design in progress :: our school room; the beginnings - Fieldstone Hill Design
Author: {darlene}
Description: Who knows exactly how long ago it was that I shared that here, that at Fieldstone Hill, we are plugging away on two rooms right now; the boys’ room and the school room. For me, it helps me to keep the focus on just one or two rooms… or I get distracted, and spend too […]
Date: 2011-10-19T04:03:31+00:00

Fieldstone Hill Design
design in progress :: our school room; the beginnings
Wednesday, October 19, 2011 by {darlene}

Who knows exactly how long ago it was that I shared that here, that at Fieldstone Hill, we are plugging away on two rooms right now; the boys’ room and the school room. For me, it helps me to keep the focus on just one or two rooms… or I get distracted, and spend too much money :).

We are creating a fun boys’ room, where we have moved both of our guys in together {they LOVE it, by the way. And I thought it would cause sleeping problems; instead, it helped some of our sleeping problems. yay!}. And as a result of moving our oldest in with the youngest, we finally freed up a room for a homeschool room/office for me.

Just as I advise my clients, I am working from a vision for both of these rooms. Here is the post where I shared my original vision for the boys room. Much has changed since this post {the beauty of a Vision Design Board}, but that is for another day.

Now, for the school room, I am working without a Vision Design Board {cobbler’s kids have no shoes, you know.}, but certainly NOT without a Vision. In this post, I shared a ton of rooms that captured my vision for our daily schooling space; Such gorgeous, inspiring spaces. I have been using these pics, as well as the amassed inspiration from this Pinterest Board, to create a mental vision for myself from which I have been working.

So what is my vision? My vision is to create a very minimal, open space with plenty of storage for all the paperwork and games and school miscellany we collect. And, contrary to the feeling in many schools and school rooms, I wanted a pale, neutral space that would be calming and serve as a “blank slate” for the mind. This is the very beginning execution of that vision:

– pale vanilla walls.

– warm amber silk curtains – cut to size.

– a vintage black board {the old ones don’t make chalk squeak, people!}.

– vintage Heywood Wakefield school chairs.

– a {partially paited – ahem.} very antique German table that has been passed down in the family.

– the closet has been cleared and is ready for books and all-manner-of-mess.

– {hmm. below there is an excellent angle of the half-painted paint job on that cute German table.}

– the desk was a $60 Craigslist score. I have big plans for that desk… stay tuned…

– the rug: Pottery Barn outlet for $130. Indoor/Outdoor is perfect for boys + projects.

– baskets galore – of course.

– here is a close-up of the shelving made by Pop-Pop, made to fit the baskets. It was one of his gifts for when we first made this a nursery {ok. I swore I would not cry. Indulge me as I digress: when we moved our firstborn out of this room, I cried like he was moving to college. Can anyone else relate??}.

– Those standing magazine holders are our version of The Workbox System, in case you are a curious home-schooler or a mom who gets giddy over promoting independence in your kiddo… or maybe yourself!

– here we have two boys in their dunce caps:

{kidding.}

they actually had school on this day while wearing their hats from an old halloween costume, 2 yrs. ago. …….Oh. did I hear you say that you want to see that picture?? But, of course.

So stinkin’ cute I could eat them. But I am afraid of gagging on their turtleneck beards.

So, do you have a space that needs to be cleared out for learning and play? What do you think about soft neutrals for a learning space? As always, I love to hear your thoughts!

### 20 Comments

- janet metzger
  October 19, 2011 at 6:14 am

  Darlene…you are so right about the neutral room for a blank slate. I have always told my boys (ok..men 30/28) that a clear room encourages a clear mind.

  Now if only I could follow my own advice in my studio ;-<

  Your space is looking great!

  Janet xox
  http://theemptynest-janet.blogspot.com/

  Reply
  - {darlene} (@@fieldstonehill)
    October 19, 2011 at 10:03 am

    thank you, Janet!! Color still inspires me SO much {not so much plastic primary colors, though}, but like you said, it is the CLUTTER that kills my mind.

- Leslie, the Home Maker
  October 19, 2011 at 8:51 am

  Darlene!!
  What a great room!
  My DREAM homeschooling room!
  How blessed you are with it, and your two un-eaten pupils!
  I homeschooled my two daughters (my younger girl is now a Junior in a Charter HS, the other a Junior in college) for 14 years!
  It is so worth it!
  (My older daughter got a 43K scholarship after she graduated HS for her GPA!)
  AND she is a wonderful, kind young woman. They both are.
  Be encouraged!
  Your table has actually inspired me to paint my Duncan Phyfe. I am scared, but the table is 100 years old, sturdy, but not in perfect aesthetic condition.
  So, thank you, I think I can do it!
  I pray you have many blessings in this room, “light bulb” moments, epiphanies, inspiration, but most of all, love.
  HUGS to all y’all!
  Love,
  me

  Reply
  - {darlene} (@@fieldstonehill)
    October 19, 2011 at 10:04 am

    leslie!! Thank you for your sweet, encouraging words!!! and it is So hard not to eat my cute boys!! scrumptious, I tell ya.
    Your words about your daughters brightened my day, sweet friend!

