After a weekend redecorating marathon, Carrollton junior high and high school students enjoyed their meals Monday in newly renovated cafeterias, complete with booths, a breakfast bar and custom tables and artwork boasting Trojan pride.

Solid Solutions Institutional Outfitters, a company out of Winder, has been doing these extreme makeovers for five years, Vice President for Sales John Harris said. Solid Solutions works in a partnership with Palmer-Hamilton, which manufactures the furniture.

“It’s quite an adventure,” Harris said. “But it’s about the only option you have unless they’re out for the summer or some other holiday.”

The Carrollton redo has been in the works since April, including design consultations, a survey of the students to see what they would like, painting the cafeterias and manufacturing the furniture and graphic artwork, he said. It all culminated this past weekend with about 10 people installing the new furniture and art in about 60 hours.

“We began this project because of a need for furniture,” said Steve Spofford, chief of operations for the city schools. The furniture blossomed into a $200,000 custom redecorating job, paid for with special purpose local option sales tax proceeds.

In an effort to involve the students in the project, the company provided the school with a survey. Two things kept coming up again and again in the students’ responses -- glitter and 1950s theme, Spofford said.

“I don’t know about ’50s theme but we’ve got plenty of glitter,” he said. “I think it’s something really special for the kids.”

The theme was built around “the three As -- academics, arts and athletics” and Spofford tried to keep the graphics local by using yearbook pictures and area symbols in the designs.

The project was scheduled to be completed this summer, but had to be postponed until August.

Solid Solutions will work overnight during the week or do the job in a weekend. The weekend was chosen for the redecoration option to avoid disturbing the students and to surprise them with the finished project.

Spofford was confident the company would be able to finish on time.

“Not meeting the timeline is not an option,” he said. “We have to serve lunch whether they’re ready or not.”

In the junior high, the new furniture placement allows for better traffic flow and quieter conversation. Now 230 students can eat together in the cafeteria. The high school will gain seating in the cafeteria, around 70 seats, that will help the school deal with the growth in student population and possibly help avoid adding a fifth shift for lunch, said Linette Dodson, director of school food and nutrition.

The plans also queue up the lines, guiding the students around poles much like you find at a fast food restaurant, so the line doesn’t interfere with the students who are eating, she said.

Dodson named the mural that circles the room as her favorite new art, followed closely by the glass art on some of the windows.

The round tables and booths also should help with the noise level in the cafeterias, she said.

“They help keep the conversation directed in,” Dodson said. Seating at long tables means that students have to talk loud to be heard by everyone at the table, she explained.

“It changes the whole atmosphere,” Harris said. “We affectionately call it, changing the cafeteria from the prison look to the food court look.”

The students agree.

“I like that we actually have booths now and it’s not just tables,” said Megan Richey, a sophomore at the high school. “It’s like at a fast food restaurant.”

Hayley Dyer and Jessica Munoz, both freshmen, thought the food was better, maybe because they had time to enjoy it. Both mentioned that the cafeteria line moved quicker.

“The lines have gotten better, because they used to be all crowded and stuff,” Dyer said.

Junior high students were impressed with the Trojan artwork.

“Now we’re representing the Trojans,” said Bryan Byrd, an eighth grade student. “We got Trojan signs everywhere around here.”

Eighth grader Kenyen Springer was happy to see the artwork of historic people.

“I like how it’s got black history around here,” Springer said pointing to the pictures. “They got Washington Carver over there and Rosa Parks and all that. Usually you don’t see that in cafeterias.”