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I can't see many employers allowing their people to do this to their cubicles - Seems that they'd think that the employees had too much time on their hands...

@bepsf

That's why a project like this is a really great idea to attempt during the holidays or on the Friday before a 3-day weekend.

Another really great option is to plan the decoration remotely and store everything at your desk/trunk, waiting for the right moment to strike. If everything's already pre-measured, cut, and ready to go you can execute on your lunch hour or just after work...

Fantastic makeover! Here's another: http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2008/06/pimp-my-cube/

Even still silvarga most employers will not allow you to do this. I've worked in places where your werent allowed to have plants. And Chirs Toronto I like that cube much better.

It seems a bit loud for an office. I hate the beige as much as everyone else, but this would be annoying to sit near.

"That's why a project like this is a really great idea to attempt during the holidays or on the Friday before a 3-day weekend."

My parent company doesn't even allow personal pictures as screensavers or on the desk if they're not in a frame - Someone's head would explode if they came into the office in Monday AM and saw this.

Encouraging this type of self-indulgance is very bad advice, particularly in this economic climate where employers are just looking for ways to unload "problem" employees.

Or go Tiki!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/xmasons/68704422/

I like Chris Toronto's cube. It has a grown-up style.

This one feels a bit teenage.

I would kill for a cubicle wall some days. I'm at an "island" desk in the middle of the room with not even a bulletin board to put a calender on. Oh how I long for some protection from the elements of office politics but instead Im left feeling horribly "out there".

I work for a pretty big company- and im pretty sure we can do whatever so long as it doesn't leave any marks once we have to change cubes or leave..
a happy employee is more valuable, right?
that being said.. i do graphic design here and prefer the minimal grey walls/desk. I used to have lots of pictures hung up with magnets.. but found they weren't really doing anything for me. i took most stuff down and like it much better.

Waaaay too personal for work. Unprofessional, too.

My husband's office has one floor devoted to steno cubicles. They are not in a public area, so the staff are allowed to personalize their spaces. It is a complete freakshow. I could walk around (just looking, never touching) for hours. Sort of like Catherine Wagner's photos of the interiors of people's homes. Weirdly voyeuristic.

So, next time you want to do this at work, remember there's possibly some co-worker who is repulsed/fascinated by your personal display.

TMI, I know.

Pattern overload, epic fail.

bepsf:
I don't think anyone would get fired for having this cube, but they sure wouldn't get promoted.

I agree with arroyo. Unprofessional.

God willing, I will never work in a cubicle again, but I think companies should encourage their employees to personalize their space within reason (and within time constraints). I am sure there are studies that employees work longer and more efficiently if they feel more "at home". Also, I think big corporations have bigger fish to fry right now than if someone has a orange throw and decorative items on their desk.

I personally think it's too much pattern (especially with such low cube walls...it would be distracting), but we spend a third of our life at work. Don't you think it's a little unrealistic to expect employees not to personalize it even a little? I have a square poster that I got at Ikea, some personal photos, some LOLcat pictures and random bits on my cube walls and desk. If I had to stare at the gross grey-green and red combo all day every day, I would go insane.


Insaner.

Why are these personalized cubicals always so twee and dear and sick-making? Doesn't anyone have taste?

Don't forget the Unicorn cubical--the Unicubical.

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/la/for-a-laugh-unicorn-cubicle-055796

"I don't think anyone would get fired for having this cube..."

No, but when the next round of layoffs happen I could see management saying "Get rid of that Weird-cubicle person"

And if not - What happens when your department has to move to another space and your cublicle is a different size/configuration?

"A happy employee is more valuable, right?"

Not really. A productive employee who doesn't cause problems is a valuable employee - Management doesn't particularly care if you're "happy".

Yeah, I think what we have here are people who work in "professional" environments versus those who work in creative ones (not necessarily always separate). Since I've worked primarily in the latter, creative work spaces are normally rewarded than frowned upon. I once was even promoted because the boss found my workspace "inspiring" and "creatively engaging"(well, and also the fact I was doing the work of 3 others and staying till midnight every night).

while i am all for making one's cubicle more personal & comfortable and colorful (i hate beige) this print is really bad for the eyes. when you are staring at a screen for a number of hours your eyes need to be able to look somewhere sane to rest; this crazy print is the worst thing for them and guarantees more eye strain. it would have been better (and yes, more professional) to keep the walls monochromatic, but use another color, maybe a soft one like sage or even a dark one like navy

I don't find any of these embellishments problematic... with the exception of the tiki cube - can you say fire hazard?

Haha, bepsf, remind me not to work for your parent company...ever. That's a bit draconian about the photos not in a frame bit. Are employees only allowed to use the bathroom at specific moments throughout the day? Are they tagged and herded en masse in and out of the office? Is Muzak and the slight smell of an almost imperceptible amount of unidentifiable experimental mind-controlling gas combined to maintain just the right sort of work environment management approves of? Does a man who looks strikingly like Patrick McGoohan occasionally try to escape through the fire exit?

