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This is a humorous and sarcastic blog written by a paralegal in a mid-sized law firm in a mid-tier market. The goal is to share some of the pitfalls and foibles encountered in my own day-to-day experiences. Feel free to contact me at aparalegalslife@gmail.com with comments. Complaints, not so much :)

Friday, November 18, 2011

Hell is Covered in Beige

Recently I was struck by a sudden realization.  Of all the offices I have worked in, none stand out in my mind for their interior decorating.  Law offices are universally boring places to look at.  Oh, the reception area and the odd conference room at a high-end firm may be decked out in paneling or marble to impress visitors and clients, but back where the employees work it's a sea of neutral colors...

Walls are some variation of dull off-white.  Occasionally, someone will go crazy and pick taupe.  Not even an accent wall of red, green or blue to break things up. 

Carpet is light grey or beige, colors chosen for their ability to hide light traffic stains and dust.  I'd kill to have a nice dark hardwood floor in my office.

Doors are some variation of light grey, or occasionally frosted glass.  One place I worked in had wood-veneer doors, but it was still a generic beige finish.  They couldn't spring for some cherry or walnut stain?  It's the same price people. 

Furniture is also boring.  Partners and the occasional senior associate furnish their own offices, but for the rest of us it's standard boring office furniture.  Oh, joy, another maple-veneer neo-modern desk that looks exactly like everyone else's.  (One prior employer who frequent readers know as Asshat actually bought us USED office furniture.  Cheap used office furniture.  That was the lowest point in my career.)

I manage to dress up my office with plants in colorful pots.  Lots and lots of plants.  Sometimes I even talk to them, usually about how boring the rest of the room looks.

1 comment:

Icchic said...

AHA! Yet another reason to love working for crappy money at a very small (2 attorney) firm. Our walls are in yellow, red and green tones (trust me, it looks better than it sounds). Our desks are built in and while they are in the brown family, they look more like a home than an office. I never realized that was a perk.

Sharon

P.S. - LOVE your blog!!