Brains AND Beauty!

Check out this stunning Montessori kindergarten. Obviously the aesthetic is so pleasing, but I think a lot of kids would thrive in a tidy environment, free of too much clutter and stimuli. With the way most classrooms are designed in the U.S., one might assume there's solid evidence that all children would excel in an environment with bold, primary colored banners, posters, vibrant educational rugs, etc.
The Montessori page Wikipedia states that "Montessori education involves free activity within a "prepared environment", meaning an educational environment tailored to basic human characteristics, to the specific characteristics of children at different ages, and to the individual personalities of each child. The function of the environment is to help and allow the child to develop independence in all areas according to his or her inner psychological directives." "The environment should exhibit the following characteristics:

• An arrangement that facilitates movement and activity
• Beauty and harmony, cleanliness of environment
• Construction in proportion to the child and her/his needs
• Limitation of materials, so that only material that supports the child's development is included
• Order
• Nature in the classroom and outside of the classroom"

Having gone to a Montessori school for pre-k and kindergarten, I can say that I had a very positive experience; but not until doing this bit of research did I really give much thought to their approach on the design/ decor of a classroom. Now, I am an even bigger advocate to this style of education! 

Sources: design-milk.com and Wikipedia.com