Whether You Homeschool, Need a Conducive Room for Homework or a Cozy

Study, Here is a Creating (Simple) Idea That We Hope Inspires You!

We officially began homeschooling in 2006 when our son entered into his kindergarten year. The place of study has moved from one room to another to accommodate all the changes a family undergoes as you have more children and as you learn what works and what doesn’t work. My wife and I do know that it is critically important, when homeschooling, that you have at least one designated location in your home that is considered the homeschool room. This provides a consistency that children need in learning. Our kids often study in different locations but one primary room has always been a top priority. We have a small study in the front room in our home that has been referred to as a library, study, music room, office and at one time a small bedroom (even with no closet)!

The last two years we have used this front room as the home classroom and it has worked great but the transition into this room was quick with no updates or changes from when it was an office. We knew it was time to paint the room and with that decision, we quickly began thinking creatively. We didn’t want to “just” paint the walls, we wanted to create a different look. Thinking creatively in your home leaves, in most cases, no barriers. We like the (simplicity) of early American and decided to move in that direction. The creating (simple) idea on this project was to paint the walls, the trim, baseboards and crown molding all in a dark charcoal flat – one paint on all surfaces.  A side benefit is a quicker and easier painting process! Here are a few photos along with a short video to highlight the process and resulting experience!

(Going darker on walls and trim creates the illusion of higher ceilings.)

Check out our short video to be inspired!

We tried to emphasize the early American by placing candles in sconces on each side of the window. Most of the time a room can get quite eclectic when you begin putting it together but as long as it sets the feel you are after its a success!

(We stepped beyond the early American period when we added the Edison style light to create more warmth to the room.)

The girls are in a row, a very small row that is but nonetheless a row! Our oldest daughter is in the sixth grade while the youngest is in kindergarten. Our son is in the ninth grade and requires more desk space so he gets the large desk! A future project will be to paint the metal and wood desk to match the distressed wood desk.

(Thankful for my wife, who is passionate about homeschool educating!)

(Eventually, we will paint this metal and wood desk red to blend with the wood desk.)

We took laminated cards of the presidents, framed them and hung them in a row.

To continue to add warmth to the environment, we placed two small lamps on the larger desk.

We organized the bookshelves, keeping only necessary books for classroom study and home reading!

(We used the Square Brush to paint the window grids.)

(The Palm Pro worked great in the areas around the window – typically the cut-in area).

(Painting larger crown molding made the Chiseled Wedge the perfect brush for the task!)

(Using application specific brushes made the job fun and easy!)

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