Happy ‘throwback Monday’! That’s a thing, right?! 😉 Today, I’m taking a moment to ‘turn back time’ to highlight a makeover from 2019… our time to chat about it is long overdue! 

The Simply Stylish decor line is just all-the-things and has proven to be one of our most popular collections. Simply Stylish was designed with a calm background of whites, blacks and greens, with the BELOVED succulent elements as the focus. This collection welcomes a charming and warm environment into the classroom, and it was such a JOY to share this collection with Meghan and transform her classroom!

First up, THE CARPET.  I get this question a lot, “It’s not in my budget to …. change the cabinets, put in new flooring, update the window treatments…what do I do?!?”. I totally get that! So my biggest encouragement is: it’s what you add to the space that really makes the transformation. Start small, and bit by bit, it becomes a little dream space.

In Meghan’s room we didn’t have the budget to change the flooring and I was terrified it would ruin the look of the room, but in the end, the beautiful decor took center stage and no one even noticed the carpet! 

The sink countertop was a, what shall we say, a “vintage” harvest gold color from the 70’s! Sooo paint to the rescue!! We used a black formica paint kit from Sherwin Williams and the paint worked it’s magic! 

One of my favorite pieces to create in my collections are the birthday sets. Birthday bulletin boards personalize a classroom so perfectly and sweetly. Take a moment … the succulent cupcakes… I mean, don’t they just melt your heart!? Throw in some neutral polka dot balloons, and you’ve got one adorable birthday set to celebrate your students!

Schoolgirl Style borders have SO MANY PURPOSES. Framing whiteboards, doors and bookshelves; dressing up the back of bookshelves; lining your teacher desk; adding dimension to posters, OH MY! That’s one of the reasons I love them. In Meghan’s room the countertops were a well-loved, dated, chipped formica. Bless them. So I used the ever-so-lovely, neutral rustic wood border, and the oh-so-glorious MAVALUS TAPE to create a new countertop.

A TON of storage was added to Meghan’s room, because the more storage the better! I kept it simple with black and white storage pieces, utilizing the always versatile classroom caddies, book and binder holders and book bins!

Can we give natural light a shout out?! When your room has it, you’ve got to use it as the eye catcher! Big windows and natural light set an ambiance in any space and I wanted to use the wonderful soaring windows as the focal point.

Again, can I get an amen for the borders, and in this space, the rustic wood border! It pairs so beautifully with Simply Stylish in its own neutral, subtle way. In addition to the countertops, I added it to the windows (framing your windows with borders adds so much dimension!) Then I added the sweetest scallop border to edge the window shades. These elements combined truly made the windows a showstopper!

Initially, the walls were a light creamy yellow, the carpet was brown with primary colors, the furniture was mismatched, the tile was teal, and the countertops were a harvest gold. SO I started with a fresh coat of paint with a soft white, and the paint worked it’s magic to lay a blank canvas.

The white furniture was from Ikea, and it added class and organization to the room without overtaking the space. I also used white bulletin board paper, which may have felt like too much white, but these canvas’ allowed the decor pieces to really pop and brightened the space.

Meghan incorporated 100% flexible seating in her classroom. To support her we brought in cushions, rugs (from Lakeshore), stools that could be moved around the room, and benches for the children. I just want to take a moment for the floor cushions and give them all the heart eyes. Ahh they just make me smile! The floor cushions were a perfect addition to the flexible seating, not just for purpose but also because they are just so-gosh-darn-adorable!

Oh, those lovely succulents. They were the key pieces in this makeover, and I had added them throughout, but I wanted to make a true statement with them. So I enlarged several of the succulent cut-outs at Staples, and goodness were they GORGEOUS! I also used the large script words and they added so much class. 

The coordinating pillows came from Zazzle.com. To do this I used the Simply Stylish digital papers. I uploaded the designs I wanted and VOILA! Coordinating pillows delivered. Give it a try in your classroom, you won’t regret it! 

I always try to add a place in the room to display student work. It’s easy to do and adds so much personalization to the space. I do this with the coordinating nameplates and digital paper.

Next up, layering those borders. Those blessed, wonderful, fabulous borders. I’m known for layering borders, it gives my heart a squeeze and makes me smile ear to ear. I went for FOUR layers of border {Just Around the Corner, Carousel, Black and White Tile, and Rustic Wood}  and let me tell you, I wasn’t sad about it. Not one bit.

I adore the calendar set for the Simply Stylish collection. That classy black and white combo just can’t go wrong! The set carries neutral tones, so it can easily be incorporated with other collections, or already existing decor in a classroom! The ‘Days of the Week’ and ‘The Season is…’ charts, PLUS the precious heart and star cut-outs are ALL included in this set! 

One of the elements I love to add to classroom makeovers is florals. It adds texture and happy, little pops of color throughout the room. For Meghan’s room, I mostly worked with white and green florals by using succulents and hydrangeas. I really love the feel they added to the space!

To finish a space, it’s always in the details! 

I used the black and white tile digital paper from Simply Stylish collection to cover the front of the cabinet in the library. It dressed this space up so much, and tied in the details of coordinating borders. I enlarged and printed the papers at Staples. This trick can be used in so many different ways within a classroom (you’ll see me use this in other classroom makeover projects, and who doesn’t LOVE wallpaper?!?)

I also added black and white fancy fans to the door to “dress up” the entrance, with the sweet embellishments of the poms at their center. Tassel cut-outs are forever timeless and fun! I sprinkled them throughout this room, and added them to a tassel garland above her boards, which brought a whimsical touch! 

AND of course, the ever popular “When We Learn, We Grow” door decor! I love to weave and scatter meaningful messages throughout my collections. This piece reiterates such a sweet reminder to students, while tying in those gorgeous succulents.

Last but not least, I must highlight her teacher desk. The desk came from Ikea, and again you will see those pops of florals which gives this space a perfect dose of home. Top it off with the Simply Stylish planner, stickers and notepad, and it’s bring-on-the-grading!

There you have it, sweet readers! The overdue recap of the Simply Stylish Classroom Makeover for the ever-so-darling and ever-so-deserving Meghan! 

XOXO

Melanie

Looking for more inspiration as we march towards School Year 2021-2022?! Check out the video below, for ways to use cut-outs throughout your classroom!