But as noted, different occupations call for different corporate environments. For some, the maintenance of professional decorum/taste is important to their particular image and workflow. Thank goodness I don't work in those fields.

Gregory,
I've worked in creative environments where office decoration was encouraged, but there's a downside to that too. Workers who care about creativity and design tend to judge their co-workers by how they decorate (sometimes rather mercilessly.) A Marcel Dzama figurine on the desk earns respect, but a Monet poster looks "conventional." And so on.

One of our secretaries had a desk covered with non-ironic kitty cat pictures and personal photos; she could never figure out why the design department wouldn't promote her out of the clerical pool.

The company I recently left is very large and for the most part not encouraging of personal expression. They are laying people off for the first time in 80 years. And in many cases, the directors are not being told who in their department is being let go.

So I agree with bepsf - it really could come down to some executive walking through the building and deciding the weird cube girl has to go.

Seems to me there is no good reason to draw attention to yourself at work these days except to show off your contributions to the company. And that doesn't include contributions to their decor.

Oh and gregory, the company I worked for has a phone sign off code for the customer service representatives for "personal". The only acceptable use of the code is bathroom visits or getting a drink of water. So yes, they track how frequently and how long those poor folks spend in the potty.

Lisa Hunter: That's equally undesirable and I don't think I've run into that problem/judgmental environment professionally yet; I would have personally bonded over non-ironic cat photos and at least noted her affinity for the arts. Sure beats desks full of bro-tastic golfing photos and moments captured in Cancun and Vegas that I'd too often see while dealing with freelance clients.

Thankfully in our office creativity is encouraged. As well as self expression. I sit at my cube 40hours a week- how dull would it be if i didnt have a few "me" things around? Would you really want to work for a company that was all about linear thinking?

Though I guess it does help if your boss is the original "crazy cube guy".

I am a bean (accountant) and I work in a design/branding firm and LOVE the creativity I see about the cubicles and offices of my coworkers. I still remember the day I had my interview and I was getting a tour of the 2nd floor studio and on one desk was a 1.5ft Gandalf, another had designer vinyl toys all over the place...then someone whizzed by me on a scooter...

I love my job :)

I've only worked creative jobs, but at large corporations, and I have never been discouraged from decorating drab spaces. In fact, in my last job, people complimented me on reviving an ugly space. If there is any judgement about this stuff, it must be similar to the judgements we receive about the way we dress or behave at work. Oh, and my space did involve some cat photos but my cat is really really cute so...

Yeah, this is totally a case of Your Workplace May Vary. I have a friend who works for a company that designs office layouts and they have clients walking through all the time. Of course she knows better than to go nuts decorating her workspace. Give people some credit for understanding their own corporate culture and the expectations therein.

However, for those of us who work in exaggeratedly casual, creative environments, cube decor can be a way to bond with colleagues or even spur productivity. Frankly, if you're not smart enough to pick up on the cues about what's appropriate in your cubicle, they'll be able to find much more glaring reasons to fire you.

I wish I could decorate my cubicle.

During the election, the boss made everyone who supported Obama take down their stickers and banners. But all of the McCain still stayed.

This is the same boss who recently changed the rules so that our earned PTO can only be used as sick days that require a doctors note.... and vacation time is used for all time off. Funny, because the only time you get vacation is after you've been there for a year.

Fail. Looks like a Hollister catalog exploded in there.

ChrisToronto's is reasonable. But doing that to your cube just makes it seem that you've been wasting time--weekend decorating or not.

As a designer of corporate interiors, I have to say that looks awful. There are ways to personalize a workspace that can make it your own without going overboard with "stuff". One idea that I used successfully was allowing one shelf that was the width of a panel and 6" deep for personalizing. It allowed people their space to show whatever they wanted, be it photos, toy cars, bears, flowers, whatever. The rest of the space was used for business as it was intended.
People always complain to designers that they don't have enough room on their desks to work productively. That's because the desk is usually filled with photos, vases, trophies, and a coffee cup or two.
Besides,creating that kind of chaos in a cubicle negates what the designer worked so hard to achieve in the office.

I used to work in the entertainment relations department of a well-known guitar manufacturer. A big part of my job included going to shows and schmoozing with artists. My cube was decorated with photos of all the famous guitarists I'd worked with. Upper management blew a gasket. Huge stink. They considered firing me, but stopped short because I brought in over $1mm in sales thanks to those cozy relationships. However, they also made me remove all the pics and stood by watching to make sure I did it. (Because clearly, removing pics of people who use your product from an employee's cubicle is more important than developing new product.)

Spoiled spoiled spoiled! I work at a public library reference desk -- my station is used by up to five different people in a week, althought usually mine if I'm on duty. No decorations, no photos, no mugs, I can't even have a personal PEN. (Well, I could, but it would just disappear when a patron or another staff member absent-mindedly walked away with it...)