When it comes to selecting a colour scheme for your office, it may not be as easy as choosing a colour scheme for your home. Everyone has a preference and whilst a home colour scheme is personal to you, deciding on which colours to use for your office will involve various factors. Things to consider are:
- What services or products are you selling?
- What type of colours would your clients expect to see, for example, would lavender work for a Solicitors Firm?
- What colours would help your staff be as productive as possible?
The above are all things to consider and most business owners consider these for their office walls and office furniture. What about your office flooring? There are various materials and colour schemes available for your office flooring, however, most people neglect to consider these.
There have been plenty of studies around the use of colours and how they affect people’s mood. In 1984, Ms Angela Wright wrote the Wright Theory, following years of studying colours and the effects these colours have on us. Her theory is used by many psychologists as the benchmark for colour psychology. She concluded that the four primary colours had the following effects:
Blue: The colour blue stimulates the mind. Different hues of blue help us stay focused. Blue is used a lot in accountancy firms for this very reason.
Red: Red tends to evoke a sense of urgency. Red is used a lot in construction firms as it will stimulate energy levels. Whilst this colour is not a good idea for a productive office environment, it is used a lot in retail stores for sale and clearance signs.
Yellow: As yellow stimulates emotion, this colour is very popular for creative industries.
Green: Many people associate green with the colour of money and green represents balance, calmness, and reassurance. For this reason, green is popular in financial industries.
When mixing two primary colours together, the effects of the two primary colours are combined into the secondary colour created. This is why, for example, lavender works well in spars as it combines red (energy) and blue (productivity).
In an office environment, the following colours tend to work best. These colours will then influence what colour you should decide on for your office flooring.
Off-white is a warm colour that gives off a clean appearance. Whilst white will have a clinical appearance, off-white is easy to decorate and design around. A natural wood colour flooring will work well for a classic look as too will a bolder colour or tiles carpet.
Grey is a very popular colour, especially in homes. Too much grey in the office can have a negative phycological effect on co-workers and clients. If using grey, do not go overboard. Hints of grey will give off a neutral mood.
A teal and light blue combination can help with productivity because of the combination of blue and green. A grey carpeted floor would probably suit a Solicitors Firm.
Light blue works well for a doctor’s office or environment where your visitors may feel a little nervous, due to its calming effects.
Most wooden office floors consist of a neutral pallet, containing greys and earthy browns. It is important to determine if your office floor has warm or cool tones. This will help you imagine and pick your wall colours, or, if you have just selected your wall colours, will help you decide on your floor colour. The general rule is that warm colours go well with other warm colours and the same applies to cool colours. If you decide to go for a contrast, choose a colour which is opposite to your wall colour, for example violet walls and a yellow undertone flooring, whilst it will create a bold statement, it will not look out of place.
If you are in doubt, a neutral colour wall will work with most floor colours!
At E&M Services we have a lot of experience with office refurbishments, including helping you select suitable flooring and floor colour for your chosen colour scheme. Alternatively, we can help you pick out a suitable wall and office colour scheme based around your new office flooring. Click here to speak to our team.