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This post is part of a series on DIY playroom design. This first post outlines our playroom, rock wall, hanging rings and swing, sensory boards and also how we store and arrange our children's toys. Be sure to click the links at the bottom of this post to see the remaining rooms in the playroom design series!
When S was younger (under 3) we lived in a tiny little two story 900-ish square foot house. It wouldn't have been quite so bad if we weren't living in Seattle (loooong winter/rainy seasons) and weren't at home all day - but we were! And so it really felt quite cramped. When we were finally ready to buy a new (and bigger!) house, I wanted to be able to have some play areas that were dedicated playspaces for S and me (and soon-to-be baby X) to spend our days in. The moment I saw our house, I knew it was the one for us! The downstairs had a bedroom, home gym, and family room. When I saw them, I envisioned converting the bedroom into a Reading Room, the home gym room into an Art Room, and the family room into our playroom.
Here's what the playroom used to look like before we moved in:
This was the straight-on view.
This was the view to the left.
It's not bad, but not super kid-friendly. Luckily I had a committed work crew in my husband, mom, and dad. I was about 20 weeks pregnant with X and I was DETERMINED to get the playroom of my dreams set up. :)
I really wanted the room to be more inviting. The dark walls just didn't seem very cheerful, and since this was a basement, the natural light wasn't as nice as upstairs. We decided to brighten the walls with an off-white paint with a light blue accent wall along the back of the playroom. I am also a HUGE fan of decals. They are a nice way to add little bursts of color to walls very easily (and they're totally removable - bonus!). I think they are SO much easier than painting things by hand. The wood floor was pretty, but also not really kid play friendly. Sitting on a wood floor for an extended time hurts! I looked into getting some area rugs, but phew those are expensive. It was much more cost-effective for us to install carpet.
In thinking of the general layout of the room, we tried to group similar toys/activities. S has a cooking nook, a building area, and a more open movement/gross motor play area. My mom, who was instrumental in helping me lay everything out, warned me that the biggest mistake people make with a large room is laying everything against the walls. We made an effort to break the room up into sections by using a couch and one of S's toy shelves and it really does make a difference!
Finally, a playroom is floor space, for sure, but there's also wall space and ceiling space you can use! In addition to decals, we also have sensory boards, Discovery Bottle display shelves, and a rockwall on our walls. We have a pirate ship and swinging rings hanging from our celings. Make sure that you consider all the ways you could use your space!
As I go through and show the set up of the various areas, I'll try to name/link to any pictured things that might be of interest. If I miss anything that you're curious about, let me know and I'm happy to tell you what it is!
The first order of business was new paint, new carpets, and removing the broken fireplace insert. I had a custom magnet board built to cover the fireplace opening, but you can use a metal car drip pan mounted on a wall to make a magnet board for much less. We spray painted the metal black so that it made the magnets stand out more.
Pictured:
Custom Magnet Board
S loved the rings at the local gymnastics open play gym and these rings were only $22! To hang something from your ceiling is remarkably easy. Find and drill into a joist in the ceiling to mount it (we used our weight to test the strength, which I would recommend doing to make sure you didn't miss the joist somehow) and voila! S also has a swing in her bedroom because, again, it was just so easy and having a swing inside is so much fun.
Pictured:
For Christmas this year, the kids put this amazing HABA Pirate Ship on their wishlist for their grandparents. They are super lucky because their grandma got it for them! It is seriously the coolest thing ever. It is very pricey, granted, but it holds up to 170 pounds - and easily accommodates 2-3 children (we've even had four in at once!). It is a HABA toy, so as non-toxic as can be, with incredibly durable construction. It is easily one of the favorite things in our house.
Pictured:
Tek Nek Legend Spring Horse (apparently no longer available)
For toy storage, I went with white Ikea Expedit shelving units to brighten up the room. On the other side of this is S's little kitchen/cooking area. I found these storage bins at the Land of Nod - they were so pretty with the rainbow colors and the light shining through, I thought they'd be a perfect way to add some more color. You can also catch a glimpse of our indoor ficus tree on the left. It's so fun to have a little tree inside. :)
Pictured:
The continuation of our toy storage is on the opposite side of the room against the back wall. I really believe that presentation is everything for little kids. You could have a giant bin of really cool toys, but somehow it seems to appeal more to them if the toys are displayed. I have also found this to be the case with books, which I'll talk about more in my post on our Reading Room. Anyway, toys that lent themselves to being stored in containers are in the clear colored containers (minatures, giant floor puzzle pieces, marble run pieces, etc) and we have some of our larger toys on display over here. I also have our "push toys" to the right.
