If you could design a hs room, what would be your must-haves?

[gandpsmommy]

We are getting ready to start construction on a home addition. I am so excited because we have been living in a very small house for the past 1.5years and we really will appreciate the extra space! We have decided to add a room just for homeschool:hurray:. It would be 15x20. So, I'm thinking right now that I would like a few windows for natural light, and lots of blank wall space for hanging maps, posters, artwork, etc. So, what would be your recommendations for storage, seating, and workspace? Would you recommend a large table or separate desks? A closet, open bookshelves, cabinets with doors, cubbies? I would love to know what works for you and links to photos of your hs rooms would be lovely! Thanks.

[Sue G in PA]

I'm envious..but happy for you! :D My dream school room...I haven't even thought much about it b/c it's such a pipe dream for us. BUT, I would say I'd like to have a wall of just bookshelves. Either built it or stand alone. A friend has this in her school room and I just love the idea of having all those books at my fingertips instead of scattered all.over.the.house! I love IKEA for bookshelves b/c they also make bins (cloth/plastic/basket) that fit perfectly on the shelves. They have these clear, plastic storage bins that I just love for holding supplies, manipulatives, etc. I'm not a fan of cabinets, but I'd probably have a locked one for those "messy, wouldn't-want-a-toddler-to-see" supplies. As for desks or tables? Not sure. I go back and forth. I like having a large table for big projects (just not our dining room table:glare:) AND separate desks would be nice. OH, invest in a good computer desk with lots of storage for CD Roms, etc. Perhaps a corner desk to save space. If you have an IKEA near you..go there. I love their furniture. You could design and furnish your entire room there. OH, one more thing...a small sofa for reading aloud or at least a comfy chair for mom and some bean-bags for the youngins.

[Jenny in Atl]

Bookcases, dry erase board, desk for experiments, to hold microscope, (critter cages), etc. A great large central work desk and a side desk for computer(s). Lots of great posters (both info & art). And if I had the room, some comfy chairs to read in.

[Quiver0f10]

I'd love built in bookshelves and a deep closet with lots of shelves. I prefer a table to desk for the younger kids, but once they hit the upper grades they prefer a desk.

[Cornerstone Classical]

Custom made desks and carpet squares.

 

You can read more about building our own homeschool room on my blog

 

here...

 

http://cornerstoneclassicalschool.blogspot.com/2008/02/where-do-we-school.html

[lori in tx]

I would want a long table for school work and then another table for projects, that way the projects don't have to be moved they can dry and you don't have to set it up every time. White board, plenty of wall space (we are short on wall space at this house), plenty of shelves would be perfect. And if you have little kids a cabinet that can house all the art supplies, with a lock, if you have kids like mine they will get in there and paint the room:glare:

hth

lori in tx

[cin]

Along with the bookshelves, I would love cubbies for each child's books and 'stuff'. The desks have drawers for supplies, but the books....they seem to grow and migrate....

[elegantlion]

 

• Wall of bookcases,
  
• project table
  
• Bulletin board for each child
  
• Large size magnetic white board.
  
• Closed storage for those messy things
  
• wall space for map of the world and US map
  
• computer workstation
  
• microscope set up

Just my list, sound like fun.

[Diana in OR]

We *had* a room that was dedicated to school, and now it's morphed into a tv room. :glare: Anyway, one thing I really liked was the 6ft tables I got at OfficeDepot. For awhile, I used two, then went to one as my boys got a little older. I loved having the space to spread out and work and not having to worry that our projects would leave permanent marker/glue/chemical marks on my dining room table.

[AnneJ]

Can you bump out one of the windows and put in a window seat? My kids love them--it's a great place to curl up with a book or watch the activity outside.

[Snickerdoodle]

In addition to the great ideas previously mentioned, I would like an area with a large sink and counter for wet projects.

[DollyM]

I love the look of bookcases filled with attractively bound volumes. Who doesn't. BUT most of our homeschool books and binders and spiral bounds and textbooks just are NOT that attractive. So I don't like the look of most of THESE books when shelved on open bookcases. It tends to look messy to me and that messiness translates to a sense of ill-ease when that's what's all around me.

 

In our little room we solved this by actually storing the ugly books in drawers - but this would NOT be my first choice (just what we had to do for space issues.) IF I had a big ol' room like you're talking about, here's what I would do ...

 

On a short wall in the room I would line up several bookcases (3-4). Then IN FRONT OF THOSE cases, I would position 3-4 ADDITIONAL cases that FACE TOWARD the ones on the wall - with a little hallway in between like in the public library. This 2nd set of cases would be in the room (free-standing) facing the first set, presenting the BACK of the cases to the room. Like a hallway of bookshelves.

 

When I first proposed this to DH he said the 2nd set would be too wobbly and dangerous and his solution would be to just build a fake wall in place of the 2nd set of shelves, creating a BOOK STACKS ROOM at the end of the large open room - but the "Stacks Room" would not have a door, would be open on the end, and would consist of two walls of stacks facing each other.

 

This would work for me, too: I like the VISUAL peace of "hiding" those messy binders and textbooks, and it yields yet another big wall empty for wall charts, maps, display of work, etc.

 

Then in the remaining larger/open part of the room I'd put smallish desks for each kid that come with a 3-drawer rolling cart (two pencil drawers and one hanging file drawer) and a personal bulletin board - these along the wall.

Then a larger flat workspace in the middle. Rolling chairs at each personal desk that can turn around and roll up to use the larger flat workspace. Computer desk(s) nearby but NOT assigned to individual kids.

 

while I'm still dreaming - I'd have a sink/counter area for science and arts use behind a half wall like a kitchenette. And a couple of barcaloungers under good lighting for comfy reading. That woudl do it for me.

 

In reality we have the desks as described above and some storage in our room with adjacent large windows.

 

The books are scattered all thru the house on shelves as space permits. We have comfy seating in other areas of the house for reading - we have what I want but not all in the same room.