The Perfect Playroom
When a room in your home is no longer being used, it is a telltale sign that you need to update the space. This was true of my children’s playroom. When we first purchased our home, I had a newborn baby and an almost 4 year old. Upstairs off of our family TV watching space, the previous owners added an additional room you could call a “sunroom” since every wall has corner to corner windows (sigh!). When we moved in, I outfitted the space with a preschool sized table and chairs and plenty of storage for books and toys. It was a great space, for a while. But as my children got older, the chairs and art table became too small, there was no longer the right amount of storage space and it was just a plain uninspiring room. I knew the space needed to be updated to fit my “big” kids lifestyle and I wanted something inspiring enough for them to want to use the space. Since I also have one boy and one girl, I needed the space to be gender neutral so that both children would feel compelled to use the new space.
The first element that I knew the room needed was a rug. I wanted the rug to be soft enough so that the kids could still play on the floor but durable enough to handle paint, play-doh and even glue. Dash and Albert indoor/outdoor rugs were the perfect solution. The flat weave is great for car and truck play but squishy enough not to bruise little knees. And the best part is that I don’t have to worry a bit when the kids want to paint or do messy arts and crafts projects. The polypropylene material is easily cleaned with soap and water and I can even bleach that baby if I needed to.
Speaking of arts and crafts, our playroom needed a table. An inexpensive one to boot because this workhorse would see plenty of action. From arts and crafts to board games to homework time, I needed a smooth top surface that I didn’t need to worry about keeping clean. I found the answer on Amazon- a modern tulip table made from fiberglass. Smooth and wipeable. The same concept was needed for the chairs. I found these Kartell look-a-likes again on Amazon here.
The 3 walls of windows made anchoring furniture difficult. I needed low and long pieces with tons of storage. In playrooms open storage is key because with children- if they can’t see it in plain site, then it’s not there. So the glass front doors are a reminder to peek inside. I used plastic containers in a pop of color from Target to keep the mess at a minimum. A bookshelf left over from the previous room, was painted black to keep with the new decor.
Now that function was in place, I could concentrate on the pretty. I wallpapered the walls in a fun deconstructed stripe by Schumacher and then I softened up the windows with faux Roman shades with a fabulous tape running along the bottom edge. A statement lighting piece gives the room a wow factor. I am thrilled with how the space turned out and my children are using the space day in and out. A well used space that is worry free and a pleasure to look at is the ultimate designer mom “win” in my book.
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Brooke
