The way you treat your commercial space is decidedly different than the way you would treat your personal space. For instance, unless you own a bar or a restaurant, chances are good that you won’t be cracking open a beer in your office anytime soon. Nor will you be cheers-ing your employees and crying out “Next round’s on me!”
At home, you might kick off your shoes and put up your feet—on the coffee table, sofa or, if you’re like my son, the dining room table (don’t worry, he’s only 1!). Furthermore, at home you might let your kids have free range, running through the house, yelling, leaving their toys and belongings scattered throughout; at your office, they’re probably told to be on their best behavior.
You do so much differently at work than you do at home, as you should. And one of those things that you should do differently is decorate – and, more specifically, paint. Now, don’t get me wrong: you probably have very good taste, and your home is probably very warm and inviting, with very nicely-colored walls. But while you may be a fan of teal paint gold trim, it might not go with the feeling of your business, or the feeling that customers hope to achieve by shopping with you. And trust me when I say: creating the right feeling is extremely important to your sales, and relies heavily on the wall paint (as paint is what sets the tone for the rest of the space).
When choosing the wall color for your commercial space, there are a few tips we like to tell our clients to use. They are…
Consider Your Clientel
At home, you might kick off your shoes and put up your feet—on the coffee table, sofa or, if you’re like my son, the dining room table (don’t worry, he’s only 1!). Furthermore, at home you might let your kids have free range, running through the house, yelling, leaving their toys and belongings scattered throughout; at your office, they’re probably told to be on their best behavior.
You do so much differently at work than you do at home, as you should. And one of those things that you should do differently is decorate – and, more specifically, paint. Now, don’t get me wrong: you probably have very good taste, and your home is probably very warm and inviting, with very nicely-colored walls. But while you may be a fan of teal paint gold trim, it might not go with the feeling of your business, or the feeling that customers hope to achieve by shopping with you. And trust me when I say: creating the right feeling is extremely important to your sales, and relies heavily on the wall paint (as paint is what sets the tone for the rest of the space).
When choosing the wall color for your commercial space, there are a few tips we like to tell our clients to use. They are…
Consider Your Clientel
When designing your commercial space, your first instinct may be to design it in a way that appeals to you, and while you should definitely keep you and your employees in mind, you mostly want to consider your clientele’s feelings. Consider this scenario…
Say you own an Italian restaurant: A couple wants to go out to eat for their 1st wedding anniversary, and they agree that Italian is just the way to celebrate. They probably choose Italian because Italian restaurants – with their dimly lit dining rooms, velvety red accent pieces and soft candlelight – always exude that romantic feeling. They choose your place, but when they arrive, they walk into, what to them, feels like a teal and gold Easter egg. It’s not in the least bit romantic, so they leave.
How might you have avoided losing those customers? It’s simple really: By considering your customers needs and expectations above your own.
Now, that was an extreme example, but in every industry, customers expect the environment to feel a certain way. When they go to the dentist, they expect to feel safe. When they go clothes shopping for their teenage daughter, they expect a hip environment. When they go to a bank, they expect a feeling of security and professionalism. And all of this is conveyed through your paint and décor.
Incorporate Your Branding
Say you own an Italian restaurant: A couple wants to go out to eat for their 1st wedding anniversary, and they agree that Italian is just the way to celebrate. They probably choose Italian because Italian restaurants – with their dimly lit dining rooms, velvety red accent pieces and soft candlelight – always exude that romantic feeling. They choose your place, but when they arrive, they walk into, what to them, feels like a teal and gold Easter egg. It’s not in the least bit romantic, so they leave.
How might you have avoided losing those customers? It’s simple really: By considering your customers needs and expectations above your own.
Now, that was an extreme example, but in every industry, customers expect the environment to feel a certain way. When they go to the dentist, they expect to feel safe. When they go clothes shopping for their teenage daughter, they expect a hip environment. When they go to a bank, they expect a feeling of security and professionalism. And all of this is conveyed through your paint and décor.
Incorporate Your Branding
With the customers’ needs in mind, you also want to consider your company’s branding, and decorate in a way that reflects that brand, when appropriate. Let’s use my mother in law’s design studio as an example:
My mother in law operates a high-end interior design firm in a ritzy part of town. Most of her designs are classic with a modern twist, and her studio reflects that. However, she LOVES the color lime green. Her logo is lime green, as are the accents on her website. However, she knew better than to paint her walls lime green, or to include large, lime green items in her studio. That being said, she does have lime green accent pieces throughout her studio, all of which complement the soft cream walls and the furniture.
Your commercial space needs to add to the customer experience by reflecting your product, logo and style, and there are ways to do this both subtly (like my mother in law) and not so subtly. How you decide to incorporate your branding is entirely up to you, but just use your discretion when doing so.
Mood & Tone
My mother in law operates a high-end interior design firm in a ritzy part of town. Most of her designs are classic with a modern twist, and her studio reflects that. However, she LOVES the color lime green. Her logo is lime green, as are the accents on her website. However, she knew better than to paint her walls lime green, or to include large, lime green items in her studio. That being said, she does have lime green accent pieces throughout her studio, all of which complement the soft cream walls and the furniture.
Your commercial space needs to add to the customer experience by reflecting your product, logo and style, and there are ways to do this both subtly (like my mother in law) and not so subtly. How you decide to incorporate your branding is entirely up to you, but just use your discretion when doing so.
Mood & Tone
Wall color is almost 100% responsible for setting the mood and tone of any space, so you want to be sure to set the right mood for your commercial space. When choosing a paint color for your commercial walls, consider how you want your employees and customers to feel. Do you want them to feel tired? Probably not, so I wouldn’t go with dark blues or purples. How about energized? If you operate a gym, aerobics studio, daycare center or any other place you expect high levels of enthusiasm, yellow is a good choice. If you want to create a calming environment, I would go with soft blues, soft greens or even grays.
There are a whole bunch of studies on how wall color affects the mood; if you want to find a wall color that will help you achieve the perfect tone for your business, check out this article:
Wear & Tear
There are a whole bunch of studies on how wall color affects the mood; if you want to find a wall color that will help you achieve the perfect tone for your business, check out this article:
Wear & Tear
Another essential factor you want to consider when choosing the wall color for your commercial space is how much traffic that area is going to be seeing. If you want to paint an area that is going to see a heavy amount of foot, be sure to choose a paint that will not only stand the test of time, but that will also hide fingerprints, shoe marks and other scuffs, and that is easily cleanable. However, if you’re going to paint the ceilings, you don’t need to worry too much about durability.
Lighting & Location
Lighting & Location