We also have a small trampoline because those things are just plain awesome. If you don't have one - this is a fabulous way to have kids burn off energy in the winter. It even folds up compactly, so we were able to have this one at our last tiny house.
Pictured:
This is S's little cooking nook. Though she has a grocery cart full of cute pretend food, she still prefers to cook with colored buttons or colored pompoms the most (although sometimes she'll add a piece of pretend produce to it). Here she's taking a taste of her famous pompom soup.
Pictured:
For Christmas this year, one of S's two presents from us was this indoor rock wall (you'll see the second present in the Art Room post). We built it ourselves with lots of my Dad's help. It's another project that is easier than you think. It is built out of a single sheet of plywood. We mounted the plywood on several lengths of lumber; the lengths of lumber were in turn drilled in several spots to studs in the wall. For more information on designing your own rock wall, you can look here.
Pictured:
Custom Rockwall with
Rocky Mountain Kids' Climbing Holds
I wanted S to have a Lego table, but didn't like any of the premade tables I was finding online. My original plan was to make a Lego table with Ikea kids' furniture - I'd planned to paint the furniture to match my color scheme - but the Ikea furniture is TINY. It felt like it would already be too small for S at the age of 3. Also, once I'd factored in the cost of the primer, different colored paints I wanted for chairs, and a gloss coat to protect the paint - it was actually pretty costly (not to mention time-consuming). I scoured the internet and found these tables and chairs and fell in love. The chair colors they offer actually match almost perfectly what I had in mind. They are also designed for older children, so X and S will be able to use them for quite some time. At 3, S's legs still dangle a bit, but she doesn't mind one bit. I had planned on gluing the baseplates to the tabletop, but S likes to carry her buildings down to the floor sometimes, or bake Lego "cookies" in the oven, so we've left them loose. And I keep this awesome brightly colored bucket full of Legos right at the base of the table for easy access.
KidKraft Avalon Chairs
Lego baseplates
TubTrug
Pictured:
White Kidkraft tableKidKraft Avalon Chairs
Lego baseplates
TubTrug
In addition to the shelving we have, I love the bucket system for storing our building supplies. :)
Pictured:
Brilliant Builders (our go-to gift for preschoolers)
Dollar Store Buckets with Rope Handles
We love our playroom so very much! We are very lucky that we have a big house and that we can afford to add all these awesome things to it. Hopefully I've given some ideas/inspiration to those of you that are creating playspaces for your children.
For those of you who are interested, you can find the post on our favorite toys here.
Reading Room tour post here.
Art Room tour post here.
Backyard tour starts here.
For those of you who are interested, you can find the post on our favorite toys here.
Reading Room tour post here.
Art Room tour post here.
Backyard tour starts here.
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All activities here are activities I feel are safe for my own children. As your child's parents/guardians, you will need to decide what you feel is safe for your family. I always encourage contacting your child's pediatrician for guidance if you are not sure about the safety/age appropriateness of an activity. All activities on this blog are intended to be performed with adult supervision. Appropriate and reasonable caution should be used when activities call for the use of materials that could potentially be harmful, such as scissors, or items that could present a choking risk (small items), or a drowning risk (water activities), and with introducing a new food/ingredient to a child (allergies). Observe caution and safety at all times. The author and blog disclaim liability for any damage, mishap, or injury that may occur from engaging in any of these activities on this blog.
Love this tour! We have very similar tastes... I know because a shave similar toys for our kids! :) we also have a very large space in our basement. I feel like we have it organized well, but we're ready for a change, so this gives me lots of ideas. One thing I'm struggling with now is school area vs. play area. I have always combined the two (since so much learning is play!), but now I'm taking a year long montessori training and I want to try out some of those things. I really feel like that material needs a seperate space. Ah what to do. I think first I want to implement some of your gross motor skills stuff, I love that ship!
ReplyDeleteI bet you could use some sort of storage to make a school nook that would be really cool. S goes to preschool 5 hours a week now, and will ultimately go to public school, so we get to keep it all play. :)
DeleteOh, my, the ship. It really is worth every penny....despite costing quite a few of them. Gross motor, sensory, and imaginative play all in one!!!!
