Think outside the cubical: My office redecoration

As I wrap up my first year at my new university, one of my colleagues is moving into retirement. After about 40 years of service, most of which were spent in the same office, our most senior faculty traded offices with me, moving into my cozy little cubical and passing along her great big office full of furniture.

When I walked into the office, this is roughly was I was working with. I would love to say that it wasn't as not as bad as it looks... but it really was as bad as it looks. In fact, the (missing in this photo) floral fabric swag and art may have actually made it worse.

But, if there is one thing homeownership taught me it is that any space has potential. Also, my university has completely given up on the old building in which I work (like they wouldn't even wipe down the bookshelves), so I was told that I could pretty much do whatever I want. So, I dissembled the furniture and got to work. 

The first step, in my opinion, is always paint. A fresh coat of paint in a pleasant color can hide a multitude of uglies. So, I selected a nice light gray/blue called Bluegrass White by Glidden. I looked up photos of it online and it read nice and light. So, I spent three days covering the walls with Bluegrass white and the trim and doors with a gallon of eggshell "oops white" from home depot that turned out to be pretty darn close to pure white. 

Now these photos really cannot do justice to just how blue "bluegrass white" turned out to be. As it turns out, photos on the internet lie (and these do too... btw). This room turned out blue like a baby boy's bedroom. My plans for an orange accent wall against the gray were clearly foiled, as you see Behr Orioles Orange on the wall looking like I'm preparing for children's party or a circus. 

After much heartache and many, many samples of paint from Home Depot (the girls were laughing when they saw me coming by the end), I settled on Behr Tornado Season for my accent wall and Behr Anonymous for my bookshelves.  

Just this little bit of paint and a solid 2 weeks of painting over the ugly made a huge difference in making this place my own... but I still had far to go.