Designing a Dedicated Study Space at Home -According to LiLu

Designing a Dedicated Study Space at Home

According to LiLu

Designing Dedicated Study Space at Home

Today we are talking about designing a dedicated study space at home. As we approach the beginning of another school year some traditions remain the same (back to school shopping!) and some things look very different this year. Many students will not be in the classroom every day and spending some of their school days at home. Some students will be distance learning and others are going to be homeschooled. All of these paths leave families looking for a more permanent space to do schoolwork. While the dining table provides great space to spread out occasional homework, this may not be a successful long-term solution when you are spending several or all of your school days at home. Time to get creative. Creating a schoolroom or zone of dedicated space for school is going to be part of the key to success.
The design of your home can help support good learning habits and turn them into routines by having a dedicated space for schoolwork. The design of your home is a key factor in either helping or hindering the lifestyle you desire, which now includes work and study from home. Thoughtful interior design starts with examining what you most value in your life, for many families, supporting their children’s education is a top value.  Now ask yourself, how your home can support that value.
A dedicated space that invites you to set up shop and encourages you to keep coming back. By designing a dedicated space to study, it is one less thing you have to think about so you can focus on your schoolwork.
For any study space here are key components that you must include:
-A desk area large enough to spread out
-A comfortable desk chair
-Good lighting
-Organized storage for supplies and on-going projects
It would be nice to include:
-A comfy chair for informal reading and zoom meetings
-Inspiring artwork and uplifting accessories
-A resource-rich environment

A Dedicated Study Space

Taking an unused or underused space and turning it into a dedicated schoolroom is the best idea. It gives kids a place to go for school each day and allows them to leave school behind at the end of the school day. Many homes have a guest room that is not being utilized or an upstairs lounge or attic space that could be converted. In this project, the upstairs lounge space was not being used. We designed new built-ins with a desk and created a space just for the kids just down the hall from the home office, where mom works.
The advantage of this approach is that when you leave this room at the end of the day and go to your bedroom, you can hopefully leave the school day behind. This is a great approach to designing a dedicated study space at home
For tips on designing Home Offices read this post.

A Multipurpose Study Space

Sometimes you just don’t have the option of designing a solely dedicated study space at home but creating a multi-use space with a special area dedicated to schoolwork is a great option for designing a dedicated study space at home.
Here are two examples of multi-purpose spaces. One is a laundry/craft/study room we designed within one large bedroom on the second floor of a home. During the day it could be used as a study space and laundry in the evening and on weekends. The bonus craft area gives space to spread out and work on an art project on the island.
In this project, Mom and daughter share work and craft space. This multi-purpose space was once a guest bedroom and now working side by side has become a routine.

A  Study Zone in your Bedroom

In many homes, the best option for designing a dedicated study space that is acoustically private, is going to be in your child’s bedroom. You may need to be very purposeful in creating a dedicated study space within the bedroom. Creating a desk that shuts at the end of the day or an area that isn’t viewable from the bed is one strategy that can work well. If your child finds it distracting to be in their bedroom you could set up a temporary study carol divider for the school day.
Built-in or free-standing desks are great options for the in-bedroom study zone. The main advantage of this approach is that this study is privacy.
No matter what the project, LiLu Interiors starts by inquiring what you want for your life and what it requires to support it. That way we can help you design a home that supports the habits you want to live out your values and turn them into routines.
If you need a free-standing study solution see the round-up of desks below. If you want to design a built-in solution give LiLu a call.

Resource Rich Environments

A key to supporting learning at home is providing a resource-rich environment. Think about having maps, atlases, books, craft supplies, microscopes, beakers, cyanotype and origami paper, and anything that could spark interest and curiosity and be available to experiment with if the impulse strikes.
While kids studying from home will have an assigned curriculum you can increase the excitement they feel over learning and supplementing their education with joy and inquiry.
Below please find some shoppable links for a resource rich environment.

This like many of our Sunday blogs is shoppable. While we may receive a small commission from the links your price will remain the same.