Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen’s done it again! We loved watching how he transformed Milena and Simon’s home in Macclesfield on Channel 4’s Changing Rooms this week. Best of all, the bedroom is now dual purpose, accommodating a stylish bespoke office space, too. With her imagination sparked by LLB’s bright idea, our Creative Director Marianne Shillingford shares her tips on how to use paint to zone a desk space in a bedroom.

It’s no surprise that open-plan spaces and large rooms are the most desirable, but they can often pose a challenge when it comes to defining their functions. But with working from home set to stay for the future, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen has cleverly designed a bedroom (below) for two uses.

Colour is an easy way to zone a space and carve out an area for a particular activity. A painted corner becomes a reading nook, a painted ceiling a cosy bed canopy, and a painted alcove an office space. For Milena and Simon’s bedroom, Laurence went for a scheme with a subtle patriotic nod, using Pugin Red, Roman White and Deep Ultramarine to zone the two separate areas.

Watch our video above to see how colour whiz Marianne uses a rich plummy shade to zone a home office space in a bedroom.

Clever zoning

Success lies with the right combination of colours; pick the wrong ones and you risk the zones clashing into each other and not actually achieving any delineation. It’s all about creating contrast that’s still pleasing to the eye. For our take on zoning, Marianne has introduced a compact desk area in a bedroom alcove. It’s a great way to turn an awkward space into a stylish feature.

For her home office colour scheme, she chose a modern pairing of beige Natural Hessian and majestic Decadent Damson which brings a warm, opulent feeling to the room. The dark plummy colour works wonderfully in the alcove as it makes the space recede and separate itself from the neighbouring beige walls, so it doesn’t overshadow the bedroom space – effectively achieving a room-within-a-room effect harmoniously.

Marianne’s insider tip: If you want to give an area in your room more prominence, opt for a light shade – it will really pop into focus, especially when surrounded by darker paint colours.

Don’t miss the next episode of Changing Rooms on Wednesday at 8pm on Channel 4 – and stream this week's show here.