Counselor Office Decorating Ideas

“A Hill is a house for an ant. A hive is a house for a bee. A hole is a house for a mole, or a mouse. And a house is a house for me.”  I couldn’t help but quote from one of my favorite children’s books A House Is a House for Me by Mary Ann Hoberman as I thought about sharing with you my house, or more accurately my counselor office decorating ideas.  Now, I know that not everyone has the option of a classroom or would even want one if the option were available, but for me the move from office to classroom was one of the pinnacles of my career. Why? Space, space and more space for things like my whole group instruction, my games, books, lessons and most importantly, my small groups.  Now, having said all this no matter what your current “house” situation is I would like to share with you my five tips, in no particular order, of getting your “House” in order

Tip 1: Decorate Your Counselor Office Space to be Your Own

One thing we didn’t mention in our Welcome Back to School List for Counselors is decorating your counselor office or classroom. If you are like me, I spend more time at school than in my actual home. So your counselor office space should reflect your personality, your favorite pieces, and your favorite colors.

Tip 2: Counselor Office Decorating Ideas Shouldn’t Break the Bank

I am not above begging, stealing or borrowing. Ok, I take that back on the stealing part.  As you can tell, I took what others saw as junk aka the church bench, old filing cabinets, high chair, old table, teacher desk, etc. and repurposed them. Start frequenting yard sales and thrift stores to see what treasures you can find. Tag us on Instagram or Facebook if you find something fantastic!

Tip 3: Choose a Color

Choose a color scheme of two or three colors and stick with it.  I have used a basic color scheme of blue for the past few years. It seems to create a calming environment. I also chose a few accent colors to add a little spunk! This basic color scheme keeps everything uniform and neat. An added bonus is these colors jump out at me when I’m out shopping. This keeps me from being distracted by all the fun and decorative items out there. I’m focused on my colors. This also saves me money!

Tip 4: Choose a Theme

Choosing a theme takes a little self- reflection.  For me, I want my students to feel that when they enter my room they are in for an adventure.  So, my overall theme is “Adventure”.  This has not changed in three years.  However, my Adventure decor varies from year to year. For example,  last year I had a vintage travel theme with globes, maps, and travel paraphernalia.  This year I wanted a cool, calm look so I chose the mountains and trees to go with my overall theme of Adventure.

Tip 5:  Stay in the Zone 

When I started thinking about everything in terms of zones it helped me organize.  Even a small space can be zoned – like your desk!  This helps me with placement of things and cleaning.  I take a Zone a day to clean and straighten. These are the zones that have helped me stay organized: Storage Zone, Teaching Zone, Meeting Zone, Small Group Zone, and Office Zone. We will talk more about our zones in an upcoming blog post!

We hope that these tips have inspired you to decorate your own counselor office or classroom. A bonus tip would be to have fun while you’re decorating! The students will love whatever you do!