As classrooms everywhere are being readied to welcome back students in a little more than a week, many parents are also getting in on the act -- they're setting up a space at home where the kids can do their after-school reading and practise their times tables.

In some homes, that homework or study space might be a bedroom or a basement niche. It might be in the kitchen, or in the dining or family room.

But no matter where it is, it should be appealing, properly furnished and lit, and as distraction-free as possible.

North Vancouver mother Mimi Bice says her three children -- they're aged six to 12 -- don't work in their bedrooms.

"I like to have them in the dining room or (home) office, where, if they need help, I'm always close at hand," she says. "When my 12-year-old is in his room, I'm not sure how much work he's getting done."

West Vancouver secondary school teacher Bill Keary shares the sentiment. He thinks that every student in a family should do their homework around the dining room table "where everyone is visible."

"No TV," he says. "Good lighting. The availability of computers, lap-tops, whatever."

When it comes to design options for a homework space, there is no shortage of options.

Trish Elgin, a manager at RONA Home & Garden, says that no matter whether you're introducing a workstation or entirely redecorating a bedroom, the furnishings and fixtures should be of a suitable scale and style.

"And if this is a kid's room, let them personalize it, so they want to be there," she says.

At the RONA store in the city's Grandview neighbourhood, Elgin pointed out the possibilities; among them, the newest in sleek metal-and-glass desks with sawhorse (or trestle) supports. A small, stylized model with a black laminate surface and keyboard tray ($40) can be rolled round, say, a kitchen area, and then stored in a corner or closet.

Add in a chrome table lamp or a metal floor lamp, and a big-backed office chair and you have the basics for a chic-looking workspace.

"A good work lamp or reading lamp is essential," Elgin says. "But you can also add a visual novelty to a room -- maybe a contemporary paper lantern." In the flooring department, Elgin recommends anything that's easy to clean: wood, laminate, cork or low-pile carpet. Then throw down an area rug for texture and colour, she says.

Molly Sweeney owns Furniture Salad on Vancouver's west side. In her retail space, she demonstrates how to assemble an exciting room by selecting furniture or decorative items one piece at a time.

Her Macdonald Street shop has an old maple desk that's been painted a flat black and given modern detailing, and an old-fashioned wood-frame bed with a decorative frame and white faux-antique glaze.

Other rare items at Furniture Salad include roll-down maps that were once standard in B.C. classrooms. "You've got things here that are not just serviceable, but interesting," Sweeney says, "and made more interesting by mixing them up."

Everyone agrees that kids have "stuff" -- and lots of it. So storage with easy access, particularly for work supplies, is key to a functional workspace. The RONA aisles reveal a range of options, from conventional bookcases, through bins -- some, small and large, can be stacked vertically, others are for recycling --to file boxes and baskets.

Organization evokes time-management skills and good habits," RONA's Elgin says. "It doesn't always work, but you can try."