Piimpin' Out Your Corporate Office?

ignoringReality asks: "I just moved into a new office at work that is considerably smaller than my previous one. The furniture is crappy, the walls are plain, and there aren't any windows. I'm trying to think of a unique way to keep myself entertained but not distracted day in and day out. It's a corporate office, so there are obviously limits. Working in a box must be a pretty standard situation for a lot of Slashdot readers, so how do you guys personalize your offices?"

Comments

Lighting

[Leroy_Brown242]

For myself, when I had a converted closet for an office, the most important thing for me was good lighting. I kept it darker than most people liked it, but it was warm and gentle lighting.

I've seen a lot of people hang what look like drapes from thier walls, to give some solour and texture to the room.

Don't forget the music, and toys.

if you can afford it....

[jeffy124]

the Dilbert Ultimate Cubicle

Complete with lighting that simulates the sun moving across the sky as the day goes along.

Two words...

[J-Doggqx]

Think Geek

(Especially the cube goodies section. My co-workers love the Acrobots

Re:Two words...

[drdink]

Overpriced. RIpoff.

Re:Well Decorated Cube

[kmahan]

Thanks for the added trailing slash.

The correct URL is:

http://www.advertisementave.com/tv/ad.asp?adid=573
http://www.advertisementave.com/tv/ad.asp?adid=5 73

I truly don't understand the question

[dmorin]

What exactly is "entertained but not distracted"? Seriously, I'm asking.

I've got pictures of my family pinned to my cube walls (on the one wall that allows things to be pinned to it :-/). On the file cabinet behind me I have 6 framed pictures, but rarely do I turn around to look at them.

I have juggling balls, which I pretty much never touch.

One statue of Buddha. Green.

Framed picture of the Red Sox beating the Yankees.

I have an iPod which I listen to on the commute in, and carry up to the desk, but it usually sits there and I dont put my headphones on. Probably because I tend to listen to podcasts rather than music, and find those distracting when trying to work.

And so on. It gives me stuff to look at when I take my eyes off the monitor, but it's not really there for entertainment. Nor is it distracting. It's decoration. I don't think that's what you were asking for, though. You want toys.

Plants

[Bishop]

Real live plants are nice. Even without a window some plants will be fine under flourescent lighting. Look for "shade" plants.

If possible you may also want to smuggle in a "super-daylight" flourescent light. You want something that is about 5500k with a CRI higher then 80. A single 2ft or 3ft tube, or 20w to 30w compact would be fine.

Ideas for ya

[Frank of Earth]

Thinkgeek.com has a lot of stuff to make your office your own. I personally have the binary clock work tends to freak people out, but I think it's cool.

I actually posed this question to the /. community on what types of cool stuff they are growing at work. Based upon their suggestions, I started a few jalapeno plants which already have 2 leaves a piece.

A few thoughts

[miyako]

Although I've never worked in a cube or office, I do have a home office which ideally functions similarly to a work office, that is to be asthetically pleasing while not being distracting. Here are a few ideas for decorating that I've come up with.
First of all, if possible go with static decorations, as neat as those little moving doohickies and thingamuhwatzitz may seem, they tend to be distracting, often catching the corner of your eye. Along these lines, think color scheme, if you tend to just pick things willy nilly then you can end up with major clashage.
I prefer a deep somewhat victorian color scheme, deep reds and browns, golds, things of that nature. If your stuck in an office then a more modern look might be appropriate, white and black with chrome.
Light level is also important, Most people have an optimal light level that they like to work in, I prefer a low light environment, too much light makes me sick and gives me headaches. A lot of people have the opposite problem, be sure to know what sort of light level works best for you and go with that.
Carpet is also important, along with adding a bit of style to the room, a good carpet can cut down on noise, especially if you have a lot of people walking through your area.
When working with limited space, it's also important to think multifunctional, for example shelves can break up the monotony of a wall space, as well as providing much needed horizontle surfaces.