Colour advice for Study

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ribena

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I'm looking for some suggestions on a colour for my Study. It's a small North Facing room. I would like a shade of green as I know green is meant to promote your thinking. As it's a small room, I don't want anything loud and as it's a North Facing room, I don't want anything cold. Has anyone used a nice warm shade of green or any other suitable colour that you would recommend?

Thanks in advance....
 
Ribena, I would suggest putting a light shade on the walls. I have a green shade here and the only thinking it promotes is how to get rid of it. There will be plenty of lighter shades to choose from. I just dont like the green at all because it gives off a cold atmosphere.

I think a study needs to be bright because you will have books, computer etc. and will want to read in there so need plenty of light. However, that is just my opinion and i'm sure there are people out there who just love green.
 
Green is Ok in a study in a sort of old-worldy way; but lets face it modern rooms seldom lend themselves to that kind of distinct colourway. I have Orchid White on my study walls having previously had a dark shade of gold. I feel the lighter colour is much more relaxing and I'm still not tired of it even after several years. You could add splashes of your favourite green in the form of cushions or floor mats.
 
Perhaps you could go for a white with a hint of green and then make the room feel green by using some green accessories and a plant or two. sounds a little odd but i've been really suprised before by how a room can appear a colour in other ways than by painting the walls the full on colour. It will keep the room feeling light and spacious too and if you want the olde worldy look you could get one of those green shaded study lamps.
 
Thanks for the replies. I felt there was no such thing as a warm green in a light shade! I have a sand coloured tester on the wall, a shade of blue and a lime green, none of which do anything for the room. They are all far too cold. I think I'll go back to my original idea of painting it in Pashmina Wool (Colortrend) and inject a bit of colour with plants, pictures and shelving.
 
Advice from a qualified Interior Designer(friend of mine)

Green is a calming colour, yellow is best to stimulate the mind! As it's a north facing room, a shade yellow will add warmth.

(We are soooo not busy at work at the moment!!)

Colour Suggestions:

Greens

Green Gables - Johnstone's Paint


Yellows

Glenveagh - Dulux Heritage Range
Shandon - Dulux Heritage Range (This is a beautiful colour, it's like a muted yellowy cream - very warm)
Sunhaze - Dulux

Another suggestion is to do one wall(feature wall - maybe where desk it to be placed against) Green(Colour Forest Jade - Dulux) and the other three walls Traditional Cream -Dulux

Happy Decorating :)
 
Thanks so much Crystal. I'll definitely buy tester pots of those paints. I have the Shandon tester paint already. Shandon is quite similar to what I have in my kitchen (Butternut Squash - Colortrend) and I love that colour, it's so warm.
 
ribena said:
Thanks so much Crystal. I'll definitely buy tester pots of those paints. I have the Shandon tester paint already. Shandon is quite similar to what I have in my kitchen (Butternut Squash - Colortrend) and I love that colour, it's so warm.
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Dulux heritage do an Edwardian range with some very nice warm greens on it. Tye asking the shop to dilute them further though - using enough tint for 2 lt in 5lt of base paint. I have this in a north facing kitchen and it's lovely, especially with a wood floor. I think it is Edwardian 20 , but I am not sure.
cheers,
Diziet
 
The timing of this discussion is great for me too as I need to decide my study colour right now. I have lots of light with a south east facing corner window plus a window on the north side. I was tempted to go with something much warmer towrds a RED dare I suggest. Am I mad? The last thing I want is a cold feeling place.
 
I would agree with Swallows.

I recently painted my study with Crown one coat - colour was 'Botanic' - it looked very light, warm green on the tin - but its very dark, strong green on the walls.

Am already thinking of painting over it, even though it was bloody expensive!
 
lakeland i would have always shyed away from the colour red but i know someone who did and it turned out really well. if you are going for it i would suggest go for a reddy-terracotta (yellow toned rather than a blue which can be quite dark and come out more a pinky fushia colour on the wall) The colour he went for was 'ancient earth' or something similar from Dulux its a colour you can put alot with and natural colours work really well with it. It looks like a definite red but has a warmth to it. try to keep carpet, ceiling, furniture and curtains very light and simple- room has to be a reasonable size to carry it off otherwise i would suggest just painting a feature wall.
 
