What color did you/would you paint a homeschool room?

[jazzharmony]

I need to choose color(s) for our homeschool room which we will be organizing and decorating next month. Any advice on paint color? I hear red can be agitating and blue/green can be soothing. Any ideas or experience with color and learning environments?

[hollytheteacher]

Just wanted to chime in that Reggio schools (as in reggio-emilia--if it is anything you are interested in) paint their walls white so that the only "decoration" on the walls is the children's work and it really highlights their own creation/documentation without any bold colors or anything taking away from it...and they choose a "warm" white.

If you look at white paints there are actually a ton to choose from and the white color we have on our walls at our preschool is a "rose" white so under a bright light there is a tinge of pink to it. It creates a warmer feeling than a "cold" white with a blue tinge to it.

[onyxravnos]

i like my whole house to be in nice natural tones.... tans / woodish browns / burnt orange / maybe with a bit of green trimming ? that sort of thing. or even just natural wood and no paint at all. It just feels more 'natural' KWIM? and it doesn't distract from the kids stuff or create weird vibes.

[Mary-Beth]

Ours is blue...and we love it.

white actually is more stimulating than blue/green...We have maps up on the wall, a calendar and art work the kids have made.

[luvmybaby333]

[dotnetdiva]

My house used to be all white, because I thought it wouldn't throw any color casts on photography pictures. I imagined someday painting it in all natural moss greens and beiges.

Then homeschool fever hit and I went nuts! I researched the best colors for learning and then for inspiration/creativity. For the reading room, I chose some colorful colors to keep people awake. For a basement room, I brightened it up with a pale yellow and blue. Kitchen is now a warm, muted orange. A more sizzling orange for the basement workout room that we now do science activities in. The house is so much more fun now and it makes the pictures I take so much more happy and vibrant than with the boring white we used to have. And not to disagree with Reggio schools, but the color really sets off our artwork and bookshelves...

http://satorismiles.com/homeschool-room-photos/

[dotnetdiva]

Oh, forgot to add, where we do most of our actual learning, it's still just white. The walls are just too high to paint myself. Since our study area floats in our main great room living area, the walls are shared. I imagine a soothing moss green when I can afford a painter.

[eilonwy]

I can't paint at all because we live in a crappy apartment, but if I could I'd ask the kids for their input and we'd all decide together on the schoolroom. We'd probably end up with four walls in two different (coordinating!) colors, perhaps with one unifying trim color.

[yippityskippity]

Our playroom (HS room) is a soft, pretty green. It's very relaxing and pretty. I love it

[Savoir Faire]

I've seen a couple gorgeous rooms on Flickr...two that stood out were golden yellow and a beautiful robin's egg blue.

[Lillian J]

Here's an old archived MDC thread on the lazuring paint method used in Waldorf schools as well as in homes and some public places. You can have a lot of fun with variations on this, while still able to keep a soft look that isn't too busy. I think soft warm tones tend to work very well in all seasons, but bright primary colors on a wall can definitely be annoying. - Lillian

[Stacey B]

If you are stuck not painting there is a method of putting large pieces of fabric on the wall using starch it looks like wallpaper when you are done and in the end all you need is warm water to remove it. I have almost done it twice.

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/h...-fabric-015591

[ohiomommy1122]

ousr is butter yellow- i read the yellow increases concentration

[Lillian J]

Originally Posted by Stacey B

If you are stuck not painting there is a method of putting large pieces of fabric on the wall using starch it looks like wallpaper when you are done and in the end all you need is warm water to remove it. I have almost done it twice.

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/h...-fabric-015591

THANK YOU! I've been trying to figure out what to do with a couple of walls that are now going to be wonderful with this method! And it seems as if there will be all sorts of creative sculptural/collage possibilities that can be added here and there... Lillian