Designers’ Tips for Creating a Productive Remote-Learning Space for Kids

Those of us working from home during this pandemic know that it can be a challenge, to put it lightly. Now, try being in third grade. 

As schools around the world integrate or mandate at-home learning, millions of families are adapting—for better or for worse—to the new reality of distance learning.

For most, maintaining life, work, and school under the same roof is less than ideal. But just as our home offices can benefit from good design to make the best of a bad situation, so too can kids’ workspaces. 

So we reached out to a roster of interior designers—all with children of their own—for their study-space wisdom. Here’s how to design for your little learner’s productivity and focus, and build a positive homework/life balance for the whole family in the process.

Designate a Consistent Workspace (It Might Involve Getting Creative) 

Whether you’ve got a spacious home or a studio, it’s essential to carve out a space just for learning. Consistency is key, says Sara Barney of Bandd Design in Austin. 

"Be sure that the space that you are turning into a workspace is a designated spot that won’t change from day to day, so that your child knows that it’s time to work when they are there," says Beth Dotolo, co-principal of Seattle- and Dallas-based Pulp Design Studios. Dotolo has her kids roll over their own IKEA carts of school supplies to the dining table at the beginning of each day to set up and start learning time. When the school day ends, everything goes back in the cart and rolls out of sight. 

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