Old School House Decorating Ideas

Decorate with Schoolhouse Style

It's never too cool to bring classroom style into your home. Whether it's industrial-style fixtures and school lockers or vintage maps and globes, schoolhouse home decor brings back the nostalgia of younger years.

Long gone are the days of oversize card catalogs in school libraries, but that doesn't mean that these classic favorites aren't perfect for your home. Take a cue from Liz Marie Blog. Not only do wooden card catalogs evoke a sense of history, but they are also ideal for storage. Whether it's for crafts and sewing supplies, or jewelry or tools, card catalogs are a convenient catchall for many items throughout the home.

Decorating with Globes

Globes on white glass cabinet

Here's a style lesson: Decorate with vintage globes and old-school maps. A collection of school globes in varying sizes and heights is a conversation starter and can create an interesting focal point that's perfect for a family room. Placed above a bookcase, this grouping of globes not only takes us down memory lane, but it also gives the space a pop of blue and green color.

Oversize Vintage Map

Oversized Map

Whether you want to learn something new or look back on your travels, a pull-down vintage map is the ideal cool school-style decor element to fill large walls. They are not only interesting to look at but also full of lessons, as is the case in this room from House 214 Design.

Ruler Wainscoting

ruler project

It's time to get to work when a ruler is present. But who knew that by adding vintage yardsticks to a white wall, used as wainscoting, would create a feeling of whimsy and warmth. Each ruler has its own font design, which brings unique, one-of-a-kind character to a space.

Locker Shelves

Lockers don't have to be only for the hallways of high school. Bring them home and use them to store and display. Whether they're in a mudroom or a living room, lockers are the ideal vertical element to bring height and storage to a space, as well as the nostalgic feel of days gone by. Do like Caught in Grace blog by taking off a few of the doors to create some open shelving to display favorite accessories and books.

Vintage Flash Cards

Flash Card

How charming to display flash cards from years past, like this display by House 214 Design. Whether hung from twine, used for embellishing walls, or filling the pages of a scrapbook, vintage flash cards are a fun way to reminisce.