Designing the Perfect Classroom

A 3-Step Guide to contriving the classroom of your dreams.

Brittany Brockbank

                Hello! You're probably here for two reasons. Reason 1: you're a new teacher or a perspective teacher researching all you can before you finally get your own classroom, or Reason 2: Your a current teacher who is tired of their current classroom theme or setup and you're looking for some advice on how to make your room feel less cluttered, brighter, or just prettier. Whatever brings you here, welcome. 

                    I am currently a second year teacher in Utah with a passion for teaching as well as interior design. When I finally got my first classroom, I felt like my two passions were finally able to work together and I had so much fun setting up my first classroom. Teachers from all over my school would come in and immediately comment on how peaceful, clean, and relaxing they felt my classroom was. I've had several people ask me how I was able to turn virtually the same classroom into something that did not feel cluttered and all over the place. After watching so many hours of classroom setups on Youtube, I feel like I have a basic outline that should help people plan out and execute the perfect classroom design that works for them. So, let's get started:

Step 1: Picking a Theme

                    Before you even step foot in your new classroom, there are a couple of things that you can do in preparation. The first of these would be to decide if you would like to incorporate a theme, and if so, decide on what that is. Do you need a theme? No, themes are ways we can incorporate a piece of who we are and what we enjoy into our classrooms to make them feel more personable and more like home. When choosing a theme, pick something that you feel connected with. I have a long time love for pineapples and so I chose to work that in to my classroom theme and decor. I've also seen Boho Rainbow, Farmhouse, Tropical, Peanuts Characters, Superheroes, Stars, Outer Space, Disney, Circus, and more themes. 

                    If you do decide on a theme, don't go buying anything just yet. Imagine how your theme could be used with your curriculum or management plan. For me, I used the quote: "Be a pineapple. Stand Tall, Wear a Crown and be Sweet on the Inside" to start off my year and begin introducing my management plan. We referred back to this phrase often throughout the year. If your theme doesn't connect in any way, don't fret! You may think of something as you go along or you may just add it here and there to bring you a little happiness amongst the crazy.

                    Still don't think a theme is for you? No worries. Your theme could always just be your color scheme. You may already have an idea of what you want for your color scheme already. If so, great! But, I would recommend you hear me out on some tips I have in the next step of selecting a color scheme.

Step 2: Selecting a Color Scheme

                    May I recommend that if you have not yet seen your classroom, that you hold off on the rest of your classroom setup journey. Why? Well, until you've seen what you're working with, the perfect color scheme you've built up in your head may easily fall apart. Different school offer different elements that we simply cannot control. You may enter a school that will not allow you to paint any part of the wall. It may also have a wall with wallpaper, a collapsable wall, carpet of a certain color, and built in shelving or cabinetry that will clash with your colors and cause you to start over from scratch. This was my first big mistake I made with my first classroom.

                    I had a color scheme I knew I wanted and was excited to start buying items long before I even knew if I had a teaching position. Once I did get to see my first classroom, I noticed every wall of the room was a crazy orange brick. When I walked in, it felt very bland and overpowering because of the orange of the brick and the tan of the wood grain on my cabinetry. Luckily, my primary color was just what this room needed to balance it out, but I had to change up some of my secondary shades in order to keep the room bright as I had no outside window.

                    Once you have gotten inside your room, take pictures and notes on how it feels and what it is lacking. What color already exist and what will that do with the colors you may already have in mind? Keep this with you as I walk you through how to know if your color scheme will work or not.

                    The first thing we need to understand is the color wheel. It is a basic skill all artists learn so they can manipulate colors in order to provide the desired effect.

                    As you can see, the three primary colors are Red, Yellow and Blue, with secondary colors Orange, Purple and Green. The closer colors are on this wheel to each other, the more likely they will look good together. The further from each other, the more they will clash. You can also make these colors brighter or more dull. If you choose a color on the brighter side, you will want to make sure any other color you add to your color scheme is also just as bright. Likewise, a more dull or pastel color will also look best with other pastel colors. 

                    You should make sure you choose only 2 or 3 shades (example: blue and green) with no more than 5 total tints of those shades (example: teal, aqua, navy, mint) You should also count on including one additional "neutral" color. I consider neutral colors to be White, Grey, Brown, Tan, and Black. 

*A Word of Caution*

                    Should you choose black, please note that it will darken up any space and is hard to fit into a bright color scheme. Only use black as a text color and occasional item or you will find that your color scheme will become overpowered quickly. On the other hand, if your color scheme is comprised of really bright, almost neon colors, having a little bit of black can bring those colors back a bit and not allow them to overpower your poor students eyes.

