White walls

[FusionChefGeoff]

I'm redecorating my home office and it's slowly staring to take shape. I've discovered lovely dark stained boards under the carpet, got a couple of aged oak bookcases and a reclaimed planks desktop (antique oak finish - more golden than the furniture which is quite dark wood) on black filing cabinets.

I now need to decide on paint colours.

Browsing Pinterest the most common colour with that sort of floor / furniture seems to be a brilliant white but I'm worried that will a) look a bit weird against the rustic wood which would naturally have creamy base tones and b) blind me!!

But then I'm worried that off white will lessen the contrast / impact of that particular look.

I also want to add 'built in' shelves above a sideboard across one wall and can't decide if I should paint them white / same as walls or get planks that match the desk.

I've also started thinking about putting a pattern wallpaper up behind the shelves for contrast.

Arghhhh!! WWYD??

Pic attached of a bit of the desk / floor

I’d paint I a dark colour and make it cosy. With som dramatic prints.

I wouldn't paint it a dark colour. It wouldn't be "cosy". It would be a claustrophobic cave IMO.

I’d go with a white but a warm white tone rather than a stark one

I think a warm white might be the compromise option. I see lots of talk about Timeless - is that a warm would you think?

I painted mine a very pale green. It's warm without being too relaxing and cosy, also had a natural feel to it which goes well with the wood floor.

I found white and blue too cold and stark, so it was a toss up between this green and a delicate lilac. Anything too busy or patterned I find too distracting. I am a chronic procrastinator so I was going for 'nice place to be, but not too relaxing or distracting'

I'd do a dark blue or green, I think it would make it cozy with nice artwork on the walls.

I would go white walls. It soon cozies up once you have stuff in the room, all the more so in alcove where you will have a shelf and a cabinet.

Sage green or duck egg blue can both look great with a dark wood floor. Keep woodwork white and think about your lighting - the single pendant you've got in that pic is quite small, I'd go for something a bit bigger and more eye catching as it's a 'feature' above your desk. Also maybe a Roman blind in a simple pattern over the window? And a different rug to tie in with the new colour scheme. Most important tip for trying paint samples is don't just paint little squares on the wall - get a cheap roll of lining paper and use sample pot to cover a decent-sized bit, you can then try this on the walls in different parts of the room in different times of day with some blutac. A colour that looks great during the day with natural light might feel wrong at night with electric light. Try a few different shades, enjoy!

Here's a nice blue with a dark floor and wood furniture, to give an idea.

And here's a sage combo too.

What's with the MN obsession with "cosy"?

Not everyone wants to feel claustrophobic "cosy".

Some of us prefer light and airy. I like the sage green combo BTW.

If you do want to go pale, Timeless does look lovely with dark wood.

This is off Pinterest, it's plain (cheap and cheerful) white walls with F&B Manor House grey doors /architraves and skirtings . It's easy to maintain Sl looks lovely IMO/E