If you're lucky enough to have space in your house for a playroom, then you know this type of room can be both a blessing and a curse. Having one room to contain all of your kids' stuff is awesome. It's usually the one and only anything-goes place in a house where children can let their imaginations run wild. But the playroom can still really stress parents out- it's almost always a mess, it's cluttered and we all know who really cleans up six days out of seven. Yet the endless possibilities and the creativity that this space is supposed to envelope made me and my client really excited and inspired. What a fun project to take on as one of my first outside of the film industry!
Here is a look at what the clients already had in the room. It was long and skinny, very orange, had huge windows and got tons of hot afternoon sunlight...
The homeowners have three super cool kids under the age of six- two boys and one girl. They wanted a room that was all about the children but was still a space the whole family could enjoy. It is right off the kitchen on the house's main floor so it had to flow with the rest of the home. Storage was important as well as having a huge couch to build forts on, flip over and eventually collapse on to watch a movie. My client was considering a chalkboard wall but wasn't really sure how to combine all of these wish list items to create one cohesive space. So we got together and came up with a design scheme...
Please ignore wonky "blind" lines!
As you will see, we pretty much started from scratch in this room. The carpet was removed and hardwood floors installed. I really loved the valances that were already up but unfortunately the color scheme wasn't quite right for this space. However we did leave their green couch, which I could have had reupholstered, but since the youngest child is still only two, I felt like recovering the couch/getting a new one in a few years was a better use of their budget. The biggest and most exciting change was the addition of the chalkboard wall. As you will see, the kids can not only write on it but since the chalkboard is also magnetic, they can also display their artwork on the wall and easily switch out as they create new pieces! We also had the television installed in the center of the chalkboard wall so that the black tv wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb anywhere else in the room. The results are nothing short of fun AND functional!
We are all so thrilled with the results in here! The kids are loooooooving the chalkboard wall but I am not ashamed to admit that I learned the hard way about magnetic paint fumes. In fact, the metallic smell from the magnetic paint was so intense, the family almost had to spend the night away from the house. It was horrible; however, the results were amazing and I'm so glad they didn't give up. We also had a goal of setting up a dressing room somewhere in the playroom but we have yet to find the perfect size and shaped drapery rod. Finally, we purchased the ceiling fixture from Ikea you see in the concept artwork but the room gets so hot in the summertime that the family couldn't part with the fan. All of those bumps in the road aside, the children have a fun place to play and store all of their toys. Their mom can be one room over cooking while all three kids are entertained on the other side of the wall. I am so glad we opted to use poufs covered in indoor/outdoor fabric at the play table instead of wooden chairs because the kids use them not only as seats but also as bumper cars and building blocks. The tall bookshelves give them tons of storage and the collapsible green fabric bins corral the teeniest toys. On a personal note, I love seeing the colorful pendants hanging on the chalkboard wall. They make the wall feel like a big celebration of kid art! And no playroom is complete without a little Dr. Seuss reference- we just HAD to have the Oh, The Places You'll Go decal!!
The best part of the transformation has been that the entire family of five has been using the room to cuddle up and watch movies or get together and play. Turns out that playrooms can be just as fun for parents as for their kids!
If you have any questions about the space, please don't hesitate to comment below or send me an email- lsuggsinteriors@gmail.com. Thanks for stopping by today!
