Design Lesson
Samantha Pynn's Design Lesson: Back To School!
Photography, Valerie Wilcox, courtesy of HGTV Canada.
Design Lesson
Samantha Pynn's Design Lesson: Back To School!
Want top marks for an orderly school year for the whole family? Samantha Pynn’s got a lesson plan for you.
Photography, HGTV Canada.
Whether it's your child's first day at kindergarten or you're sending one off to university, we're looking at ways to keep everyone organized – stylishly, of course – for this brand-new school year.
Homework hub
Some kids like to study in their room, while others prefer to work at the dining table or kitchen island and leave the bedroom for rest and relaxation. The truth is, these days, with more and more students working on laptops, homework can happen anywhere! Yay! I still believe it’s crucial to have spots like a drawer or rolling cart for school supplies. In the case of the home featured here, which I worked on for HGTV Canada’s Save My Reno, we created separate zones in the open-concept kitchen for older and younger siblings. The younger kids have a craft table and a shelf for their books and art supplies; the older kids do their work at the dining table; and everything from glue and tape to compasses and calculators is stored in the cabinets below the message board.
Orderly ways
Photography, Valerie Wilcox, HGTV Canada.
If there’s one thing that drives parents bananas, it’s a mess of backpacks abandoned throughout the house. Plus, searching for a backpack in the morning is a major time waster. I am often asked to design a special spot for backpack storage. In this home, the kids use a side entrance, so packs are stored on pegs or below the bench near the door. Closer to the front entrance, a family message centre was purposely positioned beside the kitchen and close to the dining table so kids and parents could keep track of important events and dates. There’s also a notepad and pencils on the counter below so that the kids can leave their parents messages. And because it’s the first spot everyone sees when they come down the stairs for breakfast, test days and school trips are never a surprise.
Bedroom refresh
When I was a kid, my favourite thing about going back to school wasn’t the new clothes and supplies (though I loved those, too). It was the new comforter and sheet set that would completely transform my room, which is where my friends and I often hung out and worked on group projects. If you’re updating your tween’s or teen’s bedroom or making a dorm room feel homey, consider rolling a new rug atop wood floors or wall-to-wall carpeting. And let your child choose some fun wall art using one of the many budget-friendly online print and framing services. A cork memo board will keep them organized and allow them to display mementos artfully, while a plant on the desk will add life and a little mood-boosting cheer. Lastly, for a more dramatic change, paint the room – just be sure to choose a colour that they’ll love for the school year. Likely you won’t be able to paint a dorm room, but art, photos, posters and even textiles will create a colourful, lively mood.
Photography, Valerie Wilcox, HGTV Canada.
Make mornings easier
- Keep everyone on schedule. Put alarm clocks in bedrooms, and easy-to-read clocks on desks, too.
- Organize kids’ belongings into labelled baskets and boxes so they can find and put things away easily – it’s worth a try!
- Have a designated place for everything: permission slips on a memo board, keys in a catchall, and scissors in the top drawer.
- Organize closets with slim, space-saving hangers and create storage solutions so that pulling together an outfit is easy.
- In dorm rooms, store makeup, school supplies, chargers and seasonal clothes in lightweight fabric drawer organizers
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