Classroom Inspiration on a budget!
Check out these EASY and FUN ideas to brighten up your space for a cohesive, organized classroom!! No theme here, just a bright color palette, black bulletin boards for contrast, and pops of color to brighten the space but also not be too overwhelming to students! These ideas are cost friendly and easy to do!
Let me show you around this 4th grade classroom and give you a personal tour of all the ways we maximized the space without breaking the bank! This building is quite old (historic actually!) and so keeping the classrooms updated does take a bit of effort. But a little paint and a plan can take you a long way! Let me show you!
When you first enter the room, you’ll notice a lot of bulletin board space! The wall was covered in old bulletin board paper of varying colors which I removed. I painted all the outdated brown trim black and added “fadeless black matte paper” to make the boards really pop! CLICK HERE FOR A DIRECT LINK TO THIS PAPER ON AMAZON!
Unifying the colors helped bring more of a peaceful focus to this space. I used THIS DOODLE BORDER for the bottom boards and made my own crumpled up textured border for the top boards. You can easily create this effect by cutting long strips of paper and then crumpling them up into a ball… like trash. Then stretch them out a little bit and staple! Super easy and budget friendly!
When planning your classroom design, it is essential to be thoughtful in the process. Otherwise, just knowing where to start can feel very overwhelming.
I love making a list of non negotiable items and goals for authentic, purposeful learning to start with. For this 4th grade literacy and social studies classroom, we came up with the following areas of focus:
- Designated space to display reading anchor charts (for each standard)
- Cozy and inviting classroom library
- Teacher small group area
- Room to incorporate flexible seating
- Organized space for student supplies
If you are a brand new teacher, be sure and check out my previous post 5 Tips for Picking a Classroom Theme for more tips on narrowing down the specifics!
Next to the classroom library and small group area, I added a simple, inspirational reading quote. To save on time and sanity, I used painter’s tape to apply the quote to the wall. This allows you to move and space the letters so easily!
To do this hack, simply lay your word down on a flat surface, grab a strip of painter’s tape and place it over the word. Pick the entire word up and place it on the wall. Adjust as needed. Once you are ready to apply the letters to the wall, gently peel back each letter and apply adhesive. My FAVORITE adhesive for cinder block is Mavulus tape! It withstands humidity and temperature change like a champ!
Click HERE for this “Reading is Dreaming” Printable Quote on TeachersPayTeachers
For a fun pop of color, I also made a DIY Pom Pom Mirror! I grabbed a couple bags of poms and a cheap mirror from Target. I layed the mirror down flat and placed all the poms in the center. I hot glued about an inch or two at a time. The whole project was about $15 and took approximately 30 minutes. I snagged the star banner from Target in the party section.
For the classroom library, I created these pretty R-E-A-D posters and had them enlarged at Walgreens with a coupon. I snagged the frames from Walmart. I added this black and white striped rug and black metal table from Amazon. The books were already organized to the teacher’s liking, so I printed new labels using the templates in THIS SIGNS & LABELS SET.
Part of the classroom library was home to some broken shelving. I love dreamy little spots to crawl away and read, so I decided to make the space into a little reading nook. To make this budget friendly, I grabbed some black foam board from Target and applied it with hot glue. You could also try this with heavy duty velcro dots if hot glue is frowned upon. I added some lighting and pillows to make it extra comfy!
Next up I tackled the large set of windows. This classroom gets direct sun, so the old shades are necessary. To dress the space up without breaking the bank, I added some inexpensive sheer, white curtains. To tie everything together, I wrapped the curtains with pom garlands (from Target!) and it was the perfect pop of color! The rods were left behind from the previous teacher. If you can’t hang rods in your own classroom you could use this hack -> grab an inexpensive curtain rod pole and some heavy duty command hooks!
Now to the front of the classroom!
In addition to painting the trim black and adding the fadeless black paper, we disposed of the old classroom rug and found this gorgeous replacement!!! It’s a steal for the price!! HERE IS A DIRECT LINK FOR THE RUG ON AMAZON.
In addition to a cozy rug, we added some flexible seating options! I’m a HUGE fan of finding used items on Facebook Marketplace in these situations. I hate seeing teachers pay large amounts of money on items that get used and abused by kiddos. However, for this classroom makeover, Songmics reached out to me and gifted these benches from Amazon just for this occasion! They were the perfect addition because OMG STORAGE! I just had to share them with you!! BONUS -> they assemble quick and easy (check out my Instagram for the video in my highlight “classroom makeover” to see me unbox and fold them together!) We tossed some throw pillows on top for students to get cozy while they work!
The top can be removed and you can add whatever you need on the inside!
Perfect for stashing student supplies! You can find these benches on Amazon HERE.
Now let me show you a closer look at the white board in the front of the room.
To the right of the FOCUS wall, we placed these Voice Level Posters and Flip Calendar (free download in my TpT store!)
I found the white peg hole board from the Target dollar spot and added some fun, bright party bag toppers (set of 3 from the party aisle at Target). You can grab the calendar template FREE in my TpT store with this link!
On the other side of the projector I hung up this shower caddy as a home base for white board markers, erasers, pens/pencils, and wireless doorbell (perfect for grabbing students attention or signaling transitions). On the right side I attached these Levels of Understanding Posters, printed on Astrobright paper!
Around the classroom, I printed matching labels and signs to pull everything together. Organization is my love language 🙂
And here we are… down to the last two projects I finished for this classroom makeover.
Let me introduce you to this amazing -> MULTI PURPOSE TEACHER CART HACK!!!
Purchasing something like this at a teacher supply store can cost a few hundred dollars! I wanted a budget friendly option…
so I found this clothing rack on Amazon and turned it into a multi-purpose teacher cart.
I wanted a portable, rolling cart to hang all the things…anchor charts, posters, supplies like clorox wipes, markers, sticky notes, etc. I found a clear, plastic hanging shoe organizer at Dollar General to store all of the supplies. I hung two pocket charts (one large one on the back and a small file shaped one on the side). I used binder rings to hang everything. And I LOVE how this turned out.
The final touch -> Door Decor! I finished up this classroom makeover with a fun “Out of This World” Door Decor set. I printed everything on colored cardstock. I cut the butcher paper to fit the size of the door and layed it on the ground to assemble. Once I was happy with the spacing, I glued the letters down and laminated the whole thing!!
And there you have it… A bright and organized space ready for the school year to begin! Intentional, inviting, and ready for students to make it their own. I hope you enjoyed this tour and would love to hear which parts of the classroom you enjoyed most!!
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