Aesthetic Classroom Design Ideas – Decorating a classroom doesn’t have to be expensive, time-consuming, or complicated. Check out the following classroom decorating ideas for easy, affordable ways to transform your space for you and your students!
Greenery will brighten up your classroom, but research has shown that plants can even improve your mood in a variety of ways. Plants can make you happy by reducing stress, increasing well-being, increasing productivity and much more.
Aesthetic Classroom Design Ideas
If you’re like me and can’t keep plants alive, then you can opt for cheap artificial greenery! Although artificial plants don’t have as many benefits, they can still improve your mood. Even looking at landscapes and nature scenes can give you a boost of positivity and focus! My classroom or workspace wouldn’t be complete without artificial flowers, which I usually find at Dollar Tree, Target Dollar Spot or on sale at craft stores like Michaels or Jo-Ann Fabrics.
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You can purchase posters from stores like United Art & Education or Lakeshore Learning, but these purchases can add up quickly. Additionally, you cannot customize them based on your class and its theme (if you have one). After purchasing too many generic posters during my first year, I decided to explore teacher-made poster sets with the theme “Teachers Pay Teachers.” I ended up designing mine to match my classroom theme! To create your own posters, I recommend PowerPoint. Just set your slide size to 8.5 x 11, find some cute clipart and fonts, and get creative!
Teachers have countless options for inexpensive posters and complete decoration sets. If you are interested in my kits, you can check out my travel/adventure posters here, my nature/growth mindset/writing posters here, and my watercolor reading quote posters here.
If you are creating or purchasing a set of posters, you can improve their appearance with inexpensive frames available at a dollar store. Actually I did it with the first few pages
To create a fun exhibit for my journalism and writing students! During classes, I often referenced elements of these pages to keep them functional and decorative. You can find the first pages via the Newseum or via a Google search.
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If you feel like you wasted money on a cute planner that you abandoned after a month, then this tip is for you! Take out the pretty pages before each month, then turn them into inexpensive frames for cute wall decorations! The prints below are from my Happy Planners and the frames are from Dollar Tree.
Speaking of the Dollar Tree, it’s a gold mine for decorations and organizing supplies like bins, containers, and trays! Framed artwork can be damaged or missing, so you’ll have to check and dig through piles of frames often, but you might find something great! I created my coffee area with adorable coffee signs and even designed different spaces like “bistro” and “cafe” in my classroom with flexible seating.
You don’t need a Cricut to create beautiful letters in your favorite font! Simply print the letters one per page and cut them out. A font size of 700 to 800 points works best. Editing takes a while, but it’s mindless work, so I like to turn on Netflix and launch it. It’s worth it because it adds style to discussion forums like this one below!
I created the posters and printed the letters, so all I had to purchase for this bulletin board was the background and frames.
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If you inherit a classroom with an ugly wall full of nail holes or peeling paint, cover it with a wallpaper! The ones pictured below I found at Five Below and Target. Walmart and Amazon have them too, and I’ve even heard of teachers using decorative shower curtains as tapestries.
This is another classy Dollar Tree hack! (By the way, I’m not sponsored…just a teacher who loves a good deal!) They have great stickers that can be used to spruce up solid colored surfaces like ugly filing cabinets or drawers. I go to the store often and always find a few new ones. These stickers are easy to apply and remove!
This is a very simple way to decorate your office and make the teacher’s chair look “cleaner”. Find some pretty wrapping paper and packing tape and cover the table to add a special touch to the space. TJ Maxx and Marshalls are my go-to stores when looking for cute wrapping paper.
A few fairy lights can make your classroom magical! I love buying garlands when they go on sale after Christmas. I also found outdoor lights on sale at Target in late summer.
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This is a tip that may not be more affordable at first, but will be worth it in the long run: use fabric instead of paper for bulletin boards! It lasts longer, is easier to hang and looks much better. Plus, it gives you plenty of options for your background. You can find the fabric at Jo-Ann Fabrics and Michaels. Don’t forget to take advantage of your teacher discount!
You can find a roll of adhesive contact paper for $5 at Walmart. My favorite is cultured marble and one roll is more than enough to cover a table! This table is actually a goodwill find that I decorated with these pieces. It’s incredible!
Add some style to your bulletin boards with fabric or burlap. This can stand alone or supplement existing boundaries. All you have to do is fold the fabric (whatever you call it) and sew the fabric. Don’t worry about it being perfect; This shouldn’t happen! There’s no science to it – just fold, twist and sew!
I used to write learning goals on the board every day, but I quickly got bored of it! Instead of rewriting the same standards over and over again, I created a mini poster for each of our power standards (learning objectives). I put them in protective film and then hung them where my students would see them every day. You can find these models here!
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I remember being inundated with empty bulletin boards during my first year of teaching. In fact, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t decorate them all. Some remained empty for years because I never had the time or ideas to design them. I have since realized that discussion forums can be as simple as creating them. If you’re short on time and ideas, use the classic “Upcoming Student Works” board and simply post a few student works there when you have the chance! If you have time but don’t want to spend money on posters or decorations, consider these options:
This is self-explanatory and may just be a fun pun for fans like me…but my students always enjoyed it and/or cringed. Search for puns and memes, print them out, add a joke, and voilà: a joke board! It’s a play on words and nothing more. Okay, I’ll stop.
All you need is a few stickers to create this amazing interactive bulletin board. Simply write motivational quotes and compliments on sticky notes and place them on the board. If your mind is blank, just Google some inspirational quotes and you’ll be all set! Encourage students to take notes whenever they need to. If you want, you can even let students write funny quotes and add them to the collection (with your approval).
It’s not easy. In fact, it takes forever. But this is my favorite tip for making a classroom warm: a wooden wall! You can find this fade-resistant paper at your local teacher supply store or on Amazon (affiliate link). It’s regular poster paper, so I stuck it to the walls. I have a tutorial saved in my Instagram story highlights if you want to see the process of covering my wall!
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I hope these tips help you create a space that you and your students will love! If you would like to see more photos of my classroom and get an idea of my design process, check out this article about my flexible seating. For more tips, photos, and tutorials, check out my Instagram! While you’re here, let me know your favorite classroom decor idea in the comments!
I am currently a middle school reading teacher and former high school English teacher who is committed to engaging and empowering my students. I love creating authentic learning experiences that creatively challenge students to learn. Struggling to create a calming classroom environment this school year? I have the perfect pastel classroom decor set that you can use all year round. This kit will help you stay organized, provide a sense of calm and beauty, reassure students that they are important and loved, and keep families informed of classroom activities. Keep reading to see some of the items included in this package.
Every teacher knows that organization is key! I used to store lesson plans and materials in simple bins, folders, or baskets, but they always seemed cluttered.