Just because you’re educating the kids at home doesn’t mean your living room has to look like a first grade classroom. If you want to keep your living spaces looking like a home, then keep these ideas in mind as you set up your homeschool space.
This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. I will receive a commission if you purchase from these links. Thank you.
If you want real-life homeschool classroom ideas that will be inexpensive and cozy, then here are my best tips.
Tip #1: Use Real Furniture in Your Homeschool Set Up
Sometimes when we start homeschooling for the first time, we set out to recreate a public school classroom in our home. We purchase authentic school desks, buy a big teacher desk, and decorate the room with all sorts of flashy educational posters.
But some of the most realistic (and most cozy) homeschool spaces that you will find on the internet show families using real furniture – and using what they have!
Instead of buying ugly metal bookshelves, why not grab some real wood hutches for cheap at yard sales and thrift stores? You can always update them with a coat of paint!
And I guess that using real furniture really means that you can totally homeschool anywhere in the house – without a fancy homeschool room.
In our 10+ years of homeschooling, we’ve tried to have homeschool rooms, but mostly end up gathering around the kitchen table.
Even if you decide to go with a dedicated homeschool classroom space, you can still repurpose furniture or buy second-hand pieces. Your kids can have real-life desks rather than tiny school desks. You can use thrifted dining room tables pushed up against the wall for a great work space for the whole family.
And you can add a comfy couch to your homeschool space! That’s the best place for read-alouds anyway.
Tip #2: Make It Cozy
Speaking of couches, that’s just the most obvious way to keep your homeschool feeling like a home instead of a classroom.
But what else could you do to up the cozy factor?
Consider these ideas as you set up your space:
- blankets
- throws
- pillows
- cozy reading corner
- hammock
- homeschool porch space
- homeschool space in bedrooms
There’s no limit to what you can do. Personally, we love being able to sip hot chocolate (or coffee for mom!) whenever we want to in our homeschool day while reading or completing our work.
Tip #3: Stay Away From Classroom Color Schemes
The color schemes used in a traditional classroom are probably the key thing that will make your home look like a public school. If you love this look, then carry on and you do you!
But if you still want your house to look like a home, then consider the color palette you use with your school items.
For example, instead of purchasing the first cart below (which we have owned in years past!), consider a more trendy and homey alternative:
One more way to stay away from classroom color schemes is to consider what you put on your walls in your homeschool room set up.
Tip #4: Purchase Beautiful Resources
So many of us resort to using the classic school posters because that’s what we grew up with in the classroom. Or that’s all we can find. Do the ones below look familiar?
Now, there’s nothing wrong with them! If you love them, keep using them. But if you’d rather not have your living room look like a first grade classroom, then read on.
I’m so excited to have discovered Pretty Nerdy Press! If you’d like to have those educational posters and resources, but don’t love the ones you normally find online, the Pretty Nerdy Press is for you.
Look at how beautiful their School at Home Starter Set for Lower Elementary is:
And here’s their School at Home Starter Set for Upper Elementary:
Pretty Nerdy Press is giving my readers 10% off their order with the coupon code 4onemore
You can hear my chat with Sara Curtis of Pretty Nerdy Press on episode #90 of the Homeschool with Moxie Podcast!
Tip #5: Use Living Books and Real-Life Educational Tools
Instead of making your home have an institutional look (like a public school), consider how you can use beautiful living books as part of your decor. It is educational while still looking completely like a home.
Or, consider having a low bookshelf where your kids can collect interesting specimens from nature. Beautiful rocks. Abandoned nests. Feathers. Pinecones.
Finally, do you want to see some real-life homeschool rooms? Check out our Amazing Homeschool Spaces contestants!
