Technological evolution, growing attention to welfare issues and the green economy, not without the contribution of the global events of recent years, have made the generally widespread tendency to do all or part of one’s work from home even more rapid and standardised.
The undeniable advantages of this, which have emerged from numerous surveys and polls on the subject, are, however, accompanied by a number of critical points due essentially to the fact that it is not easy to share working hours and contexts with our private lives, which in most cases are not exclusively our own but are shared with family members, life partners and children.
It is the very presence of different people with different needs when it comes to skilled work and study that makes it particularly important to design well those areas of the house that we decide to use during the making. We know that the ergonomics of the furniture, but also the aesthetics and psychology of the colours and materials used, can influence us during the times of the day when we are focused on the job.
Today our aim is to suggest colourful contexts to support work activities, encouraging the serene concentration that the job requires of us, and at the same time providing the right amount of comfort during breaks.
We have selected for you the best colours and finishes for the home office area.
VIERO DECORATIVE FINISHES FOR CREATIVE WORKING SPACES
It is well known that working time requires concentration and mental isolation from one’s surroundings, so the first essential thing to consider is the location of the home office area.
After having correctly studied the choice of ergonomic furnishings, the correct natural and artificial lighting of the workspace, and the possibility of obtaining acoustic insulation, including through use of sound-absorbing panels or screens, it will be the choice of decorative finishes that will best complete our workspace.
So what are the rules that should guide us when choosing colours for our home working corner? First of all, since it is our own home, needless to say that personal preferences in terms of materials and colours are important, as they represent what makes us feel well. They can be a good starting point for deciding whether to use warm or cool colours, for example. When planning a working environment or area it is very important to take into account the rules of colour psychology which not all are familiar with, and which can have a significant influence on our mood, stress levels, creativity and ability to concentrate. It is therefore a question of “adapting” what we like according to the particular type of work we do.
If you have an entire room to be turned into an office, the planning can be more elaborate and specific, and will take into account the psychological influences of colours in favouring all those important aspects such as calm, concentration, clear thinking, mental energy level, positivity and creativity; the negative aspects of the work activity must instead be dampened and corrected by the correct use of colour.
In these cases, those who work, for example, in calculations or data processing that require a lot of concentration should avoid over-stimulating colours and finishes, favouring neutral, preferably light colours, better warm than cold, such as the “silvery” beiges of ERAMETAL ERA08
f or even straw-coloured or very light neutrals, an excellent alternative to white (the so-called off whites) that Viero Decoratives offers in the GHIBLI colour charts , also rich in splendid pastel shades.
Since this is our own home, the main rule is to choose finishes that make us feel comfortable, so for those who like cooler/cold colour tones, greens or blues are not to be excluded at all; the important thing is not to use them in shades that are too dark or gloomy, which could make us feel sad or make a corner that is not well-lighted, even darker while we are working; so let’s choose them for example in pleasant, balanced nuances such as those present in the colour chart of the MARMORIN SAND finish.
Generally , warm colours promote sociability and an open and friendly approach; they are excellent for supporting the work of those who, for example, deal with marketing and customer relations (also by telephone). In the long run, if they are too intense, they can be tiring, especially if you already spend many hours at the monitor.
Cool colours such as greys and blues are more formal and calm; they encourage concentration and ‘cool down’ stressful situations and are known to be very elegant and professional. If you don’t like colours that are too warm but also don’t like too much the idea of a grey without personality, you can turn to the range of greens, cool but not cold, elegant but informal colours that will encourage calm and relaxation, especially if your job is very stressful.
Strong, bold and lively colours such as orange or vibrant greens or turquoise are best suited for creative work, e.g. in the fields of design, fashion or architecture, simply because they encourage the burst of positive energy and creativity that is always welcome in such contexts.
You will find very good colour proposals of this kind in the MARMORIN HYDRO folder, or VIXALIT 500.
The brighter the colour, the more we can limit its use to only a part of the wall, for example up to one metre in height, and then continue upwards with a corresponding colour in a lighter or neutral shade. The intense colour will also better protect the wall against which the desk or chest of drawers and storage units will be placed. To conclude, a wooden wall frame will emphasise this decorative choice, creating that “boiserie” look so trendy today.
VIERO DECORATIVES ORIGINAL EFFECTS FOR AWESOME WORKING SPACES
For a classic style studio, the FREGIO D’ARTE effect is perfectly suited to the above description. It occupies and “furnishes” the lower part of the wall and perfectly matches noble woods such as mahogany, walnut, rosewood or ebony, leaving the upper part of the wall the possibility to remain uniform, for example as an ideal background for paintings or art objects.
Even if you do not have a whole room to dedicate entirely to the Home Office, but only a small area in a room used for another activity, it is still possible to study the choices of style and colour, focusing in particular on the area where the desk will be placed, for example on the wall in front of or to the side, or as a background. The starting point could be the colour shade already present in the room, but to make it more original and interesting in the proximity of the desk, to give us a touch of creativity that enhances the “work area”. For example, if the walls of the desk area are grey or dove grey, we can apply a similar shade enriched with the material effects of CENERE, made with Vieroplast + Bitume Decorativo, to give three-dimensionality to the colour without standing out too much, or enrich the fresh tones of a light blue with the iridescence of CHIAROSCURI, made with Erametal. Of course, the starting colour can be different according to personal preference.
If our living room is furnished in an “industrial” style and we have a desk made of wood and iron, the nearby wall can be decorated with VELATHRI, made with E-brezza and Erametal, https://www.vierodecoratives.com/effetti/velathri/; this beautiful finish is so scenic that it could become the subject of an abstract wall painting, bordering the edges with an eye-catching frame; the perfect background for a creative personality!
DAMASCATO made with Allure, which enriches the base colour with the metallic iridescence of gold (to warm up) or, if you prefer, silver (to cool down), is also very creative and impressive.
Enriching the colour with special “effects” makes our workspace at home beautiful and full of personality. In this way we will be able to enhance even small spaces, making them less anonymous and more pleasant to look at. It will be more “inviting” to start our work activity every day, it will be a gratification that will make us feel worthy and rewarded, and also those who visit us will appreciate and get inspiration from our choices. Finally, we should not forget that a nice decorative effect on the wall that serves as a background in web connections will be better than any artificial background: everyone will appreciate our good taste.
So what are you waiting for? Let’s make our Home Office more welcoming with Viero Decoratives!
