I was asked a few months ago to help redecorate the Teacher’s Lounge at Foothill Christian Preschool. After seeing it, I suggested we do more than just redecorate and do a total renovation.
The space is used by over 40 teachers every day, so it had to be practical and functional. It is a really small room, so I had to figure out how to maximize the space. My suggestions included replacing the cabinets, counter tops (that had a lot of water damage around the edges), the flooring, appliances, and furniture. I truly believed that by improving this space it would boost staff morale and show our appreciation for their hard work every day… and it has!
The room started with a few round tables and chairs which filled up the space quickly and gave very little walking room. I thought that replacing those rounds with a long rectangular table would not only visually streamline the room but would also foster community seeing as people would have to sit together versus in groups. However… I wanted to consider those that would rather have some quiet, alone time on their break, so we created a bar height eating area (looking out the window) for four people to take advantage of. I also wanted to remove the visual separation that the two different flooring materials created between the kitchenette and eating area.
BEFORE
BEFORE
My Proposed Room Arrangement
A very rough mock up using some of the furniture I suggested.
Vicky, the preschool director, and I spent a good amount of time at Home Depot picking out the cabinetry, counter tops, backsplash, and appliances to pull this entire look together. We scheduled the installation and then our maintenance staff demo’d and replaced the floor. We ended up doing the same gray, wood vinyl plank flooring that we have in our K-8th Grade office. The furniture was ordered online from Pottery Barn, Industry West, and Cost Plus. Blinds were from 3 Day Blinds. Decorations and Accessories are from Home Goods, Target, and Amazon.
New roller shade color we chose to replace the vertical blinds.
Stainless steel fridge to replace the smaller white one.
Quartz countertop color chosen.
Basic shaker style cabinetry chosen in the color “Painted Stone”.
Goodbye kitchen!
Hello new floors! Do you realize that’s where the kitchen was??
Cabinetry installed! Check out the 2 microwaves! The teachers loved that new perk.
75% Finished
The furniture was delivered and assembled and the room started to take a new form. The school colors are teal, black, and white with accent colors of gold/yellow… so this is what inspired the room.
Glass subway tile
Here comes the fun part… decorating! Found this quote online and designed a fun wall graphic. Love this little relaxing corner.
Added some random decor elements to the wall to fill in the empty space.
Created a little coffee bar on the buffet. Mug rack found HERE!
How cute is this little succulent pot from Home Depot?
Still need to add another outlet below the buffet so that the Keurig can join the other coffee elements.
PRODUCTS USED IN THIS PROJECT
Mug Rack from Amazon
Coffee Table Reads
The Home They Built 