Many of us have experienced a big change in our home and our children are now learning virtually or homeschooling alongside our own work spaces. Even if your child is back at school in-person, you never know when virtual learning may come into play even if for just a couple of weeks. Many of our homes may not be designed with good spaces for our children to be able to be to successfully learn at home. Like us, our kids need a place they can focus and be productive when it’s time to get work done (and you would probably prefer that all the schoolwork and supplies aren’t just spread out over your dining room table or kitchen island). I want to give you some ideas that will help you create a place for your kids to learn and enjoy with the room that you have.
Whole Room Ideas
If you’re lucky enough to have a whole room to devote to your kids learning space, I love the idea shown above and even shared this on my Instagram account recently. Shown was an actual classroom design in large rooms with high ceilings, but you could easily pull out elements for your own designated learning space. The shelving, built-ins, and loft space all have the house theme (which I love!) … notice the different break-out areas for your kids. A reading nook, a little table to work at, a play loft, plenty of shelving and cabinetry for organization. A small scale version of this would be a wonderful place for your kids to learn and enjoy!
Repurposed Room
If you don’t have a room just for the kids, do you have a room in your home that doesn’t get as much use as your children’s new learning space would (possibly a dining room)? Many of us have rooms that could perhaps serve a better purpose at this time. You may be concerned about this being a room that is out in the open or not easily closed off from the rest of the house, but your new space doesn’t have to be unsightly and cluttered. Pictured are three dining rooms coverted to learning spaces in real homes. Use your walls and built-ins for school and supplies … this is a great time to reinforce organizational skills.
Closet
No unused or little-used rooms in your home that you can covert into a learning space … how about a closet? I gave an example of using a closet as a home office in a recent blog, and this same idea can certainly be used for your children as well. Clean out one of those closets that have space that can be put to better use these days! Slide in a desk, install some shelving on either side or on the facing wall, use the wall and even the doors for organizing and displaying, and you’re ready. This is a pretty easy project and depending on the size and set-up of the closet, it may even be able to be closed off when not in use. I love the idea of using a closet especially when you are limited with space. Since you’re working with a small area, it’s also simple and fairly inexpensive to decorate and brighten up with wallpaper, bold paint, artwork, etc.
Small Spaces
Don’t be discouraged if you don’t have the space necessary to use any of the already mentioned ideas. Small spaces in the home can still be transformed into amazing spaces. An empty wall is enough room for setting up a desk or 2 (or more) to allow an individual area for everyone. Shown here, each child can have their own work station. Labelling or color coding and providing each with their own storage area is important when sharing a space in the home.
Transform Your Kids Space!
Once you’ve found your set-up, it’s time to put it all together and create a place your children will enjoy spending time learning in. Simple and inexpensive decorations are an easy way to keep them interested in their own little work spaces. Everything shown in this sweet little workspace is easy to find and easy on the wallet. The rolling cart is a great organizational tool and the use of the wall space for display and instructional materials makes good use of a relatively small space. Don’t forget to invest in a couple of hanging organizational items to help keep the paperwork and tasks in order.
Here’s another lovely example of a small desk area … I love the use of shelving and nontraditional storage attached to the wall. The scalloped chalboard wall is super cute and gives your little learner a spot to create their own chalk art. I think I see a little comfy reading spot to the left and all-in-all this is a little corner no one would mind having right out in the open for all to see in their home.
As you can see, you can spend as much time and money on this project as you have available, bit you don’t HAVE to spend alot of time or money. All you really need to do is set aside a few hours to create the space by cleaning out a closet or removing furniture from a room that will be better used as a learning area for your children. If you need more ideas for putting together an amazing space for your home learning space, there is no lack of wonderful ideas you can find from homes across the world.
See below for a few of my favorites that I ran across while writing this blog:
