An Uninspiring Home Office Gets an Ultra-Colorful “Dopamine Boost” Makeover
ABOUT THIS BEFORE & AFTER
HOME TYPE: House
PROJECT TYPE: Office & Dens
STYLE: Colorful, Maximalist
SKILL LEVEL: DIY
RENTAL FRIENDLY: Yes
Green home offices (like this one and this one have been all the rage over the past few years. (After all, there’s pretty much nothing that feels fancier than a jewel-toned green bookshelf.)
But, because so many paint companies have chosen red or purple tones for their 2025 Colors of the Year, that might mean we’ll see a shift in paint picks coming soon. Perhaps more DIY projects will feature cherries, bricks and browns, and plums and purples in the coming months.
Colleen Finnell is one of the latest DIYers to go for purple paint; she transformed her home office from green to “Plum Dandy” in an $800 makeover.
“The most important part was choosing the color palette.”
Colleen says the hardest (but most essential) step of the home office transformation was landing on the new, vibrant color scheme.
“The before was a deep, rich green with gold and black and white pieces throughout; it was designed and decorated last in December 2019,” she says. “There wasn’t much I didn’t like about the space or how it was decorated. It came down to needing a refresh after looking at the same thing for 4 1/2 years.” After a layoff, Colleen decided it was time for a “dopamine boost,” as she puts it.
This time around, she drew inspiration from a rug. “I laid different paint swatches on top to see how well things would or wouldn’t play with what was in the rug,” she explains. She ultimately landed on purple (Sherwin-Williams’ Plum Dandy, as previously mentioned) for one wall and ceiling, mostly white walls, and a green (Sherwin-Williams’ Retro Mint) accent.
“The hardest part was knowing when to scale back with color on the walls,” she says. “At first I had ideas of multiple tones, textures and patterns on every surface, but then I realized I needed to pull back and let color pop through the other elements.”
There are several spray paint projects in the room.
Those elements include several items Colleen spray-painted, and her DIY advice is not to shy away from spray paint “and how transformative it can be,” she says. She used it to spray-paint the legs of the pink bench, the orange seat, and the black perimeter and handles of the filing cabinet, as well as one of her favorite parts of the after: the plant stand.
“I bought it off Facebook Marketplace as an older, faded wooden stand,” Colleen explains. “I then spray-painted it this perfect shade of red that makes me so happy to look at.”
The colorful painted ceiling draws the eye upward.
Colleen also used spray paint to upgrade her flush-mount light fixture on the ceiling. “This was the first time I took down and reinstalled a ceiling light,” she adds. “I watched a few electrician videos on YouTube to know how to reinstall it again easily.”
But that’s not the only pop of color on the ceiling. “The biggest change from the before to the after was utilizing the upwards angle of the wall and taking the paint up throughout the ceiling,” Colleen says.
The office is filled with original artwork.
Lastly, the makeover adds even more personality with new artwork. There’s a painting of a woman by Doug von (@dougvonw), an abstract painting by Hannah Hirsch (@_hannah__hircsh_), and a block print purchased from Japan.
“Always have one eye looking at thrift stores, antique markets, or online reselling platforms,” Colleen advises. “The most unique pieces aren’t mass-produced.”
Colleen says if there’s anything she’d do differently in the project, it’s that she would have finished it faster. “The room sat in limbo for a while as I lacked motivation and couldn’t picture myself in the space while I was going through the job search,” she says. “Having a vision and inspiration is key!”
And now, “new life has been brought into the space,” she says. “The goal of [it] being a ‘dopamine boost’ rings true. I am happy when I’m in the room and love the vibrancy.”
Inspired? Submit your own project here.
Further Reading
Everything You’ve Ever Wanted To Know About Article’s DTC Furniture
See How a Stager Used Paint to Transform a 1950s Living Room
