Last week I made a big announcement about our family’s decision to homeschool and the new library we built in our home to accommodate this new lifestyle change. If you missed that post, you can read it here.

Here’s a picture of the progress!! The green painted nooks in the back are our new built-in. In case you’re wondering the paint color is Parakeet by Sherwin Williams. The rest of the space is painted Alabaster also by Sherwin Williams. I was looking for a palate cleanser, and it has turned out to be the perfect solution. We love it.  

Now on to the space plan. It’s tempting to start shopping for furniture when planning a new space, but the best thing to do is thing about how you need the space to function for you. Our new library needs a study area, a lounging area, and storage space for things other than books (basically toys for the littles). 

The area in the center is the lounge area. I’m able to fit a nice sizes sofa here, accent chair, coffee table, and stool. A 8 x 10 area rug will delineate this space. Behind the sofa is where the new built-ins are. The room below in the home of Suysel dePedro Cunningham of design team Tilton Fenwick is a great illustration of my space plan for this area. 

Below the sofa will be three workstations for our scholars. I love this image by Kristina Crestin Design which incorporates paper/supply storage for each child. All three kids have their own laptops which I plan to put into the drawers when they need the surface to write. 

Lastly, the area at the top is a single desk area where I’ve already began to do my morning reading and blogging. It overlooks the backyard and our underdeck patio. One each side of the desk I’m tentatively planning for two storage benches. They’ll serve a dual purpose—additional seating and storage. Above them will be artwork. 

Here’s a loose interpretation of the set up! 

Now that I know the key pieces I need, the next step is shopping. Stay tuned for next week when I show you my selections.

Thanks for following our journey!

xo,

Erika

Featured Image by Tilton Fenwick