P is for...Playroom!

 Welcome to our new....P L A Y R O O M ! 

As shared in a previous post, we recently made the decision to re-purpose our master bedroom so that we could have a space big enough to really play and house ALL of our boys' toys. Our new playroom does just that AND we (Bart & I) LOVE our new room. 

This is the view to the right. The room is quite large considering how our entire home is only 1400 sq. feet. Every time we give someone a tour of our home, we keep hearing the same reaction: "Wow, this is a really BIG room!" When we were about to move in, my mom even suggested making this room the family room, but there is NO way our living room furniture would have fit up the stairs. So, for a good year we used it as our bedroom (click here for before pics), our bedroom/baby nook, our bedroom/office, our bedroom/playroom. But after too many nights of me lying in bed listening to "click, click, click" on the keyboard by Bart (or him by me), staring at a mess of toys, or stepping on toys in the dark, I decided we were due for a change, and after a month or so of convincing my husband...we made it happen!

Here's the view to the left. Since our boys have a lot of toys, I decided zoning would be the best way to organize everything. Quick confession: I really enjoy organizing toys. In my mind, it's a whole different type of cleaning. There is something oh so satisfying about finding that last missing puzzle piece and putting it in its place, having a complete set of shapes, or seeing all of the...okay, I'll stop. Click here for details on that homemade Kitchenette Cart.

Here's the view as you walk in. I like how even though we have a lot of toys, the space still has plenty of space to play without feeling taken over by toys. We achieved this is by maximizing our storage. See how below....

Cabinet under TV stores all of our movies and musical instruments.

Tufted leather bench is the perfect place for all our stuffed animals.

Dress-up/make believe props and clothing go inside this basket which also doubles as a kid table.

Space under the train/car station (which we think is amazing btw. It comes with a lid to convert into a table, and the tracks fit many of our other cars. Found here.), perfect for baskets of individually organized toys to slide under. 

Used the side wall (same side as the door so not seen as soon as you walk into the room) to line up bigger sized items. Can you believe we have an entire Rubbermaid-sized bin full of just BALLS?!

So overall, this move has been a win-win for the boys and us. Only question is why didn't we do this sooner? Perhaps because we also love our big walk-in closet and double-sink bathroom, which unfortunately is still connected to this room. Oops. But, even that sacrifice has been WELL worth it given how we would only spend around 30-45 min. in those bathing and dressing areas, versus the hours upon hours we now spend in here. We also have another full bath right next to our new room, so other than having to buy double toiletries, not being able to use it while G is sleeping, and give up the ceiling fan, we really have no complaints. Plus, we like that the boys still have their separate rooms, and we're all on the same floor.

Here's another look for the loveseat (I love switching up pillows and home other accents!). I spotted the monogram pillow cover at West Elm (good news- they're on sale!) and thought the Egyptienne style font tied in nicely with the framed typewriter print (which can also be used to help them with their abc's) hung to the left, as well the Bordeaux color matching the quilt my sister made us. Oh, and while I was taking all of the photos of our new rooms, I decided to re-do the ones in the rest of our house. Click here for downstairs, here for upstairs, and here for the boys' rooms. Yes, just a bit of work involved with that task, but as I've mentioned before, I LOVE LOVE LOVE our new camera (knew it would do a MUCH better job than my last round) and our house could always benefit from a good cleaning. ;) 

Regardless of how long one has lived in their space, I highly recommend re-thinking how your spaces are really being used. One of the most important things I've learned from parenting is how to PRIORITIZE, which I think can and should be applied to home decorating. So who cares if it follows conventional design rules or not, if it works, it works, and that is exactly what your home should do for you!