Making Your Room Feel Larger

My room is not huge, ginormous, or gigantic. However, those are some of the adjectives people have used to describe my room after seeing pictures online. When former students visit my classroom, they often comment on how much larger it is than their classroom. They are surprised when I tell them that the rooms are the exact same size.

When I first started in my district, I was actually surprised at how small the classrooms were. My room is about 27' X 28'. I'm sure some teachers would consider that large, but it is pretty small compared to other districts I have visited.

I think my room may look large for a few reason:
1) I only keep things in my classroom that I know I am going to use. Every piece of furniture has a purpose. When I move into a new classroom, I usually get rid of about 1/4 of the furniture.
2) I have tables instead of desks. Tables take up way less space, and promote cooperative learning. My tables were funded through a Donor's Choose project last spring.
3) I try to keep my wall decor to a minimum, and everything is color-coordinated. I feel like this makes my classroom look less "busy."
4) I am a thrower. I hate "stuff." So many teachers hoard materials and furniture, thinking they may use it someday. I give away almost everything that I'm not using right now.

Left view of my classroom (it's almost done!):

Right view:

I thought my Daily 5 charts needed something more, so I made this pennant banner today:

I bought this listening center from a retiring teacher (her husband made it from an old table). My fiance put the Ikea spice rack up for me yesterday. (He also helped me with some other "handyman work.") It will hold the book choices and CD's for the week.

I found this banner on clearance last week for $2, and I thought it would be perfect above my social studies and science board.

My room is so close to being finished! :)

Time spent at school yesterday and today: 8 hours
Cumulative Hours: 110.5