Im sort of with your husband on this one - i think white walls only work in a space that gets a lot of natural light. Otherwise, it just looks institutional.

My husband has an basement office too (but zero natural light) and we used a blue on the walls that is very soothing. Its also very masculine when paired with the brown walls and all of his manly stuff.

Sorry, I don't have any after photos but this was the space before we starting putting furniture down there.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stefanier/2169867551/

hope that is helpful and good luck!

Sounds like a perfect setup for your DH. I'm suggesting leave the off white carpet & add an area rug in a color block pattern of blue, brown, cream & black. A nice calming blue for the walls & cream woodwork. Maybe a small black leather chair & ottoman?

My husband's walk-out basement office is painted an aquamarine color. It is a calming color, and shows off his black & white sports photos beautifully.

Mrs Limestone... What is that paint color? Lovely. That's what I have in mind for my hubby's basement office.

Try Silver Sage paint by Restoration Hardware.

decor 64
I think at the bottom of Mrs. Limestones photo is says BM Metallic Silver
{{!gwi}}

I agree that a rich yet lighter shade of blue would be wonderful. I think the black/brown furniture would work well, as long as there isn't a huge amount of it eating up every wall. I would think about orange as the accent color, to bring in some bright touches and a cheery feel. Hang a mirror somewhere on the wall opposite the window to bounce light around the room. Be sure to have good task lighting on his desk, on a cabinet or credenza if there is one.

Add a comfy chair like the Poang from IKEA for a spot to take a break or do some brainstorming away from the desk. Do the darker finish, then choose the light blue cover or the orange one. A nice floor lamp by that to allow for reading.

Also, look into adding some lighting on the underside of the deck to help chase away the shadows and make the office feel bright even on gloomy days.

Bring in pewter or brushed nickel hardware and accessories to add a little sparkle and balance the strong color of the furniture and the orange accents.

Some pillows for color and comfort, like the Kajsa Rand or Lusy Kloss pillow covers, over their down pillow forms.

Clear lamps like the Jonsbo Orod will not take up too much visual space.

Yep, lyban got it. Its called metallic silver by Benjamin Moore but its a misleading name. Its not at all Metallic and its not really silver. Its more of a blue with gray undertones.

Thanks all of you!! I love the blue/cream/brown with possible orange accents. Thanks so much for the specifics Les - they sound great.

Mrs. Limestone - that's a very nice paint color. I will check it out. It seems very restful and elegant.

I'll also take a look at silver sage.

I'll let you all know how it goes!

I have another question - this time about the layout.

I'll describe the room. The room is 10x13 and the door leading into it is approximately centered on one of the 10' walls. Directly oppostie on the other 10' wall is a wall of closets - only a few inches of room on either side. On one of the 13' walls is the window slightly off centered and closer to the wall of closets. The window is high enough off the floor that a desk could fit under it. The other 13' wall is just bare/empty. Do you think it would be nicer to have the 'work area' (desk and computer) along the window wall or along the blank wall? Would glare from the window be an issue? The opposite wall that doesn't have the desk and computer would have bookshelves/credenza/files etc.

Thanks again!

I have a similar size home office, and after using it for several years, I plan to re-arrange it so that my desk (with computer) sits more or less in the middle of the space, with a view out the window. That way, I can rest my eyes by looking out the window, but I'm far enough away from the window to avoid direct glare.

I currently have two desks in an L-configuration around the perimeter of the room, but I don't like looking at the wall. And it wastes the space in the middle of the room.

It may sound goofy, but it wouldn't hurt to check feng shui for beneficial direction for your husband to face.

could you possibly place the desk by the window facing the walk out? that way you would get a lot of natural light at the desk..but make sure that computer screens are backed up to any glare rather than facing it.

i would probably put the desk at a 45 from the wall by the window..computer screen back to it..and face the walk out if that will work..

i would go with a fairly brightish color but not too bright..as it has to be restful for your husband..maybe a pale blue or silver if you are going to use brown accents..

kinda manly..

don't just use cast offs..use really nice quality office style furniture..but put a comfortable chair or love seat in the area with a lamp and a table..so he doesn't feel the need to sit at the desk all the time and so a guest can be comfortable..that should be on the wall opposite the desk or by the window wall..but not in front of the doorway.

also make sure you have some plants to tie in the outside.

file cabinets can be tucked behind in the closet as well as some shelves for supplies and extra file boxes..etc.

good lighting is a must..so good lamps as well as overall task lighting..esp if he will be there after dark..also maybe some way to close off the black hole outside if there is no outdoor lighting..otherwise..have a beautiful outdoor lighting cast on a pretty tree or object to look at outside at night from the desk view.

I've worked from a true home office (not just a hobby/paying bills/computer/den room) for 11 years, and the light is absolutely critical. Glare is a deal-breaker -- either the window has to be covered, the furniture rearranged, or your DH will have several hours of down time every day. (Check glare during different seasons too -- sun slants different in June than December.) For the same reasons, let him pick the chair where he'll be most comfortable planting himself 8-10 hours/day, no matter how ugly it might be.

