The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2015

14 JULY-AUGUST 2015 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Foreign Service Furniture: The Good, the Bad and the Just Plain Ugly I n the Foreign Service, there is the good, the bad and the ugly—post furniture, that is. So popular is the topic that a simple Google search of “Foreign Service furniture” yields hundreds of results. Here are a few that caught our eye. One common thread of contention resurfaces frequently: the plain ugliness of State-provided Drexel furniture. Luck- ily, there are some creative workarounds. • An FS spouse, Liz, of Adaptation House , has a list of “Drexel Hacks.” Sh e explains how to camouflage furniture, like the Drexel “Queen Anne” bookshelves, with a tension rod and fabric and even how to make a headboard with cardboard boxes. She suggests temporary furniture modifications like swapping out dated draw pulls with modern ones. • FSO Victoria Reppert’s Tunisian home was spotlighted on the popular blog, Design Sponge . When decorating , she utilizes the host country’s interior design trends and breaks up big rooms by using screens. She uses muted slipcov- ers to hide the dated State-provided couches—a tip repeated by many other FS bloggers. • Hardship Homemaking is a collaborative blog effort to “make life overseas at hardship posts easier.” Tips shared include how to temporarily reupholster chairs with nothing more than a screw- driver and fabric. • There’s even an entire Pinterest board, “Foreign Service- friendly decorating,” dedicated to ways to repurpose furniture and add flair to your home at post. Perhaps you’ve accepted your fate of being surrounded by decades-old Drexel furniture for the rest of your career. Don’t worry; you’re not alone. • The Tumblr blog Foreign Service Problems certainly understands. In fa ct, the site tackles a variety of awkward or annoying topics unique to the Foreign Service, such as the furniture situation. • Z. Marie, of the blog Something EditedThis Way Comes , hosted an informal “Best-Disguised Foreign Service Couch” contest. Entries included one hidden in laundry and one enhanced with Photoshop—apparently, some things just can’t be fixed. • FS Spouse Kelly Bembry Midura has an entire category (“Drexel Hell”) dedicated to post furniture woes on her blog, Well That Was Different . She writes about dated furniture such as “the poopy blue brocade sofa of doom,” which has followed her to each post since 1989. Consequently, Midura is also very fond of furniture slipcovers. • The Diplopundit blog doesn’t shy away from the FS furniture discussion. Topics tackled include the State Depart- ment’s hefty $5 million contract for handcrafted glasses and the decision to send “critical pool and picnic resources to Sudan.” Or, check out a rap video featur- ing the infamous Drexel furniture (you’ll probably recognize the avocado green couches). —Brittany DeLong, Assistant Editor State Issues 2015 Greening Diplomacy Awards O n May 13, the State Department held its annual Greening Diplomacy Ini- tiative program. Three awards were given: the Greening Council Award, the People’s Choice Award and the honorable mention for Excellence in Utility Management. The awards are designed to “recog- nize innovative leadership within the department for sustainability, energy and environmental diplomacy.” State’s Greening Council Award went to Embassy Ouagadougou. The embassy staff achieved a substantial reduction in water and energy use, and engaged in environ- mental diplomacy to promote the same sort of reductions across the country. Specifically, they supported the cre- ation of local-level recycling programs, Drexel “Queen Anne” bookshelves. Temporary reupholstering. The “poopy blue brocade sofa of doom.”