School hallway lockers have a certain spot in everyone’s mind. It’s tough to find someone who hasn’t forgotten a combination, overstuffed a locker, or otherwise had problems. Fortunately, school lockers, like so many other things in life, aren’t what they used to be. The options today are tremendous, and they may just change the way you think about lockers.

Start By Thinking Durability

If you want to redesign the locker atmosphere in your school, it starts with some thoughts of durability. After all, lockers in a corridor have lots of demands put on them day after day. They have to hold up with regular use, and they’re often abused as well. What’s more, though, is that they need to be simple to maintain while still fitting in with the overall design scheme.

Material Options

School lockers were almost exclusively metal at one time, and while those are still widely available, in more colors than ever before, there are lots of other choices on the table now too. Wood is a great choice, though a bit pricey. In a private school environment, it can give you a sophisticated look and feel. If you want to go a bit greener with your locker design, go with those made from high-density polyethylene (HDPE). They’re fire code approved, and moisture can’t penetrate them, which means it’s easy to remove stains and spills. What’s more, though, is that the maintenance costs with this choice are almost nonexistent.

Think about Location

Even the best locker choices can be placed in environments that just aren’t conducive to building the right learning community, so thinking about where you actually put the lockers is essential. Integrate it into the environment around it. Consider putting them in small clusters with comfortable study-style seating around them to help with study seating. You may even want to better define areas with distinct carpeting, lower ceilings, and even ensuring they’re out of the traffic flow.

There’s a lot to think about when it comes to school lockers, but one thing’s for certain – they don’t have to be the noisy traffic hazard they’ve always been.