Wednesday, August 8, 2012

My New Office, More Pinterest Finds, and Target buys!

It feels so weird to not have a classroom to decorate!  You would think with an office it would be a whole lot easier... not so much!  At least not for me.  My classroom was always colorfully decorated.  I had a sports theme, but it was very kid-friendly.  I used primary colors and some of the decor was based on ThistleGirl Designs and the Sports Theme Set from Clutter-Free Classroom. In my head, an office shouldn't be so kid-friendly as I will be working with teachers, but I very much want it to represent an educational environment.  So I had all these cool ideas brewing in my mind until... I was reminded of the Fire Marshall Codes!!

First I'll show you pictures of my office which is exciting.  Then I'll explain the codes which completely limit what I can do.
     
My name outside my office!!

View looking in through the door.

Cabinet area in back right.

There's a blue book shelf behind the door and
that large space of white wall is where I can decorate!

My desk area!

To the right of my desk!
Now...  The books on the shelves are leveled readers and will be housed in my office.  The boxes around the room contain more books which will be organized and placed on shelves that will be added at a later time.

Fire Marshall time...  Anything hanging from the walls must be more than two feet down from the ceiling.  That eliminates above the shelves on all sides, almost all of the space above the white board, and the open shelf area above the file cabinet.  Also, we cannot hang anything on either side of the door.  So there goes that space.  I've heard we also can't hang anything on the walls outside the room either.  The space below the shelves will eventually have more shelves for the remaining books.

What does that leave me??  The cabinet area, my desk, the bookshelf, the file cabinet, and the dry-erase board.  The one area where I have a good amount of space to decorate is that section of white wall in the photo with the door.


Things I'm contemplating...  I love quotes and would love to either use stick-on letters or frames to put some educational quotes up.  Some quotes I like are "Mistakes are proof you are trying.", the Dr. Seuss one from the green frame below, and "Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn."  I would love to hear more ideas from you all!!  Remember I am working with teachers, and this year there will be a TON of change.

Here are some Pinterest ideas I found (click on the pics to connect to the site):






This one I thought might be cute because I am at new schools.

This website has ADORABLE decorating ideas!  Would love to incorporate some into my office; only a little less pink. lol  I like blue.

I raided the Target $1 section (which isn't all a dollar lol) along with the school and office section.  Here is what I bought:




Decorating adult things (like my apartment) is SO not my thing.  I would love any suggestions from you all.  Do you have any great office ideas for me with my limited amount of space?

I would like to leave you with one final photo.  This is what I see when I look outside the door of my office!  LOVE IT!!!




6 comments:

  1. Hey! I am also moving in to a new position - 3-5 math coach and too have a small office space :) it is nice not to have to decorate an entire room!

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  2. I can understand how it would be challenging after decorating a classroom! I love your idea of the quotes--that would look so nice :)

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  3. Mariela- I agree, it is definitely less stressful without an entire room to decorate. Good luck with your new position! :)

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  4. Kristen- Thanks, I am excited to finally figure out exactly how I want to do the quotes.
    One of the custodians helped me rearrange a bit today and I am already feeling better about my space. :)

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  5. I propose moving your desk away from the corner and into the center of the room. That will leave the walls behind and the corners as space for your cabinets and shelves. It will also make the room feel more like an office, and you’ll feel more professional as well. It’s hard to work with a desk pushed all the way into the corner of a room. With the desk in the center, you’ll be able to see everyone coming in and out of the office, and also keep all the shelves and cabinets within easy reach.

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  6. Clayton- Thank you so much for the suggestion. I have moved the desk to a more central location which I like so much more. Unfortunately, I haven't done much more with it since then. I am only at that school 2 days a week and am still in the process of conquering the books. I made huge progress today though. :)

    Thanks again
    Antoinette

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