I too hAve similar toys, I love how you have different zones... I have 3 boys and different interests.. trying to set up zones but it gets ovewhelmed with clutter too many toys, too much age appropriate for my tot, but not age appropriate for my 4 yr old, and my pre-teen no where near their space..hard to combine them, I tried the play room set up for all 3 but not working out, I Love your set up, thank you for sharing. Have a great day.
DeleteMirian - Wow, it sounds like you have a wide age spread! It is hard with so many interests and ages to not be overrun by clutter! I wonder if you could focus on toys with a wide appeal? Legos/Duplos might span all three ages, as might plastic figurines? Or maybe a zone for each.... We're lucky to have two close in age when it comes to playroom set up!
DeleteTHIS IS LOVELY! We're moving to North Bend next month. Care to come over and help us design??? :-) ~ Marnie
ReplyDeleteThank you! In North Bend you should have an amazing amount of space! Gotta love the spaciousness of the houses over here on the Eastside!!! :)
DeleteLovely, lovely!! Rock climbing wall might just be my favorite. Love the magnetic wall too...How old are your kids now?
ReplyDeleteIt's a tie between that and the ship for S's current favorite thing in the room. :) X is almost 11 months old and S is 3.5 years old.
DeleteI wish we had room like this! One day, when we own a home outside of NYC, I will be referencing this. I love the big prints and the way you sectioned off parts of the room.
ReplyDeleteThe key is getting out of the big city! When we were in Seattle our house was teeny. :) Thank you so much! And I'm glad you also love the Dream Big print since it was custom and therefore entirely so expensive...but I HAD TO HAVE IT. :)
DeleteHi there,
ReplyDeleteI don't know how to contact you in private, but I'm a writer for apartment therapy and would love to feature this post on our blog.
Would you mind contacting me to let me know if that would be ok with you?
Thanks
Hi Severine! I actually submitted my photos and a link to this post to OhDeeDoh last night at my friend's suggestion!
DeleteI came across your blog via Play at Home Mom FB page and I had to check it out because of the homemade rock wall. I need to make one for my boys.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, your playroom is gorgeous. It's so bright and cheery and I also adore the Dream Big poster.
Yes! The indoor rockwall is awesome and so much easier than one would expect. I am sure that your boys will love it as it is a big hit over here. :)
DeleteThank you! The Dream Big poster is one of my favorite things about the room! :)
I'm in Seattle, also. Ummm, can we do play dates? Only because I want to climb in that sailboat. Lol jk
ReplyDeleteBeautiful basement. I've been bugging my husband to redo our basement for our kids. Going to be stealing some of your ideas and crafts. Especially that rock wall. My 2&1yr olds love the tramp we got them for Christmas. A must investment.
Hahahaha! I wish I could climb in the boat, too. But alas, I am too big and also too tall for the rock wall. Bummer, right?
DeleteOh I'm so glad. The rockwall is crazy fun, I just know they'll love it. :)
Just found your blog and I absolutely LOVE it. You did an amazing job with the playroom. There's so many unique and creative spaces. It's really something out of a child's dream. Your kiddos are sure lucky to have you as a mama. Can't wait to search around more and see what other creations you've dreamed up!
ReplyDeleteHi Sam! Thank you so much! I just hopped over to your blog where you, too, have a fantastic playroom and OHMYGOSH your ABC wall is ammmmmazing!!! I love it! You are so sweet to say so, and your son is likewise lucky to have you as an awesome mama!
DeleteJust found your blog via DwellingGawker...your playroom is amazing! I am in love with the pirate ship and rings...if my daughter saw those she would lose her mind! Just love it.
ReplyDeleteThank you! Yes, the pirate ship and rings are sooooo fun. S can climb into the ship by herself now, so she's completely giddy at this point. :)
DeleteAmazing! I love everything about this room. I'm drooling, actually. Can you send me the link to the art room and reading room post? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi Hollie! Hahaha - thank you so much! The Reading Room post and Art Room post are in progress at the moment. The Reading Room will be up on March 22nd and the Art Room on April 1st. If you become a Facebook "fan" (www.facebook.com/FunAtHomeWithKids), you'll be notified via your Facebook feed every time I make a new post (including when the Reading and Art Room posts go up). :)
DeleteI'd like to see the whole room or a drawing with how the room is laid out. I have something similar in our play room, but I'm just not thrilled with where everything is yet. Your room looks awesome. I'm definatly stealing some ideas.
ReplyDeleteAndrew - I know! I tried really hard to figure out how to do that. With the Reading Room I was able to take several photos in a row and make a sort of panorama view - but with the bright windows in the Play Room I couldn't get anything to work out. The room is basically a rectangle with a wall of windows on the far side. When you come into the room, you enter at the mid-point of the back wall and the trampoline/giraffes/toy shelving with circle mirrors are to your left and the rockwall is to your right. The righthand wall is the sensory boards/Dream Big, and on the righthand side of the room is the ship and the rings/bar. On the lefthand side of the room is the fireplace/magnet board (basically opposite the room from the sensory boards) and to the right of the magnet board is the Lego table. The Lego table and the toy shelving with the rainbow bins form the entrance to the cooking nook. The oven backs up to the couch; the couch is facing the ship. Did that make sense? I can try to get a sketch up somehow if not.
DeleteAnd thank you for the compliment. Please steal away! That's why I posted. :)
Do you have a full view of the room after ( like the before shots). I was trying to figure out how you laid it out. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHouse of Purpose - No, I don't, sadly! I just have a portrait lens on my "good" camera and my point and shoot bleaches out with the light from the wall of windows. I tried to explain in the comment above, but if you are looking at the before shots I can match a few items up if that helps. So looking at the first before shot - where the piano/keyboard was is now where the ship is. A bit closer than the small table and two chairs were is where the rings now hang, and to the right of the glass door is where the Dream Big poster/sensory boards are. Directly opposite where the keyboard was is the wall where the rockwall now is. And do you see the big beam in the center of the room? To the left of that is where the toy storage with the rainbow bins now is.
DeleteOK, now look at the second before photo. Where the fireplace was is where the magnet board now is. Where the TV was is where the Lego table now is. The Lego table and the toy storage with rainbow bins make the entrance to the cooking nook. The section of the couch not under the window (the section running perpendicular to the windows) is where the oven/fridge are now. And opposite the oven/fridge is a couch that faces the ship.
I hope that helps! Let me know if I can offer more clarification! I wish that I had the camera/lenses/skills to accurate capture the room!!!!
This entire play space is so inspiring! I have never seen sensory boards like this, and I think they are brilliant. Thank you for sharing your super talented and unique ideas, and I can't wait for more.
DeleteThanks for saying so, Katie! Always glad to hear that my crazy ideas are useful. :) X (and S) totally love those sensory boards. I love that they're also pretty wall decorations!! :)
DeleteOh my goodness - my daughter and I just went through this post together and she said, "I want to live there!" I love it and I can't wait to tour the other rooms. We live in a wildlife reserve and have a very small house with very few safe areas to play outside. We are moving soon (quite possibly to a smaller place) and I'm hoping to build a covered outdoor playroom. I do have some questions. How heavy are those rock climbing grips? Are they something that we could buy next time we are overseas and take on an international flight without using all of our weight allowance? Also I've had those TOMY Gear magnets in my Amazon cart for months but I'm wondering how much use the girls (age 3 & 4) would get out of them. Does your daughter use them a lot and what sort of age do you think she'll use them to. They seem pricey for the number of pieces you get. The transformation of this room is amazing - I love, love, love the indoor swing and boat! Sorry for writing a book here!
ReplyDeleteHi Mud Hut Mama! That's too funny, given that my daughter saw the picture of your girls coloring with the elephants in the background and wanted to live there! Hahahaha!!! So first, the rock grips are quite heavy. I don't recall the actual weight, but the company is super nice and I'm sure if you emailed them and and asked, they'd weight whatever number you were looking to get. The listing on Amazon doesn't show the weight, unfortunately. I think it was in the range of 15-25 pounds?
DeleteGood question about the TOMY gears! She does use them, but there are so few that it's not a long activity by any means. I happened to find them for a dollar at a garage sale, so of course I bought them, but at full price I don't think I would.
Thank you so much for the kind words! We love our awesome playroom! :)
Hi there! I (of course) think your playroom is amazeballs. I like how you painted the magnet wall, I have been wanting a custom sized magnet wall for our family room but black would be WAY better looking than gray metal-ish color. What type of spray paint did you use if you had a minute to share? Thanks much!
