Settling In

I'm not sure if anyone I know truly loves moving. It's stressful. Things break. You lose things. You live out of boxes. There is the anxiety of just not feeling settled. That being said, every time I have switched roles/spaces, I have found it somewhat therapeutic. There is definitely something to be said for purging unnecessary items. For digging through and sorting what you truly need.

In my most recent move, I am incredibly thankful for the extra time to settle in. The outgoing principal gifted me with 2 weeks to get in to my new office, unpack, sort, and just be in my new space. It allowed me to go through a period of "nesting" prior to jumping in on July 1. Once my official start date hit, I was able to comfortably work in my office, rather than be anxious about decorating and unpacking.

I'm a believer in making the principal's office a comfortable place to be. There are some very difficult conversations had there (as well as some super fun ones). Maybe it is for my own mental well-being, but I feel more comfortable and safe in a space that reflects that.

So....I walk into this.

It's a gorgeous space with some beautiful, natural light and HUGE pieces of furniture. It even came with a 4 foot tall stuffed giraffe ;) That being said, even when I taught in the classroom, I have never been a "big desk" person. I have always preferred to work at a smaller desk/table, leaving more room in a space for collaboration (example: small desk, but have a larger table nearby to meet with people). In my move, another thing that became painfully obvious is that I have LOTS of books. Like, 6+ boxes full (insert head slap). Professional books, inspirational books, kids books....While this space had lots of furniture, it didn't have enough bookshelves for me. I moved out the behemoth piece in the front left of the picture (cabinets and file drawers), and replaced them with two bookshelves (one tall, one short). Thank you, Target, for having awesome, easy to assemble ones!

I also wanted to turn the small table into a whiteboard table. Kate and I used to do this to many tables in our classroom. When I became a principal, I converted the table in my office, too. You can read about that office makeover HERE. It was a focal point of the space. Kids LOVED to draw on it. I used it when processing with kids or designing behavior plans with them. It kept younger siblings occupied when meeting with families that didn't have childcare. The list goes on. So, moving in here, I got permission to do the same thing.

It's a simple process. You can get the supplies at any hardware store. I got mine at Home Depot for less than $20. We have always used the Rustoleum brand, and have found it to be easy and durable. Steps to follow:

1. Rough up the surface some (I used a 180 grit sandpaper). Clean/dry
2. Coat with a water-based primer. You might need two coats if it is a dark table. Use a dense, foam roller, to prevent "roller lines". Let primer dry overnight.
3. Mix the two cans in the Rustoleum box. It is an epoxy paint, so you have one hour to paint once you mix the two cans. You MUST use a dense, foam roller.
4. I do three coats. I give it about 5 minutes in between.
5. Once you are done, you must wait 3 days for it to "cure" before you write on it. 

If it wears/chips over time, you simply sand it down, and recoat the table. I was in my last office for 3 years, and never had to redo the table. When we were in the classroom, we redid them every 2 years (but we did have 50 kids using them DAILY). It still is way less inexpensive than buying the white board tables that are out there.

After days of unpacking, painting, and decorating, I am so pleased with how my new office turned out. It feels like "home", and I'm excited to welcome kids/families/staff to it.

One of my favorite picture books is Where the Wild Thing Are. My first year teaching (a gazillion years ago), my husband got me the figurines on the shelf. I added the artwork when I moved into my last office.

One of my favorite kid chapter books is Wonder. "Choose Kind" is the most simple, yet effective "rule" I ask EVERYONE to follow (kids and staff). The lower bookshelf is filled with kid books. I often lend them out to students, or smaller siblings pour over the picture books while I meet with their grown ups. The taller shelf is all professional/inspirational texts. The giraffe is just plain awesome and came with the office (giraffes are my favorite animal...how serendipitous is that?)

The "collaboration corner". Multiple white board spaces and a TV screen to project my laptop on to. My new AP and I were already doing a "brain dump" on the board this week!

What do you think? Wanna come hang out and collaborate with me here? You're welcome anytime! I'd love to see your "home away from home" spaces!

Yours in Settling In,

Angela

An Office Makeover

Where to even begin? Having an office for the first time is weird enough on its own, not to mention one that is pretty bland. I want my space to be warm and inviting. I want it to be a place for great conversation and comfort. I want my office to have some life!

Probably like many of you, THIS is what I walked in to:

The desk is GIANT and was angled in the middle of the room. There is a large, blue BEAST table. Empty shelves. And who could miss the one, random, baby blue wall?? When I walked in, it certainly didn't scream "Wow! Let's hang out here!"

My first order of business was getting rid of the baby blue wall. Coincidentally, we had painters in the building painting some other rooms that had been remodeled. A can of paint later, and we now had THIS:

(Don't mind the PILES of things EVERYWHERE!) I am in love with this new color! It is "Peacock Plume" by Sherwin Williams. The opposite walls were done in a soft cream called "Apple Peel." Already the room was starting to feel different.

Next came the furniture. I don't know about you, but I have A LOT of books! I also still wanted to be surrounded by kid books. Reading with children is one of my favorite things in the entire world, and I wanted that to be apparent when people walked in to this room. The one bookshelf that was in there just wasn't going to cut it :) So, off to Target I went! I found 3 beauties! I think I also earned some bonus points from my new custodial crew, because I moved them in and put them together without their help :) My amazing secretary jumped in, and she even learned how to use a power drill!

I also wanted my "golden rule" visible for everyone. This took me to Michael's for some amazing letters and metallic spray paint.

I found out that my furniture options for the office were pretty limited. There were no other tables for in there other than the "blue beast." It definitely didn't match the new colors, so I took the top off, took it home, and got to work. I decided that I wanted to turn it into a white board table. Kate and I had done this to many tables in our classroom, and they were awesome for kiddos! I envisioned littles that might be having a rough day, hanging out with me and doodling on it. The process is fairly simple. The paint is under $20 at Home Depot, and you can usually get about 3 tables out of the can. I only had one to paint this time, so unfortunately, some of the paint was wasted.

Click to see product at Home Depot

I sanded off the blue, chipped paint, washed it/let it dry, then primed it with a white primer. You definitely need to use a foam roller. It makes the coats really smooth. Once that was dry, I did 3 coats of the rust-oleum. You need to let it "cure" for 3 days before writing on it. The results...MAGIC! I love it! I do recommend keeping a "magic eraser" on hand, as when some shadowing appears, it takes it right off!

Finally, I put it all together. Here are the end results:

I'm hoping to fill the blank space with kid art during the year!

One of my favorite books from my childhood.

My favorite chapter book!

It really does feel like "home" now. My favorite part has been seeing my staff members' faces when they have been coming in for meet and greets. Their eyes are as wide as saucers, and their words are usually something like "It feels so different in here! It is so cozy!" Yes, that is exactly what I was going for.

Have you done an office/room makeover recently? Any "must have's" or "must do's" to share? Would love to learn from you!

Yours in decorating,

~Angela