Design the Perfect Classroom: 12 Tips for Style and Function

Spend too much time on social media, and you might come away with a case of classroom envy. Some rooms are so lavishly designed and filled with color and pattern that you may feel like your decorating efforts are doomed to be inadequate.

Well, don’t worry. Some of those rooms are staged. Others may lack the basic elements of a productive learning environment. For practical classroom decor, less is more. Let’s go over how to design a classroom that is both stylish and functional.

Creating a Stylish and Functional Classroom

When designing your classroom, you can start by focusing on function. Consider the work zones you need, such as a reading area or math zone. Will students work alone or on group projects?

Once you have a floor plan, you can think about how to decorate the walls or use colorful storage bins to make supplies easy to locate. However, try not to overdo it. A busy, over-decorated classroom may distract students and can lead to more time off-task. For a calming environment, experts advise leaving 20% to 50% of the wall space blank.

12 Tips for Classroom Decor

A well-designed classroom should be calming and help students be more productive. Here are some classroom decoration ideas to consider.

1. Incorporate a Color Scheme

Color can affect a learner’s attention span, memory, and mood. A study in the Journal of Curriculum and Teaching found that using contrasting colors improved students’ ability to memorize vocabulary. According to a study by Vuontela, combining colors and lesson content improves memorization because children remember colors better than verbal cues.

Each color has a different effect. Blue, orange, and green improve concentration and productivity. Red stimulates the body and mind. Yellow purifies the body and stimulates nerves. Dark blue is the most relaxing color.

For classroom design, some educators avoid excessive use of color to keep the space from looking too busy. Instead, they favors classroom themes, with one or two colors used throughout the room.

Some teachers assign a color to each subject. For example, math materials can be in red bins and related worksheets can be in red folders. Students can also organize their papers by color. When it’s time for math, for instance, you can tell them to take out their red folders.

2. Incorporate Storage Solutions That Double as Decor

Storage solutions can bring organization and color coordination to your classroom. For decorative storage, consider using colored storage bins to stack on a bookcase.

A colorful storage caddy can keep art supplies on display. You can use one for each type of writing tool, such as pencils, markers, and crayons. Storage drawers can be used for paper and other supplies.

You can find colored drawers or add color to clear drawers with bright labels. Use a container for everything and use your label maker to help you and your students remember where everything belongs.

A rolling cart can be a practical way to store items you don’t use every day. You can store things like cleaning supplies in a closet and bring them out as needed.

3. Include Interactive Classroom Decor Elements

When setting up the room, consider leaving some areas for the children to help decorate. This helps them feel ownership of the space.

Have a whiteboard or chalkboard for anchor charts you can make with the students, and post vocabulary words on a bulletin board. For more ideas, look for bulletin board decorations like learning resources and calendars.

4. Create a Designated Student Artwork Area

Another area you don’t have to complete on your own is a place for students to display their artwork. Displaying their work gives students a sense of pride.

Consider setting up a permanent display of student work in your classroom and updating it periodically. Your students can choose the work to display or you can update it yourself from work turned in during the semester.

5. Strategically Place Wall Art and Inspirational Posters

A popular educational theory asserts that the classroom, or learning environment, is the third teacher after parents and teachers. Make your classroom an encouraging space with wall art and posters with inspirational sayings.

Look for art that matches your room, or print your favorite quotes and frame them with construction paper. If your display includes famous role models, include people who reflect the ethnicity of your students. It could make all the difference to students struggling to learn or feel like they belong.

6. Create a Reading Nook

Add a reading nook to your classroom to encourage a love of reading. It can be as simple as a corner with bookcases. Add rugs and comfortable seating, and you’re ready for story time.

7. Consider Adding Safe, Low-Maintenance Plants

Both students and teachers benefit from having plants in a classroom. The benefits of indoor plants include improved concentration and reduced stress. Choose low-maintenance plants that tolerate classroom conditions like low humidity and indirect light. Some teachers pick plants that can survive unattended during winter or spring breaks. A few hardy choices include snake plants, cast iron plants, aloe, and pothos.

Look up the scientific names of the plants you’re considering to confirm they’re not toxic. Also, consider potential allergies; although classroom plants seldom flower, you still want to make sure they won’t produce pollen or any other irritants.

8. Decorate Your Teacher Desk

Your teacher desk can greatly impact your productivity. Consider going against the grain and ditch the idea of draping it in fabric, wrapping paper, or banners to make a bold color statement.

Instead, focus on function. If space permits, use a desk that has enough surface area for you to work. Keep your teacher planner where you can check it and make notes. Bring in desk organizers to help you manage paper and teacher supplies. You can find desk organization supplies like pencil cups, bookends, desk trays, and drawer organizers to match your room’s color scheme.

In addition to an organized desk, it is a good idea to also have a comfortable, ergonomic chair to help you stay productive.

9. Alter Your Classroom Desk Layout

Arrange classroom desks based on your teaching approach. For example, you can move four to six desks into a table group to encourage social interaction and group work.

Putting desks in rows facing the front is a traditional layout designed for teacher-centered instruction. This arrangement supports individual work and exams and is common in high schools.

A U-shaped arrangement facilitates group discussion since students can all see each other. The instructor can also see them.

A flexible layout involves setting up workstations for specific tasks. You can include computer stations, reading nooks, or tables for group work. Students can move throughout the room to perform different tasks.

10. Consider Classroom Lighting

Light is another environmental factor that affects classroom performance. In one study, exposure to natural light significantly improved reading and math outcomes. Try to keep your classroom windows unobstructed by furniture or decorations.

While you can’t control whether your windows face the sun, you can adjust the classroom’s artificial lighting. Full-spectrum LED bulbs produce balanced lighting with benefits similar to natural light. Warm up the classroom with a lamp on your desk or in the reading nook.

11. Be Open to Parent Donations

Before furnishing your classroom, it is a good idea to check out the classroom spending budget and find out whether the school reimburses you for purchases. Another way to gather necessary supplies is by including parents in the process of equipping the classroom.

Many teachers already provide parents with the usual list of school supplies needed for their student. Consider also requesting classroom supplies donations during the back-to-school orientation or open house event. Another option is to send a personalized letter or email at the beginning of the school year, outlining specific items needed and providing suggestions for how parents can contribute.

Additionally, maintaining open lines of communication throughout the year allows for continuous collaboration and the possibility of acquiring additional classroom supplies as needed such as books or classroom rewards.

12. Regularly Update Your Classroom Decor

It is a good idea to periodically update your decor over the course of the school year. You can remove displays related to completed lessons and replace them with new anchor boards, spelling lists, etc. Try to update student work displays monthly and refresh classroom decorations linked to specific seasons or holidays.

It’s important to keep your audience in mind. Try to avoid making displays with fonts that are hard for children to read, like fancy italics. Choose colors and images that appeal to your students’ ages and interests.

Keep Your Classroom Looking and Feeling Fresh

Whether setting up at the beginning of the year or doing a midyear update, it’s a good idea to focus on function for classroom decor. Try to keep the design calm to avoid distracting students and make them a part of the process by displaying their work or including them on a photo wall.

About the Author

Lauren Jiles-Johnson is a tutor, mentor, and board president of Waukegan to College, a collegereadiness organization in Waukegan, Illinois. Waukegan to College helps fifth- to 12th-grade students achieve their dream of being the first in their families to attend college.

All content provided herein is for educational purposes only. It is provided “as is” and neither the author nor Office Depot warrant the accuracy of the information provided, nor do they assume any responsibility for errors, omissions, or contrary interpretation of the subject matter herein