Actually we are struggling with this. Living in a 3 bedroom home in the bay area, CA - 2 adults working from home full time and 3 kids (2 old enough to be in school), we really do need help creating quiet nooks for these kids (and ourselves for that matter). My husband and i both work out of our bedroom and that is not sustainable. So trying to make space in an existing limited space home!

Patricia, I have a 16 and a 11 year old, and I beg them to do their homework in their rooms so that we don’t have their mess in the kitchen all the time, but no, the kitchen table is their homework space!

And they have beautiful bookcase and desk spaces in their rooms! Maybe it is because they are not allowed to take phones or ipads in their rooms while doing homework...

My big question- how do you prevent or hide the mess?

I have a beautiful jewel color batik quilt. I have failed to find a color for my bedroom walls.

Please help.

When our kids were younger, we turned our large, underused den into a library. It had everything: a large dining table, good natural and artificial lighting, bookshelves, dictionaries, office supplies, a printer you name it. The kids did not use it, and asked for workdesks in their bedrooms. We complied and followed their specifications. They did not use those either and ended working in bed.... It seems impossible to please them.

hahaha ~ reading the comments. Looking forward to seeing the episode. No children here, but I bet I'll find a way to tweak the ideas for personal space for meeee ~ !

I don't have kids either, but I was once a kid. :) I liked doing my homework in my room. On the bed. I did not want to be in the middle of the kitchen or living room with everyone else talking or the TV blaring. No, I did not have a TV in my room. Too hard to concentrate like that. I would think if your kid has trouble focusing he/she would need to be in a private space without a lot of distractions. I guess make sure no TV or non school websites can be accessed at homework time. But of course, when I was a kid, Google was the encyclopedia. There weren't as many distractions.

I have three teens, and would prefer that they NOT be in their rooms with internet connected devices. Since much of schooling involves Chromebooks these days, that makes their bedrooms less than ideal for schooling. We are lucky to have a large area in our finished basement that can be dedicated to schooling/homework, but I'm struggling with a way to provide some sound barriers between them so that they can listen and speak to their classmates online while sharing the space with their siblings.

If not limited to kids, but also addresses home office space, I’d appreciate some dialogue on the utility & design pros/cons of built in wall desk space vs use of a stand alone desk in more open space. Personally, I like home office space that also serves as a zen room with a lounge area, & room for yoga & meditation.

So timely! With online learning the background of the room for lessons is almost as important as where they are in the house. Right now it’s been the dining room table against a widow. We are now thinking living room. But where? I used to study in my room on the floor and I had a built in desk. Can’t wait to see the ideas.

When very tight on space and do not have budget to give everyone in the house a dedicated work and school space. What are creative ideas that can be shared.

How do you keep mess contained? Pencil eraser bits, sharpener shavings, markers (eek!)—washable only in my house! Use placemats to slide messes into trash? Wipeable tablecloth? Concrete bunker?

What kind of space inspires kids to do their work and allows them to be creative. What kind of lighting is important?
I have a 15 year old boy who is back in class but does bring home homework. Right now all his work is online with a separate school laptop and I’d prefer he doesn’t do it in the space that he ‘games online with his friends ’

As a retired teacher, I can tell you that for most kids their rooms are the worst place to be doing school work. Too many kids have devices and other diversions that keep them from focusing when you’re not in the room with them. What should be 30-45 minutes of work ends up taking two hours. The kitchen island or dining table or desks in the family room work best, where kids can be monitored. Turn off the TV for a few hours and they’ll get their work done.

Amy S. Imagine all the bits on the floor and desks in a classroom with 30 kids by the end of the day! Scary.

Why not go to those who have Homeschooled for years. There are National, State and local homeschool associations that have plenty of resources. Like Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA). And a broad demographic.

My home office. When we did home school we used this as the space for that as well. This use to be the guest bedroom.

I have 3 kids doing distance learning. When we're at our beach house (that was supposed to be an AirBnB beginning in March... hahahahah), everyone gets their own space (husband gets the office, 10th grader gets the dining room complete with a gigantic picnic table housing his mountains of electronic gear, 8th grader gets the upstairs den/TV room/drum-guitar-bass room, 4th grader gets the very large upstairs landing, and I float). When we're at home-home in our tiny 1000-square-foot house, my 10th grader gets the bedroom he shares with his brother (they both have desks in there), my 4th grader gets a desk in the living room, I get the dining room table, and my 8th grader... gets the garage. :/ So far, my husband has stayed behind at the beach house when I take the kids home. I don't know what we'll do once we're all home, since everyone needs noise-insulated spaces for their zoom meetings. :/

The open concept home is the enemy! Impossible to find a quiet place to work (adults) or do homework (kids), as the noise travels throughout the house due to lack of walls and doors.

@Emily H Might need 2 episodes: 1 for dedicated spaces, and 1 for multifunctional spaces (rest, learn, and play). In my case, teens doing their distant learning in their own rooms. The current search for "Houzz photos" concentrates on single function bedrooms. And the bedrooms that do offer some multifunction are for younger children.

So I would appreciate some input on designing multifunctional spaces for older teenagers or adults (think all the college students who are now stuck at their parents' home). Also, I would like to see a better search function on the "Houzz discussion forum" for this multifunction bedroom for teens.

I agree that older kids do their homework in their rooms but it has always been like that in the past depending on the rules in the household. I always did homework with my kids in the kitchen and it wasn't open. I find in certain home designs that people have dens/family rooms and the formal room which in certain times they want do away with. If they keep it they can always turn it into an office meeting room where it can be cubed for the parents and in the center you have a little table for the children to do their homework. that way it would be less noise.

Hi @claire larece, according to this oldHouzz poll, most Houzzers would agree with you. 1-Kitchen Table (814 votes= 43%), 2-Office / Homework space (479 votes= 25%), 3-Bedroom (382 votes= 20%), 4-Living / Family Room (150 votes= 8%), 5-Other (74 votes= 4%).

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/600487/poll-best-spot-for-homework#n=218