A Zen Den for Teachers
Thanks to Culbreth dad and photographer Mark Terry for the "after" photos.
At our first PTSA meeting, Principal Rudolph mentioned that she would like to provide a relaxing wellness room for the teachers. Several parents stepped up to that night to volunteer to make this happen.
The room Ms. Rudolph had in mind was a dark, windowless storage room that was anything but a serene space. Here's what it looked like when parents checked it out that night.
The first step was to lighten the place up a bit, and Culbreth mom and decorating visionary Kristin McMahon had just the right shade of calming greige in her garage. Here are some of the members of our volunteer paint crew, Tiffany Allen, Michele Varma, Carol Taylor, Melinda Easterling and Kristin McMahon.
Next, the cheap-looking bookshelves had to be stabilized and painted. Culbreth dad Jim Pugsley, a master carpenter, remodeler and all-around handyman, added crown molding and made the shelves look like expensive built-ins. Wow!
Every year, the PTSA does a "Thanksgiving Thank You" for the teachers, which usually involves painting, cleaning and stocking the teachers' lounge. The PTSA thought that the wellness room would be an excellent Thanksgiving Thank You project for this year, so we allocated the $300 budgeted for the Thanksgiving Thank You project to the planned relaxation space for teachers.
The Wellness Room interior design team, Kristin McMahon, Michele Varma, Melinda Easterling and Tiffany Allen, came up with a cohesive color scheme, scoured yard sales, Craigslist and their own homes for rugs and furnishings that would create the zen atmosphere they envisioned. The design team and other parents donated generously to help purchase furnishings and accessories.
Jeff and Melinda Easterling, Jim Pugsley, Schreiber Construction and Michele Varma created an up-to-date tea and water station with floating shelves for cups.
And, for the finishing touches, Kristin McMahon created some custom Culbreth-themed art.
The wellness room was revealed to teachers and staff the week before Thanksgiving. Principal Rudolph, who had not seen the work in progress, said, "I knew it was going to be nice, but I had no idea it would look like something you'd see on HGTV!"
The PTSA thanks the following parents and businesses who made it possible to create such a lovely space on a shoestring budget, as well as the parents who donated Target gift cards:
