The playroom

The playroom was the first room I remodeled in the house after we bought 4 years ago. It was THE REASON I bought the house! The room is an added on sunroom and the problems with that is the walls are either metal or exterior stucco. I love murals and there is no way I could pull one off on these surfaces. But the room is bright and cheery and while I can see them with the door shut I can't HEAR them! LOL! So they can be KIDS!


When we first moved in this is what the playroom looked like:
The previous owners used it as an office? It had really cheap thin carpet that they allowed their dog to pee on! ew! It had not been painted and they threw a desk out in the room. When we saw the house you could barely see the potential because these people were really not bright at all!
This is the best before picture I have (taken from the outside door looking in)
(Notice how lil Carter was! ;)


I have pictures of the first re-do back in 2003 but what's the point in sharing those? Anything was an improvement from the original! LOL! I was never thrilled with the original remodel and it was more about fixing the issues than really turning it into the space I wanted it to be. My other problem with the initial re-do was I allowed too many toys. I had been warned about this but we live and learn ;) With the recent re-do I did major decluttering. In fact many of our bins remain empty! I need to do another major declutter soon though as it's been 10 months since the room was done! LOL!


So here is the most recent remodel of the playroom:

I have no idea why but I always wanted a stage for the kids. I would lie awake at night trying to figure out how to pull it off but couldn't find a solution with the original redo. One night last year is hit me and I figured out how to make my stage!
We didn't want it raised in fear of the kids tripping. It also had to be large enough for Haylee (12yo) to use but small enough in the space. Basically it's two book shelves braced with entertainment center pieces on the sides and top. I love IKEA because I am not where would have gone for the random pieces had they not been close! Sam would have had to everything by hand. It is VERY sturdy and secure!
On the right back of the book shelf is chalk board paint and a dry erase surface on the bottom. I painted clothes pins and secured them to the top for drawing and art work to be put up and taken down with ease. There are also four bins at the top to hold dry erase pens and chalk. On top of the stage sits a magnetic dry erase board. All the letters are magnets I made and they can write on the surface with a dry erase pen so that when they have a show they can place the title at the top ;) I also have the other letters of the alphabet and sayings like “Now playing” The IKEA cubby is to the left and that is mostly for art supplies and home school crafts.


This is a picture from the inside of the stage:


On the shelves are dress up toys and loose dress up items are in the bins.





Just a picture to the left of the stage:


The entertainment center holds the game systems and DVDs. They use bean bags for seats (although since this picture we have different seats).
The window looks into my kitchen.


This is to the right of the stage and the veiw looking into our playroom from the kitchen entrance:
The table and seats were at an industrial business closeout. They are all SOLID! I can jump on them and they will not break! YAY! LOL! The seats are actually rolling filing cabinets that I added cushions to. The cabinets have locking drawers. You can see them under Carter. The table we painted and added circles and squares of the colors of the room. I added valances made to look like clouds (no easy feet to secure to metal!) and painted the wall panels primary colors. Next to them is the loft bed that you will see in the next picture!



The loft bed:
This is the reading area. The kids are really only to be up there to read. With two boys we had to do this or they would be jumping off it! LOL! This bed was in Carter's room but it was really too big in there.
I painted the windows to block some of the hot sun coming in there in the mornings. This room is SO bright it needed something. The hanging sun was a light we pulled apart and hung up. At the base of the bed Landon is playing with the doll house. I painted wooden crates to hold the doll "stuff".



Under the loft:


I am considering getting rid of most of our books but for now this is where they are stored.





So this is pretty much our playroom! I finally LOVE this room and the vibe in there! The kids love it too! They really spend no time in their bedrooms.

I am happy with how it turned out but like everything, it’s a work in progress!

The never-ending project

This is the blog of my never-ending project: my home. I am really proud of all we have done and painfully aware of all that is left to do. But in truth I will never be done and I am happy about that. I enjoy improvements and change and doing things with our own two hands (and love saving $$ LOL!) . I want this to be a warm personal space that screams US.
If you get bored feel free to read along as I babble about our little home and my never ending project.