After being in public grade school education for seventeen years, most recently with eighth graders at Johanna Perrin Middle School in Fairport, N.Y., I decided to retire to pursue my creative passions.
Before my departure, there was one thing I wanted to accomplish, and that was to "zhuzh up" the faculty lounge. This idea has been spinning around in my head for years. Every time I had a lunch break, I would imagine different ways to make the space better.
After receiving approval to work on the space from the principal (with no allocated budget), my initial step was to enlist some help. Paula, another retiring colleague recognized for her creativity and artistic skills, accepted the invitation, and we put the plan in motion.
The faculty lounge is a moderately-sized room with a small kitchenette that includes a sink, counter, cabinets, refrigerator, microwave, and toaster oven.
The rest of the room was filled with mismatched furniture pieces that had been collected over the years. The walls were painted light yellow and blue, and the only adornments on the walls were two large bulletin boards. It was a functional room but lacked personality and warmth.
While looking over the lounge furniture to see if anything could be salvaged, I came upon the green chairs that had been there since I arrived. During my lunches in the lounge, I often wondered where they came from and how long they had been at the school. To satisfy my curiosity, I asked some of my colleagues. To my surprise, everyone seemed to say the same thing: the chairs were there when they arrived. The furthest account was from a teacher who retired after 32 years, and he concurred that the chairs were there when he began at the school. The exact date or where they came from still remains a mystery, but they had undoubtedly served their purpose. In the spirit of Marie Kondo, I expressed gratitude for their long service before pushing them out the door.
Not being able to change the cabinets, countertops, refrigerator or floors. I focused on things I could change like the bulletin boards, wall paint and furniture.
Starting with the bulletin boards, which were in good condition but needed to be repainted, and the outdated '70s fabric replaced.
Once the boards were painted, I attached linen fabric with spray adhesive, smoothed it out, trimmed excess, tucked the rest under the frame, and concealed uneven areas with black cording using hot glue.
Following that, I tackled the walls, painting them a gray-beige color to brighten the space. The faculty lounge is a perfect example of why I love paint in interior design. It can take a room like this and immediately transform it from "drab to fab" — sorry about that, I think I'm still feeling the '70s vibe from those bulletin boards.
For furniture, I checked Facebook Marketplace and Goodwill. Found two chair sets on Facebook and side tables at Goodwill, all at reasonable prices. The first chair set was easy to disassemble for painting and cleaning the upholstery. I used the same color paint as the bulletin boards, adding two layers and sealing it with polyurethane for durability (which is needed especially if they need to last another 32 years).
The second set of chairs appealed to me because they matched the color tones in the kitchen cabinets, and the rattan was easy to clean. After sanding the arms and legs, I applied two coats of the same paint used on the bulletin boards and the first set of chairs, then sealed them with polyurethane.
The orange-reddish color on the tables had to go. I sanded them and applied a whitewash finish to the tops, then painted the bottom black.
When the bulletin boards were moved to the other side of the room, a large wall area was left that needed to be filled. Keeping the lack of budget in mind, I looked at the resources on hand. From a previous project, I had cover prints of "The New Yorker Magazine" that were purchased from Etsy. In addition, there were two large blank artist canvases in storage that could be used. In order to save time, we split the tasks: I went to Kinko's to have the prints made and to find frames, while Paula took the canvases to work on creating color block art.
With everything in place, the kitchen area was still not meshing with the rest of the room. To bring it together I found peel and stick wallpaper to use as a backsplash.
I was very apprehensive about hanging the wallpaper, but I didn't have to be. Paula was awesome and came with everything that was needed to hang wallpaper, including a level. Yeah, Paula!
We went through two rolls of wallpaper, and it took us more than three hours, but it was looking great. The next day, I returned to caulk around the sink and countertop, giving it a more realistic appearance. It was a beast of a job, but the results were next level and absolutely worth the effort.
The final reveal:
Kitchenette
I love this wallpaper it looks so real people actually touch it to see if it is brick. The colors in the wallpaper work so well. It even makes the generic cabinets look good!
Kudos to our custodial staff for cutting an old sewing machine cabinet so the microwave, and toaster oven would both fit in the kitchenette area.
Eating Area
If budget permits, the school now plans to acquire individual small square tables that can provide more seating options but can also be combined to accommodate large groups.
Seating Areas
The rattan chairs tied in with the cabinets and floor, but I needed them to pick up the color in other set of chairs. As luck would have it, I was at Good Will, and I found two outdoor pillows (wipeable) that worked with the color of the chairs and the artwork. Booyah!
Artwork
Paula did a great job pulling colors from the prints to create her color block paintings.
Just a little reminder of where we began.
Before and After
Even though we will not be using the faculty room ourselves (because of our retirement), we were absolutely thrilled to be able to contribute to its revitalization. It gave us great pleasure to leave our mark in such a meaningful way before our departure.
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The new lounge is gorgeous, much needed, and VERY much appreciated! What an amazing gift to the staff!
Absolutely beautiful! MB’s faculty lounge has been partially updated…. Still needs some TLC! You’ve inspired me to maybe see if I can schusch it up myself!💗
Beautiful work! Thank you for putting the time & effort into this worthwhile project!
Lori and Paula, The makeover is terrific. I will definitely check it out in person when I sub at JP this year. Such a loving gift to leave for the faculty.
Lori & Paula - this transformation is amazing! It looks so welcoming & relaxing which is exactly what a faculty lounge should be. I just wish you two were at MB !!!