ReplyDeleteHi Ned and Sis! Thank you!!! Yeah, the black really makes any magnets you put on there stand out nicely! I don't remember for sure, but I think it was Rustoleum spray paint? If you ask at Home Depot or the like, they should be able to direct you to the best brand for painting metal. I do, however, remember that it took several coats of paint. Hopefully that was vaguely helpful! And what a great idea for your family room!
DeleteLove this playroom! Do you mind sharing the paint colors for this room and the blue in the reading room? We're finishing our basement this year and I'm in love with your setup for your kiddos!
ReplyDeleteHi Christy! SO FUN!!! I am very excited for you and your kiddos! The walls of the playroom are Behr Spice Delight and the back wall of the playroom (with the giraffes) is the same blue as the Reading Room - both are Glidden Clear Blue Sky. In fact, we loved that blue so much we also used it in S's bedroom! It's everywhere in our house!!! :)
DeleteWow. This is truly amazing. Your kids must be over the moon. I so wish we had the space to do something this awesome. Very inspirational! Thanks for the post.
ReplyDeletehttp://thisfineday.com/
Hi, Becky! Thank you so much! They are for sure over the moon, and we all feel SO lucky. :) Thank you for the kind comment! :)
DeleteI love your Rock Climbing Wall idea. Brilliant!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kim! It's pretty darn awesome...
DeleteI enjoyed reading your transformation and projects! I wish you had put an image at the same angles and distance as the first two.. so we could see a huge before and after picture.
ReplyDeleteHi Foodtothemax! Thank you! Yes, I wish I could have done the same, but because of the cost of my camera, I only have one lens that is a fixed 50mm portrait lens - so when I tried to get a similar photograph it looked nothing like the initial photos (that were taken with a much more suitable lens!). I totally agree, though - it would have been great to have the comparison!!!
DeleteI love this idea.My daughter has learning difficulties and sensory problems i've dreamt of doing her a room like this but havent pictured how i would lay it out.
ReplyDeleteThank you Destiny's Proud Mommy! I'm sorry to hear of your daughter's difficulties - I'm glad to hear that our playroom might give you some ideas! Thank you for the kind comment!
DeleteI LOVE this room!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Joanna! We do too. :) It's pretty rad.
DeleteThis is so so beautiful and (more important) useful for the kids! I love it and will use a lot of your ideas in our new house. Thank you for sharing all these ideas! Greetings from Germany :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Anonymous! Oh, I'm so glad to hear that it's useful! So fun that you are all the way in Germany! Hello from Seattle, WA! :) :) :)
DeleteI stumble upon your blog while digging over the net on ideas for playroom. What an amazing and lovely play area, I love the way you arrange the zone. Luckily we have Ikea here in Malaysia, I can just 'copycat' some of your ideas, mind telling me the colour scheme of the wall? It's blue obviously but still, there are so many blue out there, ;) . Thank you for sharing such an idea!
ReplyDeleteHi Ezni! Thank you so much! Hahaha - Ikea is everywhere - awesome!!!! The blue color on the walls is Blue Sky by Glidden Paint. I hope that helps!!! :)
DeleteThis is the most amazing space EVER! Love it!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Erica!!!!!
DeleteIt's really a wonderful play room that's only exist in my dream, so as in your picture above I'll keep my dream BIG!!!
ReplyDeleteAw, thanks, Chi! Yes, it was a long time coming for us - we feel very lucky!!! :)
DeleteI LOVE the look of this play space and think your kids are very fortunate to have such a place. My concern as I glance through Pinterest though is that our blessed American kids have a ridiculous amount of square footage of toys while so many people in our country and around the world are suffering and going without even basic necessities to live a bearable life. When I look at the amount of money, toys, and space being given to kids as if it's their "right" and "due," it really just maeks me sad. I'd love to see this space used as a place to host gatherings for less fortunate kids who your daughter could love on and with whom she could share her blessings.
