Help! Office Makeover Gone Wrong—Need Advice on Wall and Drawer Color Options

Marj · 2025-01-21T13:13:50+00:00

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Marj

Hello everyone!

I recently painted the walls in my "little office space," and I absolutely hate how it turned out. The blue ended up being completely different from what I expected. My desk is an IKEA DIY project, and I thought painting the drawers the same color as the walls would make them blend in nicely—which it does. But now, it feels like it's just too much of the same color.

I'm looking for some suggestions:

Should I paint the drawers black and change the wall to a darker blue?
Or should I paint the wall a different color entirely? I was thinking about Cinnamon Slate by Benjamin Moore with black drawers.
Or should I paint the walls and use wallpaper for the drawers (dresser)?

Would love your thoughts and ideas! Thanks!

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Comments

ProbablyLurking

How recently did you update your office space? It may be that it's the shock of the new that's making you feel it went wrong. There does seem to be a lot of blue wall, but that's because you've not broken up the field of view with some artworks or other items of interest there. To be honest, I think you've done a brilliant job and I'd be proud of something that looked that smart and coherent.
Whatever you decide - you impressed me with what you acheived here!

user2005622

You've obviously got the 'blues' over your use of blue, not to mention grey (or US English gray); despite current mode popularity, both hues are inclined to depress your decor if overdone. You've a glorious window there, framing it with 'Battleship Grey' does it no favours, and the contrast between that and the walls/ceilings is, in my opinion, a bit extreme; consider something more cheerful. Oh, and don't make the drawers blend in, do something extreme to make them show up.

user2005622

Beth_C

I like the blue and the way it delineates the office area and ties in with the bedding. The desk looks great. I would add something on the walls in the office, either art, a hanging plant, or something useful, like a pegboard with storage or shelves. Then I'd bring in pattern and accent colors on the bedding in the form of a throw or pillows.

cahjan17

It's not bad really.. Maybe change the desk drawer pulls to a shiny brass. Then add some nice pictures on the wall. I think that would make a pleasant little office area.

M0M

Nice job! I like the blue how you've used it to define spaces. I may have missed it in your post, but what color did you choose?

I agree that it may be a "shock of new" and needing to balance it more in the broader space. I'd consider leaning more into whatever color you do choose and bringing in a few of these to help:

Continue carrying the color through the room as you've done with the duvet. You could use wallpaper on the bed wall, even if it's just framed and not the whole wall (examples: https://nomadicdecorator.com/2013/08/27/wallpaper-in-frames/). I wouldn't use the wallpaper on the drawers (desk nor nightstands) since the pattern won't be as visible.
Brighten up the space by adding more pops of warmer colors with pillows, throws, etc. directly on/in the blue spaces. For example, try a throw on the bed and some art pieces on the blue walls.
Add a cord concealer for the pendant light (wall, ceiling)
The black bed frame feels heavy to me, especially against the white wall. You could consider covering the black headboard with a warmer/brighter tone blanket. Similarly, I'd add a flat-panel bedskirt.
- OR, if you lean into the 2nd option of the wallpaper and use it on the bed wall, that could help balance the blue/black and warm up the space a ton. It's a fun print!
Would you consider bringing the colored wall further into the room, perhaps further along the desk wall on the left and up the soffit?

gina9158

I love the colors. But, I can see that it might be too much. However, I'm extremely lazy so repainting is not an option for me. I would put something pretty on the drawers (Dixie Belle lace rub on transfer or some flowers in the colors to match your I LOVE NEW YORK wall hanging). The only other thing I can see is that the duvet is a bit plain - I'd liven that up if I had to work in there. I do think that you did a good job.

Zephy

I agree with other posters — the blue looks good to me (it looks like teal on my screen), and I don't know why you think it went wrong. What were you hoping for? What isn't working? I happen to like teal a lot, so I liked seeing it on the wall, desk drawers, and duvet. One of my favorite color schemes is teal with accents of coral or orangey red, so my vote would be to incorporate that as an accent color in a few places (lampshades? art? pillows?) in the room. Other possibilities for accent colors might be a lighter aqua, gold, or yellow. If you do choose a patterned wallpaper for some surface, I think it would be important to have the teal in the pattern, to tie everything together. Enjoy the journey!

TheWebLion

I like the way the drawers blend with the wall, so maybe what you need to do is try some mini pots of colours and test them on that wall to find the blue you like, then repaint with the new blue. Your headboard could be painted the new better blue, as well as the black sides on the nightstands. No black. I agree to above suggestion that brass pulls on the drawers would match the nice brass lamps. Add some framed art work, not wallpaper in the office zone. You want it calmer, not busy. Some scenes of mountains or oceans or other nature scenes can be more inspiring for working, giving you something to "look off to the distance into" to rest your eyes when working at the desk. Instead of wallpaper, add pattern to your room by finding a fabric that would tone in to the new wall colour and other colours already in the room like the wall colour, the lamp above the bed, the pink painting colours of various pinks and have that sewn onto the top of your existing duvet cover by a seamstress if you do not sew. If you really like the fabric, hang another length of it on the wall above your bed as though it is a panel of wallpaper, using a wooden dowel at the top, with a sleeve sewn to insert the dowel into.

MaryB

I like it. Think it’s a clever idea

LauraD

I think you did a spectacular job, and matched the duvet perfectly. If you break up the wall with artwork, especially something with a slashes of black and/or metallic, you'll have yourself a stunner.

lela5472

I really like what you've done—it keeps the room cohesive and is a really effective use of the space. I totally agree with the other posters that the sides of the office walls would look good with some art. Then you could add some color from the art with a pretty throw and some pillows on the bed. Live with it before making many changes-- simple is best to me, especially since you have a fantastic start

DebR

I completely agree with those who said that all you need is to add some art to the walls. Even a bulletin board with pretty items pinned to it would help break up the expanse of blue. I think the blue color and the way it delineates the space is great. I wouldn't change anything you already have there. Just add some art, a small houseplant or two in interesting pots and you'll have a fantastic space!

ITSMEBETH2211

I am not a fan of blue, but you clearly are, so I wouldn't change that color. The issue I see in the room is a lack of pattern. You have the blue walls and the blue bedspread, and blue pillows, and they're identical to each other. You need some pattern and some brightness in the room. Right now it is all of the same monotone. Consider painting the non-blue walls white, to give yourself some brightness. The current color of those walls is the in the same tone family as the blue.

Make a better plan for that black cord trailing down your wall. Hang something over the bed - art, a wall hanging, SOMETHING. Turn down the top of your bedspread once it is past your pillows, so some of the sheets are showing. That'll break up the visual monotony.