Design savvy on display at a Canarsie elementary school

Brooklyn’s first IKEA opened this summer in Red Hook. But looking at the photo above, you wouldn’t be blamed for thinking the furniture store has launched a second outpost in a public school.

Two weeks ago at PS 346 in Canarsie, employees of the magazine Real Simple made over the school’s “Aspire Room,” used for parent meetings and student activities, with a thorough cleaning and a bevy of brightly colored IKEA furniture. The Real Simple employees also spruced up the school’s library and painted two murals on interior walls.

The PS 346 volunteers were among more than 8,000 at 119 schools Oct. 18 who participated in this year’s New York Cares Day, an annual sprint of school revitalization projects run by New York Cares, a nonprofit organization that matches volunteers with communities that need help.