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OFFICE WORKS,
beautifully
Over the past 18 months, you may have spent time working from home - but that’s no reason for your workspace to be anything other than designed to inspire, says Gabi Mills. THERE HAS NEVER been a better time to show your workspace some love - in some ways, we’ve got COVID-19 to thank for that. According to Dulux’s Andrea Lucena-Orr, your study should be a space of calm and concentration. “Most importantly it should be somewhere you actually enjoy spending time and this is where colour comes in; if your study is drab and lifeless, a lick of paint is the fastest, cheapest and most effective way to switch up the mood and make it a space you’ll love.” Fortunately Dulux has done the hard work for you and thanks to stylist Julia Green, here are three looks for your study, using this season’s colour scheme think soothing, sun-baked neutrals, saturated, oceanic blues, all giving 44
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your study area a distinctive look. “You don’t need a big budget or lots of time to add style to this space. By focusing on colour, we were able to achieve these three looks very affordable in a day,” says Julia. “If you don’t have room for a separate study and want to delineate a study nook within an open-plan room, choose tones for your nook that are different to, however harmonise with, the palette in the adjoining living/dining areas. You can then use folding screens to tuck your workspace away when it’s time to switch off,” says Andrea. Be careful not to overfill the room – allow plenty of breathing space which can make a room feel calm. “We used soft sheers on the window that let in filtered light and we added a statement artwork to
each look – this anchored the desk set-ups and gave the user something beautiful to look at. Touches of greenery help clean the air and provide that all-important connection to nature,” she says. Mauve moves For the first look, Julia painted the walls a soft grey-mauve, Dulux Wash&Wear in Aura, combined with pink clay and punches of terracotta in artwork and accessories. “There’s an eclectic feel to this palette, so we had fun mixing old and new – a graphic, contemporary artwork and a modern lamp sit alongside a traditional patterned rug and a rustic-style desk with trestle legs,” says Julia. “A scheme like this calls for natural textures so bring in touches of timber, leather and wool.”
