10 Best Paint Colors for Study Room and Office Productivity

Different colors not only have an aesthetic effect, but they also can affect your mood.

This means that you should carefully consider colors when painting a specific room such as the study or office.

This is different compared to painting the outside of your house which is more of a personal statement.

Because colors can draw out different effects, you will need to find the right one that is best suited to your moods.

But just how do wall paint colors affect your mood and feelings? What are the ones you should choose for boosting your productivity? And much more…

I will cover them here in my guide below…

10 Paint Colors that Work Best for Study and Office Areas

The colors that tend to work best are based on the 1984 work; “Wright Theory” authored by Angela Wright.

Her work is typically based on the psychological effects of colors on people.

From her work, the following colors work best in the study and office areas…

1- Brown

There is power and strength found in the color brown, so this may be a great choice for offices.

And it helps that the color hides the dirt and debris that may be missed during cleaning sessions.

When combined with wood, especially if you use wood furnishings, then the combination can be quite strong and evoke a productive atmosphere.

The same is true for your study which may benefit greatly from the use of brown.

If you want an old-fashioned office setting, then the color brown or the use of wood paneling may be the right choice.

This is the reason why I have seen many lawyers prefer to paint their offices somewhat brown.

2- Green

As noted earlier, green is generally best avoided because it can be more distracting than helpful.

However, there are certain shades of green that may help boost or lower the mood of the home office and study for teenagers.

For areas that have lots of light, especially natural light, you may want to go with a deeper shade of velvety green to help accentuate the mood.

After all, a bright green may be quite blinding depending on how light you want to go.

The same works for both office and study settings.

3- Light Blue

Blue is often used in the study and office environments because it helps promote productivity.

A light blue can be most helpful in setting the right mood.

In addition, teal can also be quite good even though it is a mixture of blue and green.

This is because green often has the wrong effect on its own, but when mixed with blue can be most effective in creating a pleasing, yet energetic atmosphere.

4- Off-White

While pure white is associated with clinical environments that are often distracting to those who want greater productivity.

Off-white takes the edge off the intensity.

Such colors such as egg-white for example are quite effective in invoking greater productivity in the workplace and can be used with other colors to create an effective combination.

For your study, you may desire a pure white appearance or stick to the off-white.

It will depend on the type of mood that you want to set.

5- Orange

Being surrounded by pure orange is probably going to be more intensive and intimidating than productive.

But you can use orange on a single wall, for the window trim, or for another small area of the room – where it can be accented by the main color.

Orange is perfect for places where you need a boost of energy, so choose wisely when you add orange to the office.

For the study, hints of orange may work quite well, especially around the desk or perhaps within view of your chair such as the window trim to provide a little boost.

Just be careful not to add too much orange to the room.

6- Purple

While purple may sound like a more exotic color, it does have a strong feel to it.

It is perfect for places that evoke a feminine quality while not being too strong.

Of course, there is a regal feeling to some shades of purple, so you will need to find the right one that works best in an office setting.

For your study, you should choose the shade and hue of purple that matches your style while also boosting your mood.

You can go with a deep shade for a more official setting or liven things up with a berry type of hue.

7- Yellow

Yellow is creative energy, the perfect choice for offices in which creativity long-term concentration and clarity are a must.

However, pure yellow may be somewhat off-putting.

You will need to choose a pastel or version of yellow with a little gold to tone down the accent.

Plus, yellow works well with both white and brown for an excellent mixture of creativity and strength.

The same is true for your study area.

You can tone down the yellow with brown to mix better with your furnishings or liven it up for a more playful feeling.

8- Teal

Teal is basically a combination of blue and green.

And it’s hard to believe that this color comes with the ability to turn your study room or workplace into a more productive space.

This makes it a good choice for offices and studies given its pleasing appearance.

When using this color, it’s important that you keep the intensity and brightness right to achieve the most desirable effects.

Soft teal, like offered by Benjamin Moore, is one of the best suited in this respect.

 9- Gray

Gray is my favorite. It’s a gorgeous combination of black and white so it can offer you a neutral mood in your home office.

You can use classic gray, but that may have you and your employees more reflective and even a little melancholy which is hardly the desired effect.

Instead, you’ll want to find the hue and shade that helps evoke more energy without being distracting.

You can even choose a crisp light gray paint (like Silver Satin) if you want something simple or can pick a deep charcoal gray (like Kendall Charcoal) if you want to add some drama.

Benjamin Moore’s Gray shades are available in a variety of different hues and you can select the one that can evoke your senses and boost productivity.  

10- Blue-Gray

Blue-gray is a shade that can give you a clean warm feeling to boost your efficiency and work rate.

Mixing gray with blue can be quite effective for professionals because the silver-like effect offers a professional feel without invoking the wrong types of moods.

Mainly in the corporate world and offices, it’s a favorite color due to its capacity to boost the performance of employees.

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How Different Colors Affect Your Mood & Productivity?

Long-term studies on the effects of colors have come up with some surprising results.

For example, the white that is often used in hospitals and clinics may invoke feelings of a clean facility, but it is also intimidating and not welcome.

It is why more people are nervous when going into a hospital or clinic that uses primarily white on the walls.

For your office or study, the colors need to be subtler, but just what does that mean?

Basically, you need to find the colors that evoke the right mood depending on the room that you are in.

For studies and offices, the colors need to accentuate the energy, so you feel more focused and ready to do the work.

In addition, the colors need to be at the proper intensity and saturation for them to work in the way that you desire.

For example, red is a color that is often used to gain attention.

You’ll notice plenty of red being used on signs that indicate a sale or discount.

The feeling that you get from red is one of urgency. However, it is not the type of color that works best in terms of productivity.

The same is true of colors such as green.

Despite the energy that they feel from seeing such colors, they also tend to cause you to lose focus.

This is not helpful in an office environment where focus and collaboration are crucial to productivity.

The combination of black and white, and gray on the other hand offers a neutral setting that can be most productive and is best for studies and offices.

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How to Choose the Best Paint Colors for Your Home Office?

Color in our room acts as a powerful psychological tool that can drastically change the way we feel and perceive things.

Hard to believe but true, there are certain shades that can affect our body physically.

While some shades can increase blood pressure there are few that can boost metabolism.

Since each color has its own specific meaning and can influence a person’s mind automatically, there are several basic principles that need to be followed when studying color psychology.

Particularly if you are planning for your home office renovation to boost productivity you should pick the colors in your room depending on:

• Your goals
• Your working style
• The nature of your work
• The key purpose of your space

Many students, for example, like to study in a clean and minimal space that can help them concentrate on their studies and be focused.

They can definitely consider neutral colors that can be combined with natural elements like beautiful indoor plants.

On the other side of the world, there are few freelancers, content writers, and other professionals who can come up with unique ideas when their home-office walls are painted with bold textures and their desk is full of eclectic décor items.

For them, hues like deep blue, crimson, teal, turquoise, etc. can suit them best.

The Bottom Line

Keep in mind that the effects listed for the colors are not all-inclusive.

In other words, different tints and shades of colors may have a desirable or unwanted effect depending on certain individuals.

This assumes that they associate a color with an unpleasant experience.

However, this is generally not a big issue when trying to find the right colors that help produce an effective, productive environment in the office.

For your study, you should consider colors (or color combinations) that are beneficial to you and can turn your place into a productivity machine by improving your concentration along with learning and memorizing power.

The first important step is eliminating any colors that you personally find repulsive or unwanted. Your feelings will play a strong role here in the color choices that you make. So, choose wisely.