If you have a teenager or college-aged child living with you, you know how important it is for them to have a suitable study space to spend time in. Usually, this will be in their bedroom, so you must ensure their sleeping and relaxation zone is well set up for time hitting the books.
Here are some top design tips for student bedrooms that can help you help them to excel this year and beyond.
Consider Lighting
For starters, ensure that your child has plenty of light in their room to type, write, read, play instruments by, etc. The illumination must be adequate both during the day and at night so they don’t strain their eyes. It’s best if decent natural light comes through from windows, skylights, or glass doors to the outside of the home. Try to position the student’s desk close to a natural light source, and then add a good desk lamp and some overhead lighting to give them the illumination they require when the sun goes down.
In addition, install thick or black-out curtains, drapes, blinds, etc., so that when your youngster is working on a laptop screen, watching TV, resting, or sleeping, they can block out the light as needed.
Make the Room a Comfortable Temperature
Students can’t concentrate well or get the rest they need for their work if they don’t have a decent temperature in their room. As such, think about ways you can make the space more comfortable. Installing fans is an excellent option for much of the year and many locations. You might buy a ceiling fan with lights for the bedroom and add a floor-standing fan if needed, too.
Fans will help to circulate the air and keep things pleasant. If you live in a very hot or cold place, you may also want to outlay money on a reverse-cycle HVAC unit for your child’s bedroom or a portable air-conditioner and a plug-in heater.
Create a Dedicated Work Area
Of course, any student bedroom must have a dedicated, practical work area. Hopefully, your child’s room will be big enough to fit in a large desk so they can put a laptop or desktop computer on it, perhaps a printer too, and some stationery, books, and other supplies.
If you don’t want to go for a separate desk, you could incorporate this work space into a built-in bookcase or use a chest of drawers, a dresser, or other piece of sturdy furniture to act as a double-duty item as needed. Plus, add an adjustable, ergonomically-designed chair with excellent lumbar support for your child.
Most student bedrooms will also need additional storage space to help kids organize their school supplies, books, tech gear, and other items. You may, therefore, want to install extra shelving or add bookcases to the room to help with this.
Set Up a Seating Area
Often, students like having friends come over to their house to hang out and study together. If this is the case for your child, see if you can fit in a seating area when you design their bedroom so they and their classmates can work together on projects and discuss assignments comfortably.
Try to designate a part of the bedroom to this function by placing some bean bags, chairs, ottomans, plush cushions, etc., in the space. Your child can also use this area when they’re alone and want to read, journal, spend time thinking, or do other seated activities.
Keep Color in Mind
Color is something you need to choose carefully, too. You want to select the right color palette that won’t feel too distracting and instead helps students to feel at ease, safe, calm, and motivated. While you’ll want to get input from your child about their preferences, try to consider neutral, warm shades that can help promote focus and creativity.
Upgrade Their Bed
If your youngster is like many and is still using the same mattress and bed frame you bought for them when they transitioned from a cot to a bed, it may be time to upgrade. This is especially vital if your child is very tall or large or if the initial bed was second-hand or not the best quality.
Students need to get quality sleep each night to concentrate and perform well, so it’s best if they have a comfortable, supportive mattress and frame that makes this easier. Top the bed with soft, breathable bedding and swap out their pillow for a new one while you’re at it, too.
Making changes to the design of a student’s bedroom doesn’t have to be too costly or time-consuming. As you can see, you can make upgrades with minimal expense yet achieve effective results at the same time.
