Wednesday, November 3, 2010

It All Started with an Office...

Any time I've started a new job, one of the first things I always have to find out is if I'm allowed to decorate my office.  Having a mother who is an interior designer means I know very well how important a fabulous office environment is to productivity and happiness on the job.  Needless to say, she and I have decorated more than our fair share of offices!  So, when I began my latest adventure as a Program Supervisor and Therapist in a new outpatient counseling division, naturally, it was time to decorate a new office.  I had a beautiful canvas to work with...a second story office with four nice windows having fantastic views, a larger than average space and hard wood flooring.  The walls were also a very light cream, so no primer necessary!  So with the basics in place, what would inspire this office?
Well, it turns out that Mom & I took our first girls only trip to Walt Disney World in the fall of 2008.  During that trip, we visited "One Man's Dream" at Disney's Hollywood Studios.  It was that look into Walt Disney's life, and a picture of his office, that in turn inspired mine.




After much careful study of this photo, as well as others I had found on the internet showing different angles of the office, Mom decided that we needed to go with a mid-century modern meets contemporary design.  I decided that it needed both subtle and obvious Disney references.  Well, here's what we put together...










So, how did we do?  The retro chairs and circle patterns of course play to that mid-century modern look.  The desk and chairs are on an angle, similar to Walt's office, and there are filing cabinets behind the desk, in place of the drafting table.  Some of the more obvious Disney references are the large picture wall, of course, and the clock collection.  None of the six clocks are on Central Time (current time here).  They tell me the time in Anaheim, Orlando, Tokyo, Paris, Hong Kong, & Hawaii...all references to Disney Parks and Resorts...meaning I'm always on Disney time!!




Just a few more little touches, for fun.  A very dear friend gave me the sign with Walt's quote, "If you can dream it, you can do it."  This is something that I try very hard to live by and to instill in my clients.  When they give up dreaming, they give up hope for the future.  And hope is a core component of healing.
So far, all of my clients love my office, and they all seem to love it for different reasons.  Many of them catch the Disney references right away, and it seems to put them at ease.  Many say it just feels good in my office, cozy and comfortable.  To me, it's my home away from home (the real one & the Disney one!).

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