ReplyDeleteHi Anonymous! I understand your sentiments. We use this blog to raise money for our two favorite charities - Room to Read and Charity:Water. My children also use their birthdays every year to fundraise for Charity:Water. This past year they paid for half of a well in Ethiopia with everything they raised. We regularly donate our toys to charity and every year the kiddos come shopping at Christmas time and help me buy lots of toys to donate to Toys for Tots. We work hard to be sure they have balance. We had the space in our house - rather than have a large family room or have our kids have separate bedrooms we chose to utilize the space as an area for them to play. :)
Deleteawesome room, thank you for sharing where you got everything!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Keri! And I'm so glad that part was helpful. It took me forever to track down all those links!!! :)
DeleteI was wondering how much your kids still use the rock wall. We are designing our playroom right now and wondering if we should use one of the walls for this or something else. I love the idea of it, but I'm wondering if it will get used after the initial awesome factor wears off ;)
ReplyDeleteWell our little one is still too little to climb, but our daughter still uses it. She started out using it daily, but now I'd say it's probably 1-2 times a week. We like to design obstacle courses and climbing the wall is part of it. We also have it near the light switch, which she happens to be too short to reach, so she often climbs it to turn the light on/off by herself. Hope that helps! I'm sure whatever you decide to do with the wall will be super fun!
DeleteThank you so much for taking to the time to post all these wonderful ideas. This year, I've created a smaller sensory board inspired by those in your playroom. We took it with us on our 6 hour flight with our then 16 month old and he loved it! His cousins loved it too!
ReplyDeleteNow that we are home from the holidays I would love to redesign our apartment to fit both our needs and that of our almost 2 year old. I love the simplicity of your space. You mentioned you had lived in a smaller space. I would so appreciate any photos or tips or challenges you faced. Thank you again for being such an amazing resource. You make my internet time more productive! :-)
Oh my gosh - that is TOO cool! Are you willing to share a photo? I'd love to see one. If yes, you can either email me (funathomewithkids@gmail.com) or post it on our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/FunatHomewithKids). That is such a fabulous idea!!!!!!
DeleteI don't know that we have any photos of the small space that really show it all. We had the pop-up tents that fold down and the trampoline that folded down and we kept them folded in a corner behind the dining room table (which we had shoved into a corner). I had some art supplies set out on the table (markers, paper, crayons) and the rest of the art supplies (paint, paper, splat mat) were all in a tall thin bookcase. We had a double tall toy storage container from Land of Nod where we kept a few toys and puzzles. In the winter, we'd clean off the water table and bring it inside and just shove it to the side of the room (between the couch and the dining room table) when it wasn't in use. I kept the sensory supplies in two big drawers I'd cleaned out in the kitchen. It was not pretty or spacious, but it worked! I don't know if that helps at all, but maybe it'll give you some ideas? Mostly we worked the storage angle hardcore!!!
Oh my gosh I absolutely love your post! I came across this as I am designing a motor/play room for my little guy right now (I am a pediatric physical therapist). Your post definitely gave me some more inspiration for the room I am working on! I love how you incorporate a lot of motor/sensory activities into the room! That is definitely what I am aiming for. Thanks for the great post!
ReplyDeleteOh awesome, Chanda!!! So glad it's helpful! Thank you!! :) :)
DeleteThis is amazing!!! I have a question about your custom magnet board over the fireplace. Metal drip pans won't fit with the size fireplace we have and I'm wondering how you went about getting a magnet board made. What material did you use? Did you do it yourself or did you get it cut somewhere? If you have time to answer, I'd love to know more!! Thanks in advance!
ReplyDeleteHi Bethany!!! Thank you! Yes - that is true - if you're covering a fireplace, you'll need a custom cover. The contractor we hired to remove the cast iron stove made it for us, so unfortunately I can't give you any details beyond that. It's metal that was cut to size, and edged so that there aren't any sharp corners and spray painted matte black. I suspect that the average person wouldn't have the necessary tools to do it - I'd suggest asking a contractor/handyman type person about it! I wish I could be of more help! :)
DeleteCan you tell me where you got the bookshelves that are in the picture of you daughter climbing the rock wall in the background? And also the shelves you have the sensory bottles on?
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately we custom built both. You can see more of the details of the book shelves if you click through to the Reading Room. The shelves the sensory bottles is on I made out of a piece of scrap wood I found at Home Depot. I had them cut it there and I sanded it and just bought some simple L brackets to brace underneath. Hope that helps a little!
DeleteOh my god!!! Your house decorations are so amazing, really loveee it!
