A common room is essentially a staffroom for students, a place where they recharge and prepare for the rest of the day.

With a strong design, you can bring students out of their rooms with a great common room they can all enjoy. Common room design plays a vital role in building a sense of community, and providing the right facilities to help them study, socialise and relax.

The difficult task of trying to design a common room or similar often challenges schools and colleges. It needs to look great and function as a place for study, relaxation and fun all at once.

 

Finding the balance between comfort and flexibility

The seating in a common room needs to be comfortable, but also easily re-arranged. It’s powerful to shift into new layouts to suit different tasks and meet different requirements.

Single chairs are a versatile seating option as they can be either clustered around tables or pulled up to wherever necessary. They are more multipurpose than sofas and can empower students to carry out written project work by themselves or in groups with other students.

 

Separating areas & Break-out zones

Common rooms are supposed to be adaptable. Each should have an area for relaxing, socialising and studying. There should be a break-out zone where students can meet with tutors, study or simply relax with friends in a quiet area.

 

Colourful feelings

Humans respond well to colours; leave students in a positive frame of mind with a vibrant scheme. Calmer colours work better in quiet working zones.

 

The bits in between

Every common room should consider having the following:

– Classroom furniture and storage walls

– Dining areas

– Lockers

– Outdoor seating areas

– Meeting rooms

– Offices

 

Keep everyone engaged

There is a fine line between keeping students entertained and giving them a reason to procrastinate.  If you offer no form of entertainment, students will feel unmotivated and may see the school in a negative light. Offer too much, and you may see a decline in productivity. At Taskspace we aim to transform not just working environments but also learning spaces through inspiring yet affordable interiors; where learning and working are not just duties, where a dynamic environment is commonplace, where work and school are superior places to be.  Some ideas we’ve used before are below!

 

If you’d like some ideas for a common room or similar space, feel free to live chat with us at the bottom corner of your screen…