Classroom Furniture Color Selection

Strategy 2: Uniform by chair size

This approach uses the same four furniture categories as Strategy 1, but chair size determines color selection. For example, when furnishing a Midwest elementary school, Smith System® recommends a 14-inch chair for grades K-1, a 16-inch chair for grades 2-4, and an 18-inch chair for grades 5 and up. So the school would select uniform colors and finishes for each of the grade clusters, as determined by chair size.

Strategy 3: Uniform by classroom zones

Some schools set up their classrooms with learning zones, such as instructional, collaborative, technology, reading, play, maker, etc. Having unique colors for each zone is a great way to differentiate them visually and set the right mood.

Media Centers, Commons and Specialty Areas

A media center is considered a separate entity from classrooms, often with its own zones (makerspace, technology, etc.). Some schools like to define each zone with color.

For commons, many new schools are being designed in pods where the classrooms surround a central commons area. In these cases, color selection for the commons is often tied to the surrounding classroom colors.

With intervention or other specialty rooms, there are no right or wrong colors. Some schools prefer to have those colors match standard classrooms so it feels uniform. Other schools want unique colors that make those spaces feel more special and impactful.

Coming to Color Consensus

Sometimes there can be competing interests when finalizing furniture and color. Teachers invest a lot of time creating a personalized learning environment that reflects their own creativity and approach to teaching. They want to have a say about their new space.

By contrast, administration is making functional and aesthetic judgments about the practical stuff, like how furniture might be repurposed throughout a school (or other schools), if needs change over time. Decision-makers want a furniture package that meets quality, budget and flexibility criteria.

The great news is that by using a purposeful, well-communicated strategy, everyone can usually have his or her needs met and feel good about the result.

Case Study: Prairie Ridge Intermediate School

In late 2017, the citizens of Reedsburg, WI, passed a referendum to build a new intermediate school for grades 3-5. Principal Clint Beyer and his school team were tasked with leading the charge toward a Fall 2019 opening date for approximately 600 students in more than 30 classrooms. True to his leadership style, Beyer wanted to actively involve teachers in selecting furniture and furniture colors.

“I like to have an open dialogue and culture that includes teachers in decision-making. I want their valuable input, but I’m also ready to make tough decisions,” Beyer says. To select classroom furniture and colors, he used Google Docs to share supplier catalogs with staff. He asked them to decide what furniture they intended to use from the former school (they choose around 20 percent), what new furniture they needed, and what colors and color combinations they wanted. He managed the deadlines.

Beyer reviewed the input and decided on Smith System® for the majority of the new school’s furnishings. “Some of their products are more modern in appearance, more flexible, and Smith has good variety, quality and service. It’s also much easier for us to work with one supplier for about 60 percent of the furniture we need.”

After selecting Smith, Beyer went through its catalog to best match up staff wants and color schemes. Final selection was guided by the Smith representative, the architect’s interior design team, and, in large part, the curriculum. Each grade has a dedicated color, for example, fourth grade is green for Earth; fifth grade is blue for water.

“The teachers got about half of the color choices they wanted. I had to factor in how color would flow throughout the building. I wasn’t too concerned with perfect match, but I wanted unifying colors across functional stuff, like storage, so it can be interchangeable between rooms. It’s a give-and-take process, but it has worked for us.”

Final Color Considerations

Opening a new school can require thousands of pieces of furniture prior to the opening date. Simplifying the furniture color selection process has many benefits.

A practical, streamlined approach can actually reduce installation time and costs, and delivery delays and errors. If color and quantity selections are complex for each classroom, it can increase the chance of something not being ordered correctly. Consider your deadline, too. It might sound great in February to let teachers choose their own colors. But in August, when time is tight and furniture is often being placed right as the carpet is laid, simple might be better.

Here are a few final tips: