When you’re responsible for furnishing or refurbishing a school, you can’t afford to make any critical errors. The incorrect furniture can make school more difficult for both the students and teachers, depending on what’s wrong with it. As you begin purchasing school furniture, avoid making mistakes by first researching how to choose the best furniture for your school. If you learn about school furniture now, you will save from complaints and reworks later.

Consider Student Comfort

First, if you want to start school furnishing on the right foot, you must consider how comfortable each piece of furniture is before buying it. Student comfort is a priority concern—you wouldn’t want to spend eight or more hours in an uncomfortable seat, so don’t put students in uncomfortable seating.

Find furniture that anyone would enjoy sitting in, no matter their body type or height. Searching for desks and chairs that aren’t attached is a good start, especially if they’re part of a set. Adding a variety of seating options in a classroom can ensure that every student has somewhere comfortable to sit and learn.

Bring in Mobile Furniture

Both traditional and modern teaching methods require a classroom that can shift around when it’s necessary. Older desk and chair styles make it hard for teachers to rearrange their classrooms, whether it’s a new seating chart for the quarter or a mid-class round table discussion. Lightweight furniture with wheels can make it easy for teachers and students to rearrange the furniture on a dime. Whether it’s students’ desks, charging stations, or portable whiteboards, adding maneuverability can keep the class moving even when there’s a short pause to shuffle things around.

Think About the Needs of a Modern Classroom

It’s nearly impossible to run a classroom the same way they were twenty years ago—chalkboards and clunky light projectors are hardly in use anymore. Update classrooms with the technology common in this decade, so teachers can modernize their curricula to match. If your teachers utilize active learning in their classrooms, provide them with the tools and furniture they need to help their students succeed. Active learning requires student collaboration and the extensive use of technology, so ensure you provide teachers with the essential tools and accessories they need for class.

Before you go through with the updates, you may need to hear out veteran teachers’ concerns about switching to a smartboard or a whiteboard, and perhaps even keep their old chalkboard if that’s what they prefer. Caring about teachers’ preferences is an important part of refurbishing a school.

Find Spaces for Lounge or Study Areas

In middle and high schools, having quiet areas for students to study is a must. Some students study better in a school environment. So, providing students with a place to sit down and focus on their notes away from the busiest areas of the school will let them hunker down and look over their work. Give students room to work on group projects in a place that isn’t the library by installing a booth nook with a table that fits multiple students. Whether people use the study areas during study hall or when school’s not in session, students will appreciate the added comfort of dedicated study spaces.

Don’t Mismatch Furniture

Creating a comfortable school environment doesn’t stop at physical comfort; you must consider how visual appeal affects the students’ comfort. Matching colors, styles, and sizes of the furnishings you choose is an essential element of adding décor to the school. Clashing furniture can ruin your design and elevate the students’ stress levels.

Additionally, mismatching furniture can lead to objects that are difficult to use around the school. For instance, a table with a chair that doesn’t work well with it can cause a student to require bad posture to sit at the table. Sitting long enough at the table with the ill-fitting chair can lead to back pain or discomfort.

Provide Furniture for Students With Special Needs

Accommodations for students with mental or physical disabilities shouldn’t stop at passing period extensions or homework help—you should think of these students as you fill the school with furniture and create a design. Properly spacing furniture apart for wheelchairs to pass through comfortably, adding softer lighting, and providing classrooms with soft furniture options is a good start for creating an accessible school.

Before you purchase furniture, ask students who require accommodations what they think the school needs. They may request desks that can fit a person with a wheelchair or stools that allow them to fidget while paying attention in class. Creative furniture options that would help students learn better are out there; you just need to provide them for your students.

Buy Furniture From High-Quality Brands

You can’t trust every school furniture brand to provide you with a high-quality product. Before you trust a school furniture manufacturer, do your research to ensure that they’ll furnish your school with only high-quality, comfortable, and efficient furniture. If it’s missing any of these elements, it might not add anything to the school.

The biggest red flag for quality is a piece of furniture’s structure. Even if it’s the prettiest piece of school furniture in the world, it won’t work in your classrooms if it falls apart when someone too heavy sits on it. Check if any nearby schools have the furniture you’re looking at; if not, check online to see if the brand has a positive reputation.

Ask the Experts for Assistance

You don’t need to make a list of furniture that your school needs on your own—there are school furniture consultants who can do that busy work for you. These consultants are experts in both form and function and will provide you with furniture that best suits your school’s blueprint and existing design. By leaving the furniture to a trusted educational furniture consultant, you can focus on other important issues, such as security.

If you’re looking to choose the best furniture for your school, consider Martin Public Seating. Martin Public Seating isn’t just a team of school furniture consultants, but we’re also one of the nations most trusted school furniture vendors. As you set up your school for success this upcoming school year, let us help the project with consultations. Or, you can purchase trusted furniture brands through our network.