The title pretty much says it all.
For context :
This is used for occasional meetings for a part-time job. I’m there at most about 10 hours a week.
I also have to store the organization’s supplies in this room, which really limits the usable space, and I can’t put anything on the wall behind the cardboard boxes due to an electrical panel.
The office is located in my university’s basement. I’m dealing with zero budget, no windows and the worst overhead lighting.
Please help me
*I’ve hidden the name of the organization I work for. They’re doing their best, and I wouldn’t want this post to negatively affect their image🫶🏼
by RareExamination9344
6 Comments
Paint, if you can, but is going to be difficult with no budget.
I wonder if there’s any kind of work-related art you could put up on the walls. At my old office, we had our annual catalog covers of ours on the walls.
Check out a local Buy Nothing group on Facebook and see if anyone is giving away a free rug to fit the space, a free lamp, or free wall art. Even if it’s kind of weird ugly eclectic art, you could do an eccentric gallery wall or something. Honestly anything would liven it up in there! The lamp would help with what I can only assume is fluorescent lighting.
Worth checking marketplace or your countries equivalent of Gumtree (an online selling/freebie hub). Often people emptying a garage/ basement and looking to offload tins of paint or furniture that might serve as additional storage. A nice plant would brighten the place up too! Again, there’ll be people getting rid or selling for every cheap. You could also post ads asking if anyone has any tins of paint they’d be willing to give you
I work at a university. Put in a maintenance request to see if they will 1) clean the floor and 2) will they paint? We have a strict set of colors that we can choose from and maybe they will let you paint an accent wall or something. I would ask them if they have any larger bookshelves in storage as well. Sometimes our facilities team has old furniture that they’ve moved out of other people’s offices and will let people have it if it’s not being used.
Go to a Dollar Tree and see if you can find some matching organizational baskets to store your supplies in. This costs money but a few dollars for a nicer working environment is worth it IMO. Even some plastic totes will help whatever is in the corner look less like a pile of trash. They may also protect from whatever is causing the damage to the floor.
If your organization hosts events on campus, maybe printing out some photos from events and hanging them up on the wall would be nice. This can be done for very cheap at a CVS or Walgreens and they often have great coupons for photo products in their apps. Does your university have a photography major? Maybe their department will have student pieces that can be displayed. Ours always has a ton of framed photos sitting around from previous art shows/events and are happy to give them to staff to hang up across campus for decor.
FB Buy Nothing Groups for a fake plant or two or maybe some frames. Maybe someone will be giving away a larger art piece or something that can be a nice focal point.
I put a “window” sticker on my interior wall at work. It feels like I can look outside now. It’s amazing what you can trick your mind into, lol.