisticated. Someone mentioned the other day a color program you can download from the Behr paint website, load your own photos and pick colors to try out on the walls. I'd give that a try as well.

And absolutely make a visual divide bet. living room and office. A drape, nice bookcase (that's functional on both sided), sliding panels, etc.... Just to have a feeling of leaving the office and going into the living room.

Say no to blue and green. Something warm neutral or yellowish.

burnt orange, but swap chairs so it doesn't disapear.

I think a shade of yellow or red.

I just saw this on Craigslist
http://newyork.craigslist.org/jsy/fur/390678373.html

It's a very nice color and would look nice in your office.

I would suggest yellow with a shade similar to your pillows. If you can put these pillows along with other green pillows these will tie in with the wall and the rug. Since there are no windows on the walls of your office, the yellow shade would brighten-up the space a bit.

Oh and I'd like to add to my previous comment, if you can paint the post, the "beam" and the narrow wall that frames the office in chocolate brown that will give you a better definition of the office space. You might as well add brown pillows.

not related to the paint color but i was just wondering where your couch is from. nice and neutral, i like it! (i'm couch hunting and it's been so stressful trying to find just the right one)

ooooh, i love anne's comment about a "cork color"...but i would actually take it one step further and actually create a cork-paneled office!

i think it'd look so warm and studious to install cork paneling (i believe it comes in adhesive squares and even wallpaper rolls now) on the two walls of your office and then partition the space with an Ikea Expedit shelf. throw in a 70s modern hanging pendant lamp and you've got a fabulous office that is separate from the rest of the room!

The same yellow as the pillow on your chair. Perfect.

It also depends on what the plan is for the rest of the space. Are you continuing with the "mostly white, punctuated with primaries/secondaries," or are you planning something new and more neutral?

If you do something bright in the office, I'd love to see it done in tone-on-tone bands that pick up the lines created by your bookcases.

There's a lot of color in the room already - if you add more, your eye won't know where to look - or have anywhere to rest.

I think the neutral ideas are the best - something darker than the main room, but not too dark. I can't tell if your sofa is beige or something darker - if something darker, you could go a few shades beyond that. Also, think about whether you want to highlight all the wood in that room, which would help you determine the depth of color - and make sure whatever color you pick looks good with it.

yup. i can't believe i'm agreeing with such a "hildi" idea, but the cork paneling would be awesome.

I say a green. I don't really see there being too much green in the room as I only see it in the rug. Therefore, I think it needs to be somewhere else too. I like the green of the rug but with perhaps just a tiny bit more yellow in it.

The color you have sampled seems a bit drab, you need something richer. I suggest checking out the greens that Valspar offers at Lowes. You can see some of them here.

Yup, another vote for a nice warm, yellow-based, green. It should help pull everything together, and not set your office apart (I'd think that'd be distracting). Oh, and very vibrant, strong yellows, I find, are distracting for work areas (and definitely ditch that blue). But maybe that depends on the kind of work...

I agree that I don't think there is too much green in the room.

The rug seems over-poweringly green because there's not enough green in the room. Match the rug -- but a shade or two lighter -- on the walls, and it will settle down.

not green- already too much in the rug. I like the blue but a wall might be too bright with the color you have now. I might try a periwinkle or light blue. def not brown- it'll drag it down too much and the rug doesnt seem to suit it. i think blue will make it bright, airy and whimsical!

Before looking at the comments, my first thought was to do a warm, bright yellow (like the pillow) which is so against my tendency to gravitate towards cool colours. It looks like a lot of people have the same idea. Although Sea makes a good point about the colour being distracting for a work area. It depends which colours energize and motivate you. I wouldn't paint both walls but would leave the one to the left white. That space would look great with a large antique French-style print (or a Picasso) with bold colours (including red) with white matting in a nice frame. Good luck!

Yeah I don't think blue either. Green to go with the rug or the same kind of yellow that your cushion is. I like the white that's already on the walls too!

Putty!

I read all the comments, and you are probably even more confused. My vote is for blue, and I really love the blue swatch. what about painting those shelves white?

Just wanted you to know that your room layout is lovely. You've done an excellent job dividing the space and you have some very nice pieces.

I hope we will see an after post! I will be curious what you decide. You are on your way to having a very beautiful place!

i'm definitely on the anti-green bandwagon; there's already too much in the room. i actually kinda like the blue, but i seem to be in the minority. i think the Smoke suggestion is a good one - a neutral gray could work very nicely. But if you want something bolder, a tangerine orange which would pick up on the other yellows and the orange chairs without being too matchy.

yeah, sorry for probably making you shake your head in even greater confusion....
when wall color is at stake....the eyes begin to sparkle and we pull out swatches like cowboys from the hip pocket.

please let us see the final results!

I have to post and say that the pallette that annalyssa posted earlier is brilliant!

http://www.dominomag.com/galleries/rooms/livingdining/diningroom/daringdining

Annalyssa hit the nail on the head -- the problem isn't green or blue per se, just the shade of green or blue... The wallcolour in the Domino shot is fresh, vibrant and unexpected. The dusty sage in your swatch is very nice, but rather dull.

The pallette that annalyssa turned up marries most of your colours together -- taupe, blue, natural wood -- and provides direction for future purchases. For example, the blue swatch on your wall would be nice in some throw pillows or on a Series 7 chair, as in the picture. Plus, that hit of a more natural green (in the plant poster) is a great and needed contrast, making the wall colour zing even more.

I think I had this issue, and seem to remember that they provided the name of the colour in the issue, anyone out there know what it is??

Thanks for all of your comments. I was on vacation without access to internet for several days, so I wasn't able to reply on the day of the post. For the person who asked about the couch, it's from Room and Board, and I think it's the Claremont. It doesn't show in the picture, but the color is a muted green, so that's why I didn't want to overdo the green. I'm going to mull over all the posts, and get some paint samples, and hopefully post a successful result!
Diana