ReplyDeleteHahaha thank you so much, Coralie!!! :)
DeleteHi! What a fabulous room! I'm just getting the playroom together for my 8 month old. Do you regret putting in carpet? Has it gotten super dirty over time? Can your kids ride toy tricycle etc on the carpet? Thanks!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Melinda! No, the carpet is still fine - so no regrets there. I am not sure if they could ride toys on it. Maybe? We've never tried. I imagine it might make it a bit harder since the carpet would offer more resistance than hardwood....
DeleteThank you so much for quickly responding. We have a much smaller space to work with but I'm definitely using your playroom as an inspiration!!!
DeleteAwesome!!! I'd love to see a photo when you're done!
DeleteHi Asia,
ReplyDeleteWords cannot even explain how much I am in love with your playroom! You are the motivation that I needed to get my kiddos playroom going! I was just wondering how many sets of colored vinyl circles you ordered? And also if you changed any of the colors in the set of 16. I couldn't tell if you used the two dark red ones or not. Thank you for posting such an awesome room to copy :)
Have a blessed day,
Whitney
It's been so long - I'm actually not positive. I am 80% sure we ended up using 3 sets, but it may have been four. It's a HUGE room, so I suspect that 2 would be plenty for a more normal sized (bedroom sized) room. I didn't change any of the colors, but yes, we didn't end up using the dark red or gray dots - good eye!
DeleteFabulous playroom! LOVE the mini climbing wall and indoor monkey swing...will have to show hubby for our new playroom ;) Thanks, Julia.
ReplyDeleteOh I love that term - indoor monkey swing! It certainly does entertain our two monkeys!!! :)
DeleteOMG, such a treasure trove of fun indoor ideas for little ones! I can't wait to have my daughter check this out, as she and Daddy are planning on making a new room into a playroom (Yea!) and Daddy space (Boo!). I can see many of your ideas being used and allowing Daddy to have his space too. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Deebi! Hope you have fun converting the room - what a fun playroom it will be!!! :)
DeleteAmazing blog. I found it while looking for playroom ideas. I was on Pintrest overload, and trying to figure out how to put it all together and your playroom took all my pins and did it. I am absolutely amazed. We have a huge playroom, and I've been trying to figure out how to make it fun for my 4 and 2 year old girls, but not make it too girly since I also have a newborn grandson that will be playing here a lot too.
ReplyDeleteMy 4 yr old is developmentally delayed and we spend a lot of time in therapy addressing among a lot of other things--her sensory issues. So I love all the sensory stuff you have.
I can not wait to show my husband your posts so we can get started on creating our own amazing playroom! Thank you for sharing your vision and talent!
Thank you so much for such a thoughtful comment, Laura! I bet you will come up with something amazing!!!! :) :) :)
DeleteI love your playroom! the toy shelves and bins are exactly what im looking for! When i click on the link the ikea shelve is different than the one you have in your picture. do you know how big each cube is?also what size bins did you order from land of nod? i want to make sure i get the right stuff. thanks so much!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! Unfortunately this post is a testament to how much things can change in a few years! Ikea no longer makes the units we used, so I linked to the replacement. I'm not sure if the Land of Nod dimensions would still work (I think so though). You should be able to find the dimensions of the cube openings somewhere on the Ikea listing and then compare with the Land of Nod. I believe we purchased the largest available clear colored tubs at the time, though Land of Nod may also have changed those! AAAAHH!
DeleteWhat an amazing play room. Would love to have the space to do this for my girls.
ReplyDeleteThank you! :)
DeleteYou have no idea how much your post has inspired me!! I just purchased my first home and i want to make my son's room incredibly fun, just like your playroom! I would have never thought of building a rock climbing wall or adding a trapeze. Thank you so much for sharing it!! I have already gone through your art and reading area posts. With the lego table, how many plates did you purchase?
ReplyDeleteYAY! So glad to hear it, Janeth! I bought 6 plates for the table - hope that helps! :)
DeleteI am so glad the internet isn't like real life, because I would be in jail for stalking right now! I love your blog and I spend almost all of my free time(nap time, bath time etc..) here.. That being said, The Haba ship has sailed. I don't think I'll ever manage to get one while they are available. I tried to order some of those awesome shelves from IKEA, but the shipping is almost double the cost of the shelves. The closest IKEA is about 5 hours away sadly, so wish me luck in building my own..... other than my inability to steal some of your ideas away, I am in love with our blog, I can't wait to add both of your books to my shelf! Also S and X are adorable. My oldest daughter is S's age. Thank you for the awesome inspiration, me and my kiddos love it!