                    To the lovers of the rainbow theme: I hear you. You love every color so much, you can't leave one out. It makes organization and management easier to assign everything a color. The Home Edit uses it everywhere and it looks amazing, what could be different with my classroom? Every rainbow classroom I have seen is either way too bright or is way too chaotic because they feel they need to have every color represented in the classroom. Love the idea of rainbows? Great! Check out some of the boho rainbow decor available. You'll see they can use rainbows and still stick to 2 or 3 main colors and up to 5 different shades. Please, please, PLEASE reconsider if you want to do rainbow. It is very difficult to pull off, especially in a room that is not already 100% white from the beginning and small rooms as well. 

                    Stuck on what color schemes look good? Here are a few examples of my favorite color schemes for classrooms:

                    A good place to find color scheme inspiration could be from a picture, an item you'd like to bring into the classroom (like a rug), or searching the internet for "insert color here" color scheme and editing them down to 5 shades and 1 neutral. 

                    I should also mention that while there are so many cute color schemes, not very many places may make bins or other materials in that exact shade you are hoping for. That being said, make sure when you have decided on a potential color scheme, you also go and find items that will fit in that scheme. Don't see anything that works? Try changing a shade or two until you find what you like and items that match. This is also where the neutral color comes in to play. You will most likely find what you are looking for in a neutral color. Make sure you don't overuse that neutral, or else you'll have a room looking flat and void of any color.

                    If you're getting discouraged because you can't find anything in a color you love, don't fret! There are plenty of ways to add those colors to your room without having to find it in a store. You can always find a paint or spray paint in your color and paint objects to match. You can also create your own decorations and use materials that will highlight your desired color scheme.

                    It is also wise that once you are firm on a color scheme that you either find a picture of it like the ones above or create your own picture or vision board with each of your colors. Print it out or keep it handy on your device so when you are out shopping, you can quickly compare the color of an object to see if it will fit within your scheme.

Step 3: Decorate

          This is always the most fun of all the steps. Go shop, get crafty, and get items that fill you with joy and serve the purpose you set out for them. When you do finally get to bringing everything into your classroom, I suggest this sequence of events for optimal organization and design:

        1. Pull everything out of every nook and cranny and organize it into piles

                This may seem like a hassle, but I promise it is worth it in the end. When you can see absolutely everything all at once, you are better able to see what you need to keep, what can be tossed, where you want to store each item, and what storage solutions you will need. Once you've got everything pulled out, unless you know EXACTLY where you want everything to be put back, leave it out. It's better to keep it out than to put it away and move it or lose it later. Just make sure there is some kind of method to the madness.

         2. Bulletin Boards

                The first part of decorating I suggest is the bulletin boards. This is the fastest way to add color to a room and really brighten it up. I have a few pieces of advice when it comes to bulletin boards:

• Use the same color on every bulletin board. You may have found 3 amazing papers or kinds of fabric that you want to use, but I suggest holding off. More than one huge area of color around the room will make it feel off balance and busy. If you insist on having more than one color board, use a neutral and one color and make sure you make only 1 board different as more of an "accent wall" affect.
• Avoid patterns or prints on bulletin boards. Maybe you have a superhero theme and found a cute fabric with comic book "pows" and "bams" on it. Bulletin boards is not the place to have a bunch of noise going on. If you want students to look at it often, make it as basic and simple as possible by avoiding prints. Something like a wood grain paper or brick print are fine as long as they are mostly one color.
• When it comes to selecting border, you should also try and stay as consistent as possible. My favorite advice comes from School Girl Style and this post here. I don't necessarily think 3 borders is too much but I also don't think it's a must. Plus, she has some AMAZINGLY CUTE borders in so many different styles so I would definitely check her out.

•  Finally, it is OK to leave bulletin boards blank at the beginning of the year. I know it won't get you your "picture perfect" classroom right away, but an extra blank bulletin board will for sure come in handy throughout the school year as you create anchor charts, have discussion and learn that some things may need tweaking.

                     Here are a few more decorating tips to leave you with. When it comes to decorating, less is usually more. Don't litter your walls and bulletin boards with cute die cuts you purchased to go with your theme. Don't waste blank space with too many inspirational quotes or posters. The more you cram on those walls, the more distracted your students can be and the more hectic it will feel. On that note, try to also keep surfaces as clear as possible. Don't overcrowd your desks, tables and counters with bins, boxes, and decorations. Your room may look clean now, but once you are in the thick of the year, your surfaces will be consumed at one point or another no matter how organized you and your students are. The less clutter now, the cleaner your room will look in December.

                    Lastly, make sure your space is functional before it is SUPER cute. What I mean by this is don't lose sight of what the space is supposed to do while you're teaching just so that you can create a new Instagram post. If it doesn't function, it won't matter how cute it is. You will find yourself tearing it down in a few months and starting over. Think through how you want to use the space, put everything in place that it needs in order to be successful, and then decorate. Add the details once everything else is in place.

                Best of luck to all teachers setting up their dream classroom! Have any questions or want an opinion? Leave a comment or shoot me an email at thecontrivedclassroom@gmail.com. Happy School Year!