Design work zones in your home

How often do you hear this: ‘yes, I’ve got a home office, but I prefer to work on my laptop at the kitchen table?’ Why is that? It’s because modern life is about light, open, energising, multi-purpose spaces, not small, dusty office rooms tucked away at the back of the house.

The trouble is, sitting down to focus on work in the same room as life’s other distractions can be hard. The secret is to use the power of colour to define your space, as Marieke Wielinga, Senior Colour Designer at AkzoNobel, explains: “Colour is a great emotional tool, so use it! By using block colours against a neutral backdrop, you can zone your space.”

Denim Drift, the Colour of the Year 2017, is a great base for building an interior space with clearly zoned areas of activity. Its grey blue coolness can be offset with strong tones and shapes. “How you paint your walls is a strong, simple way of differentiating play areas from workspace.”

Which paints?

Smoke Grey - Dulux 90BG 30/073

Areas for relaxing, dining and play are generally larger and need a broader colour scheme, while workspace within the room should have a focused accent colour that encourages you to zone in on your work. “Areas of play can include big statements, like my feature wall in rich russet red,” says Marieke. “Workspace should be more contained and colour can help you do this.”

Which paints?

Downing Street - Dulux 30YR 14/365

“Just because you have a flat wall doesn’t mean it has to feel like a flat space,” says Marieke. “Try painting a striking shape to zone your work desk, such as an oval in a tone that complements the main colour scheme. Try a composed cream against our grey-blue Colour of the Year 2017.”

Which paints?

Cameo Stone - Dulux 60YR 64/038
Smoke Grey - Dulux 90BG 30/073

If your room has little corners, nooks or crannies, rather than trying to gloss over an awkward space, make a feature of it, as Marieke explains: “A recess in a cool palette of greys is the perfect place to add a vibrant flash of colour. Try a hot red or metallic aquamarine. It will frame and enhance whatever you keep there, making a feature of the simplest objects.”

Which paints?

Burmese Beige - Dulux 40YY 51/084
Cameo Stone - Dulux 60YR 64/038
Downing Street - Dulux 30YR 14/365
Smoke Grey - Dulux 90BG 30/073

Find the right colour

Create your own colour palette today!