- amy
  October 19, 2011 at 9:07 am

  Their HATS!! Adorable! I absolutely love the chalkboard and chairs too….lovely!!

  Reply
  - {darlene} (@@fieldstonehill)
    October 19, 2011 at 10:05 am

    Thanks, Amy!!! That was a super easy costume, and so cute! The chalkboard is my favorite too!

- Jennifer
  October 19, 2011 at 10:10 am

  beautiful! i love, love it. my boys share a room, and luke will eventually be in there with them, so i’m considering changing my guest/crafting room into a homeschool room. (I usually end up crafting at the kitchen table anyway!)

  Ry and Jack adore sharing a room together. Because they are homeschooled, we let them stay up a bit and chat; I think it’s awesome that they are making memories like that.

  And btw, remember that Dash and Albert striped rug we both liked? Well, I bought a small (different version) for the bathroom that is the indoor/outdoor type. That lovely blue and white one comes in the indoor/outdoor type as well, and I’m THRILLED with the one for our bathroom. It’s soft and durable and hose-able. I’m planning on saving my pennies to get the version for our living room someday, because I think it will absolutely stand up to boy abuse…and it’s comfy! Best of both worlds.

  Reply
  - {darlene} (@@fieldstonehill)
    October 19, 2011 at 11:09 pm

    ooh. So glad you found it in indoor outdoor! much more practical!!
    Whatever you do {regarding a school room vs. craft room}, I know it will be gorgeous!
    btw… doing a post on you tomorrow 🙂

- Taylor Greenwalt
  October 19, 2011 at 11:06 am

  Darleen, So lucky your able to home school. When my kids were young it was just starting. You really did not hear about it. Love your school room. How cool for your boys to have their own class room!

  Reply
  - {darlene} (@@fieldstonehill)
    October 19, 2011 at 11:11 pm

    It really is a blessing; I am so thankful we have the freedom to homeschool our children! Although I did have to put Mommy in time-out today. I needed a break – stat! 🙂

- sally
  October 19, 2011 at 11:49 am

  Darlene….How fabulous to have a beautiful, and dedicated room for school! My dream! My girls are best friends since they share a room.
  Also wanted to say how I LOVE the Chicago Home and Garden room. So inviting and reminds me of my roots.

  Reply
  - {darlene} (@@fieldstonehill)
    October 19, 2011 at 11:12 pm

    Hi Sally, thanks!!! Isn’t it great to see siblings share a room? My boys LOVE it!

- Flamingo
  October 19, 2011 at 7:58 pm

  love love….I’m just trying to figure out where this is in your house. looks incredible 🙂

  Reply
  - {darlene} (@@fieldstonehill)
    October 19, 2011 at 11:13 pm

    Thanks, Flamingo!! This used to be our firstborn’s bedroom, at the top of the stairs… you can see a pic of the before here, 13th pic down:
    http://www.fieldstonehilldesign.com/fieldstone-hill

- angela | the painted house
  October 19, 2011 at 10:21 pm

  Oh, my goodness those gnome costumes! Precious.

  I love your homeschool room, Dar! It is just perfect for Fieldstone. And I did not know that little tidbit about vintage blackboards. 🙂

  Reply
  - {darlene} (@@fieldstonehill)
    October 19, 2011 at 11:15 pm

    Thanks Angela!!! I am so happy to have a room dedicated to all of our Homeschool STUFF!
    and yes, isn’t that cool about the blackboard not squeaking??

    so, tell the truth. are you going to be a gnome this year?

- Sigal
  October 20, 2011 at 1:07 am

  Great room. I love the neutral background — very calming. I’m so impressed that you can handle home schooling. I was working with my older one on studying for a test he has at school tomorrow and I just about tore my hair out (and, to be honest, maybe his was next.) I guess I also needed that time out. On another subject altogether…I love that you cut the drapes down to the size of the windows. I have been discussing this look with people lately and, though I love the look of long drapes, sometimes I just long for the simplicity and practicality of short drapes. I’m even considering them for my master bedroom, but no one around me thinks it’s a good idea (they say very ’80s). Do you think short drapes will ever come back into style?

  Reply
  - {darlene} (@@fieldstonehill)
    October 21, 2011 at 10:52 pm

    the patience SLOWLY grows in me, but the rewards are great. Some days are hard, but all great things in life are hard. Still… I give myself time-outs a lot!!! 🙂
    Some say that short drapes are coming back!! Personally, I still prefer long unless they are tucked into a nook or above a shelf or built-in bench. These tuck into the 2 ft. deep window wells. Drapes are so elegant!

- Jessica@nucheysmommy
  October 20, 2011 at 7:43 am

  What a great room!I love the calming & “clean” look 🙂 Cool table…$60! Nice!

  Reply
- Rebecca Silva
  February 19, 2013 at 9:25 am

  We’re building a new house, and I homeschool 2/3 of our boys. Because there’s nothing but noise in a house with boys aged 10-15, I’ve named the new school room the Quiet Room (QR for short, which my aunt tells me can also be short for the Queen’s Room…which I will call it privately). Thanks for the inspirations!

  Reply

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