Depression tan. Old hospital. Seventies high school aesthetic. These are ways students have described the inside of classrooms at Prior Lake High School. 

The boring cream walls add nothing to the sometimes dull curriculum in some classes. Maybe a fresher, more aesthetically- pleasing touch could add more pleasantry to the class. 

FACS teacher Maggie O’Connor has been teaching at Prior Lake for five years. In her Interior Design 2 class, she crafted a project to completely redesign a classroom. 

Students are required to take Interior Design 1 in order to take the second class. The first class is all about learning terms and elements of design, while the second class is all about creating. 

Last quarter, students redesigned room C303, a classroom primarily for used Fashion Design. 

Students in O’Connor’s class picked out sunset colors and a Bohemian “vibe” for the room. Simple colors will help teachers display other students’ artwork efficiently.

“The planning and prep are the most stressful,” Ms. O’Connor said.

The class had until the end of the quarter to finish the room. 

Including the planning and the prep, there are a lot of obstacles that need to be worked around, one of them being budget. 

The district gives the FACS Department a certain budget for the whole year, and each classroom project budget is roughly $1,000. Decor, paint, and painting tools add up very quickly. 

Ms. O’Connor must also get everything pre approved. “If it goes into a wall, or it gets mounted, we do need to seek approval,” O’Connor said.

The last thing anyone would want is for their client to get in trouble for one of their design choices. 

Time is of the essence in any FACS class. There is no after-school work done so everything must be done promptly and in class, another obstacle O’Conner must overcome. 

Despite all of the hardships, Ms. O’Connor is determined to give students a real learning experience. 

Things students learn in her interior design class have been helpful to her students. 

“Organization and color schemes have been really helpful,” sophomore Lucy Lund said.

After learning everything in Interior Design 1, the intent of Interior Design 2 is all about creating. 

“I’m most excited for the students to see it all come together,” O’Connor said. 

Teamwork is also a huge skill that is taught in this class, as everyone needs to work together to complete the design. 

Ms. O’Connor must juggle the quiet voices and the larger voices. In room C303, students have bounced around the color schemes several times until they landed on the one they have. 

“We chose a lot of neutrals and sunset colors,” Lucy said.  

The majority of the prep for painting was finished before MEA Break in October. The, the class had two to three weeks for decorations and finalization until the end of first quarter. 

The final product is a beautiful, colorful, and fun learning space.