Apricot and aqua!

Aqua and cool taupe, like chocolate ice cream. And maybe an aqua and white stencil pattern!

I also love that part of sunsets..

Apricot and aqua...or chocolate ice ceeam... Great direction.

Once I worked in a school that was designed by a prominent architect.

It was totally amazing(it was a pre-school), each classroom was a tad different..with different windows at different heights so even the smallest kids could peek out, and stages in the classes for older kids so they can perform there.

So the walls in each classroom were painted in two colors-very pleasant blue..not baby blue..and bluer then aqua..I don't know how to call it. Maybe deep sky blue? And yellow. Each classroom had some blue walls and some yellow walls. It looked very cool. It didn't look busy at all..but true, it was designed in advance to handle such contrast very well-lots of light, everything's highly considered, architecturally speaking.

Several years later(I wasn't working already), I read that yellow contributes to intellectual stimulation, while blue is good for quiet, and thus helps creativity..:)

Obviously the prominent lady who designed the building knew that and much more.

So..think how you want to feel there, and what are your main activities there will be. And if you think you could benefit from different colored walls-there might be a wisdom in that too

I highly recommend a wonderful book by Janice Lindsay, "All About Colour". Besides it just being an amazing source of knowledge on how and why we perceive colors and how it manifested itself throughout human history and influenced art, etc-she also writes about several projects where she was invited to paint schools..how she went about it, why, and what influence it had on teachers and students.

Wythe blue is gorgeous.

Hi Terri!

Waving at you from the PNW. You must be in a drier part if you seen colors other than grey in your sunsets. ;)

What an awesome project to take on. And congrats on your upcoming door, too!

• If you really share my long overcast winters, I'd look for shades with some warmth to them...complex neutrals with red or green undertones; brighter shades that skew green; warm ivories or yellows.
• If there are a lot of trees out your window bank, keep in mind your natural light will have a greenish tint (amount will vary seasonally depending on evergreen vs leafing).

I know it's harder to answer with a lot of new staff coming in, but in general do your folks need more of a place to destress (so, spa-esque colors) or to revitalize (so, high-energy shades)?

** CALMING **

I think a lot of the usual green-grey-blue suspects you see on the GW forums would be a good place to start. I'd just make sure they didn't skew too blue in your space (test test test...no pun intended!).

So: Sea Salt; Rainwashed

I'm going to put in a plug for an oldie but oft-goodie that's having a resurgence:

Halycon Green (column 1, row 2 below). Looks great with walnut shades, great backdrop for photos and art, underused as a LR/DR color. Basically if you test lighter greenish grey and think, "I mean it's pretty, but kind of meh...." you may love the medium depth of this one.

Paint Landing · More Info

** VIBRANT **

I have to say if a room can handle it, I love a deep teal to revive without the overstimulation that orange, bright leaf greens, and bright yellows can bring about. Also awesome with browns.

SW has a ton of turquoise/teal colors but take a look at Oceanside (center image) and then nose around your fan deck. Here's the SW link to these SW/West Elm collab images

Your Sherwin-Williams · More Info

** WARMING **

Lastly for now, I wanted to put a spotlight on one of my favorite creamy yellows, Ivoire (top right). Inviting Ivory is similar.[The deeper "Blonde" is a great mellow old-gold shade, too.]

At least in my part of the PNW, people LOVE those 2 shades. Even the non-yellow-lovers, ha.

They're pretty flexible, so you could likely use either of them as your accent wall/office shade.

Or you could consider making them/something similar your main shade and accent with the aquas, teals, etc as they've shown below with Hazel and the muted teal, Underseas

Explore Interior Color Schemes, Interior Colors, and more! · More Info

ETA: Here is Blonde throughout a home that's very inviting (and has lots of dark brown accents)

One shot:

Jean & Don's Mix of Modern Classics · More Info

Thank you for the very detailed post. Lots to toss around.

Funny, I put Hazel on the list today. Together with macadamia...hmmm...I'll look at that one too.

There is a tree outside my office. It's dark burgandy leaved.

I'm not sure what the staff's use is beyond lunch times.

I leave campus and go home usually. I get no rest if they can find me.

So I don't really use the lounge, except for setting up potlucks. :) which we have 2x a month.

I think spa like is where I was heading. But not to "quiet".

Yesterdays sunset standing on my front steps. Past the tree line is the Strait and just a hint of the Northern tip of the Olympics.

No ideas, but wanted to say hello!! Haven't "seen" you for a long time, but I am still using some of your candles in my wax melter :^)

I am of the green school for restfulness...a very calming sage with a bit of décor in bright pink!

Blessings,

J