Selecting a color theme for your home office is different then what you might choose for the rest of your house. There are a number of factors that you should take into account and not base your choice completely on your own taste but also the suitability for your clients.
First you should define your business type.
Do you provide Professional Services, Daycare, Contracting, Light Manufacturing or Food Services.
Is the Office deductible on your taxes?
If you have a home office that is deductible on your taxes then it must be maintained as a business space. This means although you can personalize it you should keep it professional. You don’t want to confuse a place you let your kids play or a TV room with your business space or it is not deductible. Your office should be professional for the type of business you run and this will separate your home life from your business life.
Do you have Office Space independent from your work area?
If you are running a daycare then you will need to decide whether you include your office in the daycare area. This can work out sometimes if you can protect your office from kids with locked file cabinets or partitions.
However when designing the space you should take into account that professional daycare centers will have a different office decor then the area where children are gathered.
This is also true if you run a auto repair shop out of your detached garage. In this case you should think about segmenting an area with separate entry from the bay doors to allow customers to come and make inquiries and payments. In this way you can keep them out of your shop area and providing a professional business atmosphere will assure them that you take your work seriously.
Do you have clients that come on a daily basis or do you never allow customers to come to your home?
If you have clients that are always at your home business then you should take into account their needs and the people you are serving. If you do nails or hair or tattoos for gangster rappers then you want your office to be suitable for them while the rest of your home may be very conservative to meet the needs of your children and family.
And it works the other way around too if you sell insurance and are into loud music and motorcycles you probably want to tone that down A LOT if you want to insure your clients know you care about doing your job right.
So this is the background philosophy behind color choices how do they apply in your office setting?
Basic white is always a good choice for an office. It tells your customers that you can keep your business side clean but it also allows the other objects in the room to make more of an effect.
For instance if you are an artist that is showing a client some work on your computer you don’t want them looking around the room you want them concentrating on the work you are presenting.
Here is a Tip because you are a professional that happens to work from home this does not leave you out of the same requirements others in your profession have.
Visit some businesses in your category and see what differences they may have in their reception area, customer service area and their Office area.
Since you are the boss and the technician you need to present that to your customer.
You definitely want to keep your color choices subdued and neutral.
Bright Reds in a doctors office may remind patients of blood.
Psychologist say that greens and blues are depressing.
Yellows and browns tend to become dirty.
If you want to go with a specific color you may want to use a light tint or pastel.
And if you are in a basement … white is definitely the best color for feeling more light.
Again the choices are yours to make but before you decide on your own visit your competition and see what they do. You may pickup some great ideas for different textures and colors that you never thought about.
And Remember This is your Business not a hobby so let others know it.