Add color and cheer to a school office or classroom with these fun and easy decorating ideas!
One of my besties is the attendance secretary at our local middle school. Her office is the first thing parents see when dropping off kids or picking them up and let me just say, it was OLD, CRUSTY AND DEPRESSING. Here are some pics:
I knew that I could help add some color, cheer and LIFE into this space, so I stopped by Hobby Lobby for some inspiration.
This post is sponsored by Hobby Lobby.
The biggest eyesore in the room are the highly textured, splotchy, yellowing dinged-up walls, so I knew I wanted to do something that would help disguise them while also adding some joy. So we put up a colorful checkerboard wall using 12×12 inch scrapbook paper sheets and WOW! Talk about bang for your buck and big impact!
Doesn’t it look so good?!
We literally just stuck paper on the walls and it totally infused the room with happiness. I love it!
I found so many cute school items at Hobby Lobby and that’s how I chose this checkerboard pattern. I literally took some school decor to the paper aisle and found colors that matched the pattern. It made it so easy.
The Best Double-Sided Tape For Schools
The most important item on this list is the most boring one: the tape we used to stick up the checkerboard wall. We tried several different tapes and trust me when I say Alien Tape is the key to success with this project. Any other type of adhesive we tried just fell off after a while. Save yourself the annoyance and just splurge on the Alien Tape, especially if you have textured walls. You can cut it into very small pieces to help it go further. Totally worth it.
Next up was the bulletin board. It was quick and easy to add backing paper and the silver holographic trimmer, but the beaded tassel garland really made the whole thing pop.
The next area we spruced up was a big blank wall above the attendance window. I found a checkered plastic tablecloth in the same rainbow colorway that inspired the paper wall, so we cut it to size and attached it to the wall, then used the same holographic trimmer to finish off the edges. Plastic tablecloths are such a great way to fill up a large space and add color for super cheap.
We finished off the area with a darling banner that has the most perfect message for a middle school. Choose kindness!
I also added a tassel garland to the desk to carry some of that holographic sparkle around the room and it looks so cute.
I’ve been wanting to try out these cute cold transfer stickers for a while now, so I used them to make a custom pencil cup.
They’re super easy to use… peel off the backing paper, stick the design to a hard surface, then peel off the clear top sheet and you have a multi-colored intricate pattern that doesn’t require weeding or any fancy cutting machines. Sweet! I finished the cup off with my friend’s initial in a varsity letter patch.
Hobby Lobby also had a darling desk calendar that matched all the goodies I got, so I had to grab that for my friend too. Because we LOVE a good theme around here.
So what do you think of the changes we made? I am so, so pleased with what we could do in one day with a limited budget. It definitely feels happier and brighter and I hope the students love it when they get back to school in a few weeks.
If you’re looking for anything we used, I’ve linked as much as possible in the source list below. Hope that helps!
Sources
- Bulletin Boards
- Purple Checkered Bulletin Board Paper (only in-store)
- Silver Glimmer Scalloped Trimmer
- Tassels and Wood Bead Garland
- Pastel Check Table Cover
- Choose Kindness Banner
- Checkerboard Wall
- White Cardstock Pack
- Colored Cardstock, Assorted Loose Sheets
- Alien Tapehttps://amzn.to/4lRkEjz
- Custom Pencil Cup
- White Cylinder Ceramic Vase
- Bright Leopard Cold Transfer Sticker
- Varsity Letter Patch
- Miscellaneous
- Rainbow Checkered Bulletin Board Awning
- Desk Pad Calendar
- Pastel Patterned Pennant Banner
- Your Year to Shine Wood Sign
- Silver Holographic Tassel Garland
- Other Cute Items That Match The Theme (Not Pictured)
- Disco Ball Cutouts
- Welcome Disco Ball Wall Decor
- Smiley Face Checkerboard Lamp
- Checkered Contact Paper
- Varsity Patch Welcome Back Cutout
- Welcome To Class Interchangeable Sign
- Pastel Check Scrapbook Paper
- Pastel Check Table Runner
- Varsity Patch Rug
School Office Makeover Video