DeleteHAHAHAHA that is awesome!!!!! And oh man, that is the worst about Ikea. I did get some shelving like that from Target -- it wasn't as sturdy (ironically, not like Ikea stuff is always top notch, I know), but it looked similar. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a kind comment!
DeleteHi Asia,
ReplyDeleteI am messaging all the way over here in Scotland! I just wanted to tell you how awesome I think this website is, it is without a doubt my first go to when I'm creating new play experiences for the children! I was previously a nursery (birth-5years), but after having my second daughter I decided to become a childminder instead so that I could be at home with both my girls. My children and the others I look after love the activities we have done, and I get lots of compliments from parents etc. The most recent ones we have done, are the maze made out of wool and the baked cotton balls!
Thank you so much!
Jo
Thank you so much for the lovely comment, Jo! That is so cool to hear about. I've never been to Scotland before, but so glad some of our ideas have made it over there! You have totally made my day! <3
DeleteHello! The playroom is amazing! May I ask the dimensions of your rock wall? We are putting one in this week too!
ReplyDeleteAwesome! It is a standard plywood sheet. :)
DeleteI am in LOVE with your playroom!! so copying your ideas! TY so much for the inspiration!!!
ReplyDeleteHahahaha happy to help! :)
DeleteHi Asia!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the wonderful blog, beautiful pictures and amazing ideas!
Can you please tell me what brand are the school bus, the recycle truck and the train that are displayed on the Ikea shelf against the grey wall?
Thank you!
Thank you! :) The school bus and recycling truck are both Playmobil and the train is from Melissa and Doug. :) :) :)
DeleteYour Playroom is amazing. I want to ask you where you had your custom magnet board made. I am adding a map of the world magnet board of at least 45''x 35'' to our playroom. I'd appreciate any info. Thank you very much. I (and my 3 boys) love your blog and books.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! <3 The person who made it was a local contractor who we'd hired for some other work. It should be simple for someone like that (or even a skilled handyman) to repeat. It's just a thick sheet of metal that was cut to size to cover the opening of our fireplace. He bought and cut metal edging to size (so there weren't sharp edges/corners) then spray painted the whole thing black. He used special bolts that can drill through both metal and brick, and that's how he mounted it. Nothing too hard, but you'll need some specialized tools to cut the metal to size and to be able to drill into brick to mount it (if you're also mounting it on brick). I hope that helps! :) :) :)
DeleteYour playroom design inspired me and we ended up with the exact same monkey bars and they are the favorite item in our playroom!
ReplyDeleteAwesome!!!! We still use the monkey bars every day. Best toy everrrr. :) :) :)
DeleteHello...thank you so much for sharing! I really enjoy browsing your website. I was wondering if you could offer some advice?
ReplyDeleteMy 2 year old daughter loves blocks (she currently has Tegu, Magna Tiles, Mega Bloks, and traditional wooden letter blocks). Do you think she could benefit from having a Lego table as well? And if so, do you recommend Lego or Duplo?
Thank you!
Definitely DUPLO over LEGO unless she has very advanced fine motor skills (the LEGO pieces are so small that they are challenging to break apart for little hands). I think she'd probably be fine without a table. One of the times it was most useful for us was to keep creations out of baby brother's hands. So if you add another little one, I'd suggest considering it -- but as is I bet she'd enjoy just plain DUPLOs. :)
DeleteHi! Love your playroom! I would love to hear how your playroom has evolved over the last 4 years as your kids have grown. Are there any posts that detail this?
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! Is it a disappointment that it's still the same? Hahaha - it really is though. They both still play with everything. Though maybe in another year or two we'll start phasing stuff out... I'll let you know. :)
DeleteDo you have any picture of the entire room so I can see how you broke up the large area into smaller sub-play rooms? We have a similar basement set up with most toys/items currently against the walls so I am curious as to how you've arranged it.
ReplyDeleteNo, sorry! I don't have a wide-angle lens, so this is the best I could do!
DeleteI LOVE YOUR PLAYROOM! I never thought to install a rockwall or rings at home - these are great opportunities for gross motor strengthening right at home! Thank you for all of the pictures - it was really helpful to see the before and after process as well!
ReplyDelete