I never planned to homeschool my kids, but along the way I created a space in our home that has become almost perfect for our sudden switch to schooling from home in 2020. Technically, it’s what would normally be a formal living room and dining room, but there is nothing formal about our home. This space has morphed as our kids have grown and it will now become the distance learning classroom for the foreseeable future.

Honestly, I had most of the items on hand from my years of thrifting vintage schoolhouse items, so it wasn’t hard to create a classroom feel while shopping my own house. A large vintage chalkboard, a schoolhouse clock, vintage locker baskets, globes, painted signs, and thrifted school chairs provide a classroom feel around our farmhouse table.

The kids each have a wall mounted file that they can organize by subject or day to keep papers off the table. We have a cart below that where there is a charging station for their iPads. The hutch shelves hold more school supplies and storage for notebooks and anything else they may need.

My plan is to keep the table as clear as possible (some days it is more crap table than craft table), so that they are able to stay on task and we can get started when they need to get started without a lot of hassle.

I feel blessed that we already have this space in our house. Thankfully, we have chosen to use this space in an unconventional way that has worked for our family. If you are struggling to find space in your home where you can work, or your kids can do school, it doesn’t need to be an entire room. This space is definitely a multifunctional space for our entire family, but will be dedicated to school during the weekdays when we need it to be.

A few of the things we changed caused a ripple effect around the house, so there is more cleaning, organizing, and other small projects happening. I am hoping to share those as a bit of inspiration and to keep myself accountable on getting them done.