Again from my Interior Designer Buddy :)
Advice for Lakeview:

Red as a colour stimulates the appetite and it stimulates discussion – as a result you often see it in Restaurants and Dining Rooms, it’s also a very warm, rich colour.

Burmese Ruby by Dulux or Tir na nOg are both very strong deep reds -
A lot will depend on the type of furniture you would like to put in the study – is it old style – light/dark wood?

A suggestion could be to paint three of the walls in Harvest Light or Traditional Cream (both Dulux) and one wall in Red (Burmese Ruby or Tir na nOg, Dulux again)

The wall to paint Red could depend on the shape of the room - if it is long and narrow then a deep red on one of the end (smaller) walls will make the room appear more square/balanced; as a dark colour on a wall can make it advance towards you.
 
Just wondering Crystal if you have any advice on paint brands? Do you think (or your friend) that one brand (Dulux, Crown etc.) has better coverage or consistency than another?
 
Dulux is supposed to be quiet good - My hubby does all the painting in our own house and swears by it(he HATES B&Q own brand, and doesn't think Crown is as good as Dulux either)
 
Ribena,

Would have to say I was impressed with the colours in paint mentioned in this thread. I e-mailed for a colour chart and whilst it took a while to come out (probably time of year) the colours seem good. Might be worth consideration.
 
Sueellen, I have used Colortrend and love them. I have Butternut Squash in my kitchen and in a bedroom, Creme Fraiche in the bathroom and Pashmina Wool in a bedroom. I think the colours are devine. I really like Penthouse Living which is on the red colour card, so I think I'll get a tester pot of that today and Dulux Sunhaze. I want to paint this room on Monday as it's driving me crazy!!
 
Ribena

I have Green Gables in my study (spooky!) and am really pleased with it. It's a pretty dark room but I wanted to stay away from Shandon (already in my hall) and reds (I've got Claret from Colourtrend in my bathroom). It turned out really nice. There was an existing dado rail which I couldn't be bothered to remove - I put wallpaper (in a kind of tartan) below and the room has turned out really warm and cosy.

Be careful with very strong colours in a dark room. The previous colour was a nice terracotta (I guess the previous owners were trying to warm it up) but it was beyond horrible in that particular room - it made it feel so dark and dull and miserable.

My house is an old house so the different colours work out well - not sure if they would be so successful in a newer house. I tie all the rooms together by using the same colour ceiling paint in all the rooms (Lir - white would have washed it out, I feel) and the same carpet in all rooms.

Rebecca
 
At this stage I have testers of Grackle (blue/green colour, Colortrend), Sand (Colortrend), Lime Soda, Shandon, Sun Haze and Summer Sun on the wall and I don't like any of them! I'm going to buy a pot of Penthouse Living (Colortrend) today and hopefully paint the room tonight. I might try Green Gables on the main wall after Christmas.
 
I have Chelsea Green (Crown or Dulux, darned if I can remember which! Whichever it is the other range has a very similar though ever so slightly lighter shade called Watermelon) in our north facing spare bedroom/reading room. To keep it warm I've accented with Buttermilk on all the woodwork which is a rich, warm cream. I love it but himself doesn't.

Give it a whirl with a tester pot. If you're worried about it being too overwhelming you could just put it on the wall behind your desk and use a more neutral colour (like a warm cream) on the other walls. I wouldn't mix another distinct colour (e.g. yellow or blue) on the other walls as the whole effect would be too 'busy'.

Just my 0.025 worth but I find the almost white colours and pale pastels very cold and more often than not a bit insipid.
 
Love love this colour...easy on the eye and quite warm also...the colour is called Croquet but not sure if its from Dulex or Crown but with the name it should be easy enough to find...friend has this on her sitting room walls which is north facing and has wood and creem furniture and the effect is relaxing.
 
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