I really don't like Anjou Pear but I am not a yellow-green fan. Have you considered something really different fro the yellow like a blue? If you're tired of yellow why not really go for a change.

Our home office has BM Mexicana, a deep rich red. It's a strong color so we did accent walls with the other 2 walls in mascarpone (warm white). It is my husband's office, I don't work at home - he likes deep reds.

I personally love blue-grays and blues the best, I can see a nice blue or blue gray looking great in your office! We used BM Wedgewood gray in our bedroom which has east facing windows, and I adore it. It's so soothing and spa-like, not sure if that's what you want for an office but perhaps a more energetic version of blue or blue gray.

This is shortly after we moved in - with nothing on the walls yet, but it shows the color well. We have Ikea natural linen curtains which glow nicely and diffuse the light.

{{!gwi}}

I do like the AP and the orange color, but I agree, why not go for a completely different color if you really want to change the look of a room.

Good luck getting the UNC lamp and the Tech lamp in the same room. Any chance you could hide them in a closet and only put them out when MIL comes over? :)

DH has SW Softened Green in his office and it's a good color to set off wood which offices tend to have a lot of. He really likes it. One shade darker, Clary Sage, is also a very nice shade.

It's a fairly dark room in a walk out basement with windows on only one side.

If you want to stay in the yellow family, take a look at SW Blonde or Whole Wheat. They are softer yellows. Blonde looks especially cheery in a space that doesn't get a lot of natural light. Whole Wheat is more of a neutral golden beige.

Thanks for the color suggestions. I will check these out.

She previously bought us very nice alumni desk lamps which we took to our work offices, so I don't know why she got us these glass lamps. They were pretty expensive, too., so we feel obligated to use them. I could potentially take mine to my office, but there is no way DH could do that for the hanging lamp.

Did not make it to SW store, but here are some more colors. I like the Wedgewood Grey but it is very similar to our hall color. Disappointed in the Stonington Grey (next to Anjou Pear) since it looks purple!

Next to the Buttered Yam is Nantucket Fog. I think I like that one best.

The blue that looks bright is Blue Bayou. It is not that bright in person. Still in running.

The teal/aqua color is Blue Spa, but we would be concerned that is too dark. Also still would consider it.

I do not remember the gold color but I do not like it.

I don't see the UNC and VT colors going together at all so I think you need to just pick one and go from there. Maybe you can do another room in the other colors...if not, you should not feel guilty not using the lamps, especially if you did not ask for them. It's your house and it should be how you want it. I'm sure your MIL meant well, but she should not be upset if every gift she gives you is not on display. My son just got married, and for this very reason, I see a lot of gift cards in their future!

It's so hard when people give you gifts assuming you want and will like them, and it's hard when the gift giver will be coming to your home and see you are not using the gift. Your college lamps really just wont work together in the same room very well colorwise. I am presently undergoing medical treatments that have me home bound and feeling rotten for about 4 months. Several friends have given me books and keep asking did I enjoy them and what I thought of the novels. At this point I just want to read what I like and want to read and these gift books don't particularly interest me at all right now. So far I've been able to put them off, but pretty soon as my condition improves it's going to get embarrassing that I haven't read them. Gift givers mean well, but..........

I think I will take the VT lamp to my work office, and we will attempt to use the UNC hanging lamp here. She was going to buy me the hanging lamp, too, but it was out of stock. I really don't know what we would've done with TWO of these in a small space because they are pretty good sized. She is very generous at Christmas with buying "equal" gifts for both DH and me, but we've told her we need less stuff.

I think I will check out the SW colors and aim towards some sort of blue-grey or some variation on the yellow. SW has their 30% sale through Monday, so if I want to buy SW, I have a few days to figure this out.

gsciencechick, I like the Nantucket Fog the best. It is a pretty blue with a bluish gray calming business pretty look that will look great in a home office.

Thanks, Lynn, I think I am really leaning towards the Nantucket since both DH and I like it.