Gardening provides a chance to appreciate natural beauty. Surrounded by a variety of flowers and plants, we breathe more easily and see life in a different light. In the garden cube, your environment will overflow with fluorescent light-loving flora as you invite your colleagues to visit your personal Eden.
Add fresh-cut flowers each Monday to bring dazzle to your work week. An assortment of ceramic pots in themes or like colors will bring the earthy, natural scent of gardening indoors. (Leave plants potted in plastic inside the pots to keep things neat.) Select containers in the mustard hues of Tuscany, or plant flowers in teapots-there’s no limit to the planter possibilities! Statues are conversation pieces as well as reflections of your personality: Bypass formality and add some kitsch with a hidden gnome here and a troll there to lighten up the space. Leather stationery accessories and candles scented with rose garden or freshly mown grass aromas will inspire you as you toil at the keyboard without ever leaving the garden!
WALLS
• Designing a background for your garden cube is as easy as fastening sheets of faux plastic grass to the walls with straight pins. If you can’t find faux grass at a craft or party store, Astroturf will work, but it’s more difficult to secure to the walls and provides a heavier look.
• To add a romantic touch, trim the top of the walls with silk wisteria. Use straight pins to attach several garlands of wisteria as high as you can on the cubicle walls.
DESK
• Whether you want your garden structured and modern or wild and romantic, cover the desk with a material that blends with the color of the silk flowers you select to adorn the cube. Floral chintz fabrics or pastel cotton prints are good options. Cut the fabric to fit the top of the desk (with extra material to secure underneath), pull it tight, and secure it with duct tape along the edges.
• Trim the desk in a 2-inch-wide (5 cm) gingham ribbon for a country look, or choose a vibrant color that complements the overall color palette of your garden for a more modern approach. The ribbon should be wrapped around the edge and secured to the top and bottom of the fabric with a thin line of hot glue.
DÉCOR
• A cobblestone path is a unique way to cover the cubicle floor. Buy corrugated paper printed with cobblestones, and cut the stones out of the paper. Leave a very thin outline of black from the imprint around the cobblestone to add definition. Arrange the cobblestones with about a –inch (1.3 cm) of floor showing and stick the paper to the floor with double-sided tape to keep them in place even when trod upon. Adding circles of Astroturf provides an area for “planting.”
• Fresh flowers bring life to your work space. A miniature birdbath is an ideal place to nestle your favorite fresh flower. Silk flowers are a more lasting decoration; for a high-end look, arrange them in a monotone palette, mixing various shades of a single color.
• To mimic the look of a European garden, à la Versailles, add a silk topiary tree (shown to the left) to your cubicle.
• A wicker chair with a bright-colored throw under a garden umbrella will transport your guests to an outdoor Eden.
• Statues of a dog digging in the dirt, an oversized mushroom, or a garden gnome are sure to spark conversation. If you’re looking for a more classic presentation, try a wrought-iron lantern or colorful watering can.
• Croquet anyone? Challenge your neighbor to a game of miniature croquet or miniature horseshoes to take a break from your day.
• Soften the bright green walls with pastel leather desk accessories, or create your own by using double-sided tape to affix pastel ribbon to acrylic office containers.
July 10th, 2009 at 7:19 am
Thanks for posting this useful information
March 11th, 2010 at 6:50 pm
This is just what I was looking for. Thank you so much. Do you offer an RSS Feed I can subscribe to? Please let me know. Thanks again.
April 8th, 2010 at 4:01 pm
I don’t like the above idea at all. Looks too gaudy. What employer would allow all of that in an office, anyway? I know mine wouldn’t. There’s no work space left on the counter to do actual work, either. Too many co-workers would be “hanging out”.