FWIW, the room that used to be my home office was painted the same shade as the rest of my home, a calming, restful shade of blue fairly close to that Metallic Silver, but for some bizarre reason the light in that room ate the color and turned the walls gray in that room, and that room only. It was the only room in the house with direct southern light, and one entire wall was a natural maple desk/bookcase setup.

Thanks again everyone!

Bluekitobsessed - you make a good point. My husband is the wage earner in our family and this will be his full-time office. Right now the room is a guest room, but I will go down and check out the glare situation. I THINK because the deck is above the window that there isn't going to be glare issues but I'll need to confirm that.

ronbre - when you say the walk out, do you mean the door? So have the desk BY the window but facing the door, perpendicular to the wall? I'm not really sure I'm envisioning the 45 degree angle.

BTW - I have looked into feng shui regarding this and what I've read suggests that the desk should not be along either of these walls, but be either 1) in front of the closet doors facing the door to the room or 2) in one of the corners by the long walls/closet doors facing towards the door area. Apparently it's not great to sit along a long wall that has the door parallel to where the person is sitting - energy (or was it money?) is supposed to flow out the door! I guess I thought that by having the main furniture along the two long walls the room would seem much larger because otherwise the desk would have to sit fairly far out into the room (closet doors are bifold).

Hmmm...

For the feng shui aspect, I was thinking more about an auspicious direction based on your husband's year of birth.

For the 45-degree angle, I think ronbre means placing desk kitty-corner near a corner, where your husband would face out the window.

Good luck! If I ever get my act in gear, I'll rearrange my office too.

you say the room is only 10' wide..that is not very wide for a room with a desk..depending on the size of the desk..i was actually thinking yes at a 90 degree from the wall by the window ..or a slight angle facing the door..i thought you said walk out..but i guess i was mistaken.

you want to be able to see out and not have the door open behind you if possible..esp an outside door..

and you want to face toward the windows or doors to avoid any glare on the computer..my computer is where i can see out the window into the garden and there is no glare on the screen..i love it..

use the opportunity for the closet areas to the rear for all the necessary equipement and storage that doesn't have to be at the desk..and use a swivel chair so that you can roll and access them without having to get up..but make the view pleasant day and night..esp in wintertime dark will be a long time.

have the ablity to close off with roller blinds if there is to much sun comes in to where it will blind you at the desk though..my desk faces North to the garden so i need no such help.

most desks are 4 to 5 ' wide and that only leaves you another 5 to 6 feet on the side..so why not snut it up under the window wall..and have a lamp there for when the natural light isn't there..?? if you pull the desk out into the room..then you lose a lot of room space for other furniture..and a comfortable office should have a few other pieces of furniture for guests..2 chairs and a table..or a love seat and a table and lamp..maybe a credenzea..or maybe a bookcase wall on the wall without windows..

i am imagining..facing the door with the window at my right or left..

My hubby moved to a full-time home office 3 years ago. The most important thing to remember - layout and decor aside - is he is at work, not at home. Don't ask him to watch the kids while you run a quick errand, don't holler at him to come upstairs or answer a phone as he may be on an important call...Sure, there are times he wanders up to chat or for a snack, but try to let him do his work. You will both love it if you can find the happy medium here...

Position the desk so that when you are seated at the desk, you can see the door. Does the door open towards the window wall or towards the blank wall? I recommend that the desk be on the wall opposite the way the door opens.
Glare can be a problem, particularly if you are using a computer, so if the door opens towards the blank wall, you might want to position the desk under the window, perpendicular to the window. The desk chair would then be between the desk and the wall of closets.
There is ample room for a visitor chair. My office is only 9'x9'. I have a wall of bookcases behind my chair, my desk is perpendicular to the window, and it's in the middle of the room. There is room for another person to sit, mostly to look at the computer screen, and if I didn't have so much crap on the floor, the place would be extremely spacious. (I do have to get organized...)

Great ideas!

Ronbre - yes it's a walk out basement, but the basement consists of a family room (with doorwalls to the outside) a bedroom and a bathroom. This room is the bedroom that only has a regular window. When you are facing the door the window is on the left. The room already has the aluminum mini-blinds (not the most attractive but they match the trim and certainly work to filter the sun. Depending on finaces we might get something better but they are functional.

I saw a desk at Ikea that was like an L-shape. So that might be an idea. He could have one section of the L, under the window, then the other part would be perpendicular (90 degrees) out across the room. but because it's over to one side it would still allow plenty of access to the closets. The closet already has a closet organizer in it so with a few more shelves it might meets most of his storage needs.

Suero - The door actually opens into the family room, which is great because it doesn't eat up any room in the guestroom/office.

utahman - yes, this is going to be interesting. Our kids are older and in school all day, but I'm going to have to resist the temptation to talk to him all day. I'm currently back in school (doing an online program) so I tend to get lonely! Have to resist that urge!

mjlb- never heard of the birth year aspect- I'll check that out.

Right now I'm looking at finding a room size air purifier. We have a dry basement but there is something about it that both hubby and I find irritating down there (and neither of us has diagnosed allergies). I honestly think it's because we don't clean it as often as we should (becuase we don't use it much) and it's kind of dusty, and additionally I'm going to get the carpets cleaned and just generally deep clean the whole space.

Thanks again!