What are The Best Office Desk Colors of 2024?

Natural light is said to aid our biological clock and keep us balanced. Folks who stay in countries where light exceeds the normal daylight use different color lights to change to dark or bright lights. On the other hand, unnatural light upsets our biological clock and can cause health concerns.

Colors and its impact on Moods and Perceptions

Color psychology offers different features of colors as perceived, generically. You can connect this with your own choices for colors for clothes, from when you are dull to when you are bright and happy!

As you consider different aspects, the color standing desk can surely set the mood or make a worker productive by boosting morale and enthusiasm. Medical research has confirmed that color influences moods, emotions, well-being/stress, comfort, and performance (productivity, performance, creativity) at the workplace. Read our blog on the office color for productivity

Research from various journals suggests that the feng shui office desk color is affected by the five natural elements, water, fire, wood, earth, metal, and the direction of the room.

Color is also used to uplift the aesthetics of the office environment. For example, using white color could convey peace, transparency, calmness and make small office spaces appear visually large. Dark colors may give small spaces a cramped look, and of course, there are many principles to consider.

On the contrary, colors may not bring desired results as design principles are complex.  Several other aspects like size of the room, type of furniture, branding communication, office space usage in multiple shifts, and many more also affect the results.

Color is an important design factor to be considered when you are setting up or re-doing your office.  While the basic office design and decors are chosen or based on your brand's colors, managing work desks and chairs, and other furniture is important.  Color plays an important factor as it can convey many messages. As you search for the best color for the office desk, read up on our research below.

Let us explore more.

Traditional Desks and Brown

Most traditional desks were made of wood and either lacquered, polished or left with their natural looks. This would be mostly walnut, teak, acacia, and shades of brown from light to dark; very rarely would you find light colors to go with the décor of the room unless the wood was treated and painted.

As colors were warmly accepted as a design element, users’ demands increased, and you had folks wanting even the most irrational colors like red, green, and others. Result? A choice of designs and colors for desks.

Enter standing desks

Demands from users and the ill health of workers forced manufacturers to consider options on the design of work desks.  The largely popular standing desk evolved to offer users the freedom to sit and work when needed; if they felt bored from sitting, they could stand and work as they raised desk height. How do you raise the height of the desk? Users can manage the desk height by cranking it pneumatically or using an electric motor. 

Research shows that you get a break from the monotony of sitting and working by standing and working; with a change in muscle positions, they open up and get stretched; this minimizes the chances of stiff postures and aches. Health is impacted positively with reduced aches and pains and better well-being; this impacts productivity towards the north.  Let us take an example of the best standing desk in the marketplace, the SmartDesk Core.

SmartDesk Core – Perfect Standing Desk

Fitted with features, the SmartDesk Core is a perfect standing desk that gives you a choice to adjust the desk height at the flick of a button. Electric powered, the changes are nearly noiseless, with the dual electric motors working smoothly. The SmartDesk Core has a wooden top finish that is available in a choice of six different colors.  The accompanying sturdy solid steel frames are available in three different contrasting colors. The desktop is built to take a load of up to 265 lbs.

As you select a work desk, don’t miss our review of color for the office chair.

Colors and their meanings

Research suggests that there are four primary psychological colors, and these are blue, yellow, red, and green. All secondary colors are made by mixing the primary colors, and hence we have limited our list to these four and white, the main color.

1. White:

White is considered the main light source and all other colors are a part of white light. Suggesting tranquillity, peace, soberness, and signifying large expansive spaces, white gives you a feeling of unlimited vastness.

2. Red:

 Red is a primary color as its wavelength is the highest.  A powerful color that signifies love, romance, danger, and more, it is eye-catching.  While branding, most companies use it for their signboards and visiting cards. Red is rarely seen used for office desks, as dark colors give a visual perception of blocked or occupied space. With the concept of open offices, you would want a much livelier office.

3. Yellow:

 Research suggests yellow to showcase joy, openness, brightness, sunny, light, and a bright color for a positive future.  A strong association with brightness, yellow can be tweaked for various messaging ranging from hopefulness, prosperity, and more. Emotionally it depicts high self-esteem and hopefulness and hence is associated with happiness too.

4. Green:

 Green is considered to show growth, hopefulness, vast space, environment friendliness, and peacefulness.

5. Blue:

 Blue is associated with the mind and hence intellectual activity. Most folks find it calming the mind just like water/sea does.

Summary

To wrap up, while color is your personal choice, a lot depends on the messaging you want your office to give in a professional environment. It is said that when unsure, work on the side of formality so that you don't offend anyone.  Our verdict goes to the white color as it matches all office decorations and maintains a good balance as you work through the day's stress.