The Playroom
Well B is 11 months old now, and her toys are in the early stages of taking over our living room. We've kept up with the overflow with a few well-placed baskets, but with her 1st birthday quickly approaching, I felt like it was time to set up a playroom.
In our house, there are three bedrooms upstairs, not including the master bedroom - a designated guest room, B's room, and one empty room that was becoming our "crap room." Since this third room was right next to the master, it was hard to ignore in passing every day. In my opinion, each room should serve a purpose, and this room was the perfect size for a little playroom for B. Every morning now, I walk by this happy little sunshine room, and it's just so much better than what was there before (unused dog bed, camera equipment, and misc. painting supplies... gross.)
First, we moved everything out of the closets to the guest room closet to make space to hide bigger toys, and painted the room 50% SW Mindful Gray (It looks almost white in photos, but is soft enough in person to not feel too cold in a child's room!). My husband also switched out all the brass door handles and hinges to a satin nickel finish that matches the rest of our house. The playroom is really an extension of Brooklyn's room. The colors and vibe are very similar, which makes it easy for me to move things back and forth between the rooms.
When I was planning everything out, my main focus was on organization and style. My mom always had a well thought out system for keeping our toys contained and put away. It was also a great way to keep toys from getting lost, and cut down on clutter and excess. I wanted to kick-off B's year with a system of our own, as we'll eventually add craft supplies, doll clothes, and other childhood commodities to her world. So, I invested in some cube storage, as it's the perfect height for her to get into, but also easy to put away at the end of the day. We will also utilize closet space as time goes on, and the cubes will be for smaller, mess-free (Read: Playdough and its other carpet offending friends) toys since they're easily accessible to little hands.
The second factor of style came into play with the focal point of the room - the rug - which I am completely in love with. I wanted a room that was similar in feel to B's bedroom, but also funky enough that random toys wouldn't look out of place. Let's be real, as beautiful as wooden rattles and other Instagram-worthy toys are, they just aren't realistic. The neon yellow grocery cart we got for B at a garage sale would look a little silly in a completely white playroom, and I'm just not about curating her toys to that level. I felt like a playroom with a modern boho style would compliment her as she grows, as it's eclectic enough to include a range of colors and styles. I will admit, the teepee was completely for me. I have wanted one for her since she was far too small to use one, and luckily for me, she already loves it. I imagine it will be a part of many adventures in the future.
This room will eventually house B's modern farmhouse dollhouse as well. If you followed me on Instagram last year, you may have seen a few posts about the dollhouse! Like most projects that don't get finished before baby, it's still in limbo. When the house projects slow down, the dollhouse will be back on my list to finish up (and photograph for the blog!). I also envision there being a small table and chairs eventually in here, but for now the open space is really nice for the stage B is in.
Check out the links below to shop some of the same products I used in the playroom. I tried to do a mix of big box steals (Hobby Lobby and Target had some of my best finds for this room!) and unique, handmade pieces from Etsy and local shops in town. My favorites are the shibori velvet pillows from Liv+Work (in Wichita and online) and the tassel garland from Paper Fox LA.
