here's a view of the same wall color with different lighting in the kitchen:

I would make this a cozy space with minimal, but larger scale furnishings and would look at adding either a full wall custom built-in bookcase on the wall behind the desk, or a free-standing bookcase that nearly fills that wall.

IMO home offices are already a bit cluttered so I would keep all the woodtones the same . I also like closed storage more than bookshelves for some stuff. I would address the lighting before choosing colors so get LEDs in 4000K range to keep the yellow cast away.I certaily would want to see outside in my office so I would remove the plantation shutters. I don’t like rugs in offices since moving the chair becomes a big issue An armchair for just sitting and reading is always nice I don’t find the desk too big at all.

Who is going to use the office and for how long each day? There's a big difference between a home office where you pay bills for an hour a week and a home office used by one person for eight hours a day Monday through Friday.

Thanks for the suggestions!

I think I'll just have to take the lighting fixture down while figuring everything out because the glass itself casts a yellow glow on the whole room.

I also really like to look outside, the house has a lot of windows and I've purposely not obstructed any of them with furniture. The shutters do open of course, and it's a pretty view.

We've never really had a functional home office, so it's unclear how much we'll use it. Probably mostly for paying bills, doing some research related to our work, and sometimes finishing up work on the computer -- few hours a week, tops. We currently do that from our laptops in the living room, but if we had a nice office I could see us using the office instead. We also have a lot of books, some related to work, so it would be nice to store them in a way that's functional for us.

Floor plan so far:

Yeah, it isn't much, lol. I put the desk where I thought it looked good, with more room in front when you walk in. If I were to have cabinets/shelves right behind the chair, I would have to move the desk into the center of the room. Would that look ok? Or dumb?

option 1 - with floating shelves in between two tall bookcases, leaving a more open area in the front when you walk in:

option two - with tall bookcases filling the back wall

Maybe I have some deep-seated aversion to putting furniture right in the middle of a room, lol. But, I'm starting to like option 2 more. Printer could go on a stand of some sort on the front wall, or in the shelving unit with option 2.

What do you think? Any thoughts on paint, particularly with the tray ceiling? We had the trim and doors painted white throughout the house, so I'd like to keep that.

Thanks again!

It is a lovely desk. A pretty good sized room. I think you could do a combination of your "options". I prefer storage you don't see when you enter the room, so I would consider doing any open shelves on the wall with the French doors. that keeps them hidden a bit. You need a min. of 3' behind your desk and any furniture so you have room for your chair to move around. I prefer 4' and I think you could get that with bookcases (etagere type looks perhaps in gold to compliment the desk. These could hold some decorative pieces as well as more functional needs on the lower shelves that aren't too visible. Kind of depends on your needs. Do you have a printer that needs a home in this space? If so, then you need to get that accommodated somewhere in the room. I like the shutters, but would have them open for natural light unless this is Southern exposure in which case they will probably be closed a lot. I would find a really nice chandelier for this room. I find a great light is inspiring and inviting. Get a wood type floor protector for your desk chair if it is on rollers. If not, get slider pads for the legs. A nice piece of art for the wall in the center behind your desk would be very nice addition.

desk · More Info

I would take out the upper center section for a more open look. You can get units where the drawers accommodate printers but close up when not in use.

Lakewood Blvd · More Info

Painted cabinetry would look great with your desk too. In your space, imagine art where the window is.

I would also paint the walls a unifying color and give it some personality. What colors do you like other than off white?

Love the painted bookcases! I was actually thinking I might want them painted, to add color. Blue is running throughout the house in some furnishings and flooring. I also like green. I’m trying to keep things a bit lighter because when we moved in, the trim was all dark and some of the plaster walls had a coffee-colored glaze on top. It looked like Zorro would come riding in on a horse at any moment. I shy away from reds because of the whole Tuscan red-brown-gold thing.
I pulled the desk out a bit, doesn’t look bad. Wish I had taken a photo an hour ago, the room was filled with light (south-west facing windows).

That’s hilarious description but paints a perfect visual picture! It looks like the shutters are fixed vanes? You have to open whole shutter to let light in? If that is so, i would remove them and do drapery. Takes up less wall space too. I think a deep blue or green on your walls would be great!! And absorb some of that SW light. It would be super stunning and add old gold finish chandelier. What is height of your ceiling?

Thanks, lol. The ceilings are 9 1/2 feet from bottom of the molding to the floor. And the vanes actually do open, I usually have them open, but my SO likes to walk around in his underwear and closes them :)

Trying to look at some options for the kind of bookcases you posted here. Would they have to be custom?

Alright, have some paint colors to look at. Please let me know what you think! I generally like my decor to be lighter, but not a big fan of light blue.

bermudan blue:

Opera glasses:

Superior blue:

chervil leaves:

Snip of parsley:

Any thoughts?

Or should I leave the walls alone and put in painted bookshelves that fill the back wall?

And some blues that lean a little gray:

Rush hour:

Shipwreck:

hampton surf:

catalina coast:

I think I might like these the most.

Love the blue-gray paints!

Love the Rush Hour blue/gray and think it will look great with your desk. Great color.

Agree.

Thanks all!

Dumb question: paint the ceiling the same white as the trim?

Alright guys, so the whole custom bookcase thing is probably not going to happen, just more than we wanted to spend on one tiny section of the house. What do you think of this bookcase? It’s about the closest fit I can find, and comes in an off white color. Shelves are adjustable, should be able to take out the center one if I want to put some art there. 30% off any one item from this shop today!

Some people are painting trim same as wall. Bookcase is nice.

BEAUTIFUL!!! You need to take the leap and do the whole room. What color is that? It looks so gorg. And can go masculine or feminine. Really nice.

Thank you flo! It’s BAER “Rush Hour.”

Those look great! Do you mind me being nosy & asking how much it was to have those done? Considering something similar in my place.

Thanks swrite! Was 5k, would have been less to leave them unfinished and have room painters do it if/when we get the walls done. Done by a local small business, admittedly I didn’t shop around too much.

the Tuscan was cheaper! lol. they turned out great though. I really think you need to do that entire wall in the same blue. I don't know what color you have on there now, but it looks like a yellow cream?

Oh, paint your outlets!

I think if you did the other walls in a soft white, it would look great.

Thanks. I really like that color. I agree with Beth doing the other walls in off white would be stunning. Unless you do everything except the ceiling and window in the Behr Rush Hour. Really nice

I think I agree with you guys, finish the wall in that color. Looking at soft whites for the rest of the room. What about the shutters and the trim? Hmm.

following