The Language of Color in Home-Office Design: Emotional, Perceptual, and Functional Dimensions of Wall Colors

The flexible working conditions of the digital age have made it necessary to designate parts of the home as workspaces. Architectural elements such as color, texture, and lighting, in home-office environments play a crucial role in shaping user perception, concentration and motivation. This study investigated the effects of wall colors in home-office spaces on user perception. In a model home office, bright, saturated, and dark colors of red, red-purple, blue, and green-yellow were applied to the walls. Each variation was presented to 51 participants who rated them on a Semantic Differential Scale. The results indicate that light and saturated wall colors were generally perceived positively, whereas dark wall colors were rated positively for being 'warm', 'pleasant', 'focusing' and 'beautiful', but negatively for other attributes. Similar patterns of perception emerged for both light and dark colors. These results suggest that colors of similar value and saturation can elicit comparable perceptions, regardless of hue.