How to Elevate Your Office This Spring with COAT Paints

Tell us a little bit about COAT Paint and what drives you.

At COAT, we really lean into this philosophy of ‘mean something to someone or nothing to everyone’. This is why we aim to keep the palette really tight and curated and around this idea of timeless and muted colours. Neutrals are perennially popular, but particularly brown and yellow based warmer neutrals have picked up and we have seen trending. Greens linked to biophilic design and leaning into nature are always going to be a great shout, and more recently, red based neutrals alongside those plaster shades are becoming extremely popular. So, particularly now going into 2025, we’re really seeing a trend away from cooler grey based neutrals into these more luxurious warmer taupe and brown tones.

How do you recommend uplifting your working from home office space?

To achieve that energising environment when you walk into your office, you want to start by checking out the light. Get the compass app out on your phone, look to whether you’ve got a north or south facing room. Southern light is much more yellow and warmer, northern light tends to be a bit cooler with a bit of grey and blue. Always start there when thinking about what colour to choose for your office.

A great all-rounder is something like ‘Good Intentions’, a neutral base. It’s good to pick something with a bit of a brown or yellow undertone, with a bit of warmth rather than a clinical white colour. That will act as a good base and create a really grounding and warm working environment.

If you’ve got nice southerly light, then greens can work well, or even an easterly light for the morning time. Green is great, there is a full spectrum ranging from neutral-type greens, all the way to those darker, richer shades of green. It’s great for creating that biophilic natural design which we all resonate well with as humans and works well to energise any office environment.

If you’ve got a smaller space, or a north facing space, something like ‘Factor 50’ or a red based neutral that incorporates those plaster-y and earthy tones would really mix well with cooler light and create that warm working environment for you.

For those who like a brighter colour, what would your approach be?

If you are drawn to colour, and you like bold colours, a way to introduce that into the office is through accents. Whether that’s through accessories and furnishings or using bolder colours to paint window frames and doors. Keeping a neutral backdrop and introducing navy blue, darker greens or reds can be a really good way to introduce contrast and create interest in an otherwise neutral space.

What do you listen to when you’re working?

When I’m working, I’m really into classical music, so Ludovico Einaudi, all the way through to the old classics. It just really chills me out, sits in the background and let’s me get on with what I’m doing. When I’m focusing, I move it on from classical but stick to something like Maribou State or something a little bit electro. My desert island song that I could listen to for the rest of my life would be Glasshouses by Maribou State. I just think it’s the perfect blend of chilled yet energising, I really could listen to it all day long. When I’m in need of some serious motivation and something to get me out of a creative funk, something like BICEP is my go-to. It’s great for getting the blood pumping and the brain going.

What are your top 3 desk essentials?

These desk essentials are really important to me, they sit on my desk every single day to create that really inspiring working environment when I am home. The first one is a picture of my daughter. I’ve found that having pictures of my family around me have really helped myself remember what’s important and pick back up that inspiration for the day ahead. Second thing is a giant coffee mug, keeping those rituals really help you ground the day and keep that momentum. Thirdly, the book ‘The Teachings of The Tao’. One quote from it that really stands out to me, especially during a hard day is “Do your work, and step back, it’s the only path to serenity.”