them of their role as designers, and
emphasizing that their choices were
important.
We talked about what kind of room
they would design, because this would
determine what kind of floor they
might like. If it was to be a bedroom,
they might want carpeting or hardwood floors. If they were designing a
kitchen, they might
choose tile. Students
then chose construction paper to use for
the floor.
Before we added
doors, windows, and
trims, we looked
at photographs of
Frank Lloyd Wright’s rooms, and
noted the many different window
shapes and decorative trims he used
in his designs. We also discussed the
windows and moldings in our classroom and those we’d seen in other
homes. Windows can be any shape!
Moldings can be anywhere!
Now students had to decide what
objects should be included in their
rooms. When we looked at Matisse’s
The Red Studio, we were able to tell
it was a room that belonged to an art-
ist. Students needed to decide what
key pieces of furniture or decorations
would make this room their own.
They looked through furniture adver-
tisements and catalogs to find things
that interested them and fit in their
space.
Using your students’
knowledge of their
current space will help
them design new spaces
and think about all the
areas that surround them.
Materials
pencils •
wallpaper samples •
(or printed paper)
construction paper •
scissors •
glue •
permanent markers •
construction paper crayons •
furniture catalogs and •
advertisements
Heather Kostal is an art teacher at
Garfield Primary and Grant-White Intermediate Schools in Forest Park, Illinois.
hkostal@forestparkschools.org
NATIONAL STANDARD
Students use different media, techniques, and processes to communicate ideas, experiences, and stories.
WEB LINKS
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedroom_in_
Arles
www.moma.org/collection/object.
php?object_id=78389
