Choosing Serene Paint Colours for our Home Office- Week 2 of the One Room Challenge

It’s already week two of the One Room Challenge and the momentum is picking up. The week one post, Plans for the Serene Basement Home Office, can be found here. This past week, I finalized the colour scheme and materials for the project and completed the priming and painting of the ceiling and walls. I think I’m known for creating calm, serene, nature-inspired spaces and I wanted this to be even more true for the basement home office. I took my time to choose a palette that is serene, bright, inviting, and calming. In this post, Choosing Serene Paint Colours for our Home Office, I share the process of selecting the colours and materials and how you can do the same for your home.

The One Room Challenge (ORC)

In case you’re not familiar with the One Room Challenge, it’s a twice-yearly event featuring designers and guest participants. Over an eight-week period, participants renovate or refresh one room and share the process on their blog or Instagram. This is my third time participating in the ORC and you can check out my other two challenges here (Affordable Modern Kitchen Update) and here (Basement Yoga, Meditation, and Exercise Room). In the coming weeks, I’ll share how to transform an unfinished basement room into a serene home office.

Progress on the Project List for the Home Office

My list of projects I want to complete during the challenge and what I have completed so far:

• Plan an optimal layout for the space ✔
• Clean up the space- remove everything, sweep, and wipe every surface clean ✔
• Construct window jamb extensions and frame the window ✔
• Prime and paint walls and ceiling ✔
• Install vinyl plank flooring
• Design and construct a reading bench
• Plan and construct built-in shelves
• Design and construct a two-desk wall unit with storage
• Apply feature wall behind desk unit
• Prime and paint desk unit
• Apply and paint trim
• Install lighting
• Make a cover for the reading bench and choose/make pillows
• Decorate with rugs, cushions, plants, and accessories

Before Photo and Mood Board

This is what the room looked like at the beginning of this week.

And this is the mood board I created for the future home office.

Window seat image- Alexander Design Group, Shelving image- Angela Marie Made, Desk image- Samantha Potter

Choosing Serene Paint Colours for our Home Office

Since this is the last area of the basement to be finished, some of the decor decisions have already been made to have continuity in the basement. Flooring, as well as wall, ceiling, and trim colours fall into this category. Other colour palette decisions like the desk colour, lighting, and decorative accessories are more independent of the decor scheme in the rest of the basement. I do want each area to have a slightly different personality as each area serves a different function (media room, yoga, office, full bath, storage rooms).

Flooring

I will continue the installation of the white oak vinyl plank flooring in the home office. This LVP, Finally Mine by Provenza Flooring, has a natural and rustic quality and is light to medium-toned, which will keep the space looking fairly bright. I love how this flooring looks in our basement family room and yoga room.

Wall, Ceiling, and Trim Paint Colours

I chose a creamy white for the walls and crisp white for the ceiling and trim. You can see how I selected these paint colours in my post, Choosing Paint Colours for our Basement Renovation. I decided to purchase a standard ceiling paint, Benjamin Moore Muresco. It comes in a standard white ceiling colour that is quite pleasant.

Desk Paint Colour and Wood Tones

The large desk unit will cover the entire length of a 17.5 foot-long wall in our basement. My current desk is only 4 feet wide so this will be a massive upgrade. The desk unit will consist of two separate work areas divided by a large storage unit in the middle. My husband and I will each have our own work areas and storage. My plan is to paint the entire desk unit and wall behind the desk in a rich greyed green. The desk will most definitely be the main focal point of the room, so I definitely want to get the colour right.

My inspiration for the colour of the desk comes from a blog post by Samantha Potter. I don’t know what colour she used. A slightly lighter colour will likely work better for our basement since it receives only minimal natural light. The walls and ceiling are also quite light in our space and I don’t want the colour contrast between the walls/ceiling and desk unit to be too stark.

Desk Paint Swatches

I chose about six green Benjamin Moore Paint colours I liked then narrowed it down to three favourites. Next, I ordered the tester pots and painted some 8″ squares in each colour in a couple of places near where the desk will be located. I applied two coats of paint to get full coverage and then I examined the painted swatches throughout the day (morning, afternoon, and after the sun had set).

I ended up deciding on, drum roll….. Benjamin Moor Lush AF-475! It’s a soothing mix of green and grey and I think it will look good for this large-scale application.

Lighting Tones

I decided to go with gold-toned (with clear glass) lighting fixtures for the space. I love how gold and cream look together, and paired with a rich grey-green, the combination should be quite unique. Brushed nickel would have been a good, safe option too, but I wanted to create a little extra warmth and energy with the gold tones.

What I Accomplished This Week

Primed the Walls and Ceiling

The first coat of paint was the drywall primer which is the best option for preparing fresh drywall for paint. I only needed to apply one coat of this product from Benjamin Moore on the ceiling and walls. This job took about 4 hours. I cut my edges with a high-quality 2″ brush and used a 15 mm microfibre roller for the rest of the wall and ceiling surfaces.

Painted the Ceiling

I used Benjamin Moore Muresco to paint the ceiling, using two coats to get even coverage. This paint is not tintable and comes in a colour called “Ceiling White”. It’s a nice clean white that’s neither stark nor yellowed. The two ceiling coats took about 4.5 hours plus drying time.

Painted the Walls

I painted the walls with two coats of Benjamin Moore Cloud White in their Regal Select line of paints (Ulti-Matte finish). Cloud white is a great white if you need to brighten up a space yet keep it slightly warm. It’s one of my favourite neutrals to work with. Notice that there are a couple of areas I didn’t bother to paint. The first is located where I plan to build the reading bench. Since it will be a permanent fixture attached to the walls, there is no need to paint behind it. The second is the entire desk wall, which I will prime and paint in a green colour. Painting the walls (2 coats) took about 5 hours.

Ordered the Doors

I ordered the doors for the entire basement including the two doors needed for the home office. The first is a small shaker-style door to the furnace room. And the second is a pair of shaker-style French doors with clear glass panels. I’m obsessed with these doors and can’t wait to receive them!

Picked up Materials for the Reading Bench

I found an online tutorial for a reading bench and I was able to alter the plan to fit the nook in our basement perfectly. Next, I made my purchase list and bought all the supplies except for the plywood for the top and drawers. I found everything I needed at Home Depot including a new tool- a Kreg pocket-hole jig!

Work Plan for the Coming Week

This coming week I plan to install the luxury vinyl plank flooring and order the supplies for the desk unit. Additionally, I may order lighting fixtures and freestanding storage units (bookshelves) for the office. There is definitely an element of spontaneity in this project!

Summary

I’m very excited to finish our basement and create a serene basement home office. I hope you have enjoyed reading about the progress I made this week with my Choosing Serene Paint Colours for our Home Office post and I’d love to know what you think about my colour scheme. Thank you for joining me on this journey and I’m looking forward to sharing my weekly projects and updates with you. The final reveal is May 22, so stay tuned! Please check out the posts by the other participants here.