22 IHeart Style Tile: Cheerful Play Haven!

I recently had the pleasure of creating a Style Tile for some lucky little kiddos.  That's right, a spare bedroom is being updated into a play haven, and I was chosen to lend a helping hand in providing some inspiration! 

Melinda wrote:

Hi Jen! 

How are you?  I went to your blog this afternoon and upon reading today's post immediately went upstairs to take those measurements !  January just flew by and I am very anxious to get to work on the kids' playroom--really super excited!! 

Here are my thoughts:  The room doesn't have any function as a playroom at the moment. It's a dumping ground. I have slowly started taking toys up there in anticipation of it being transformed.  We have a very old bedroom set in there which does get some use .  My husband works shift work on occasion and needs to sleep up there during the day once every few months.  His ultimate desire would be to keep the mattress up there but I don't think we can swing that.  I'll just throw it out there in case you figure out something that would work.  Truly our ultimate goal is a space for the kids.

Our hope is to provide a place for our kids to play, read, do arts & crafts, puzzles/games, and maybe homework.  We have two children, almost 5 year old boy and almost 8 year old girl.  We want a space to grow with our kids so nothing too age or gender specific.  I was thinking primary colors or maybe neutrals with splashes of color.  My son's favorite color is blue and my daughter's is green {when she isn't given the choice of pink}.  I love navy's and we are also Florida grads so orange and blue works too.

Of course we can't forget TOY storage!  Wow, we have a lot of toys!  I would love it if all of their toys had a home in the playroom.  It would free up so much space in their rooms and closets.  And of course, my room, dining room, living room, office....

Our daughter LOVES to read so a reading nook is a must as well as plenty of storage for books, LOTS of them too.  Maybe a couch so mom and dad can spend time up there with them and seating too.  Another idea that I liked is a place for the kids' artwork to be displayed, where we can switch in and out. 

We have a train table {47" x 33"} that my son still wants included in the playroom for the time being. Not sure how long that phase will last but he has many friends that still love to play trains when they come over.  I would also like some sort of large surface table/area for building legos/blocks and the usual coloring/crafts etc.  Plenty of space for both kids to work without disturbing one another.  They also have table top air hockey and fuseball that they enjoy and need a place to play. 

Like most moms, I have tons of pictures of the kids...would love to find a place for a few of them.  I also like wall quotes. 

So is that it?  What have I missed?  Can you even make heads or tails out of all this?  I have attached some pictures {and I didn't even bother cleaning up the room!}  It is what it is.  My husband also did a quick layout with measurements.  Thank you so much! 

Oh, I almost forgot...we do not want a TV in the room...at least not right now...maybe when they are older.

Blessings,
Melinda

And here is what I had come up with for Melinda!

1.  The color for the walls is Valspar's Sea Salt Blue.  I chose something in a neutral color so that as the room evolves, it won't be necessary to switch out the wall color, and it's from the gray neutral family which gives it extreme fresh versatility.  The accent colors are intended to be helpful when choosing pops of colors for the room through accessories.  A spring green, bright red and teal are great bold colors for a play space, and also gender neutral for both your boy and girl!

2.  The three white frames pictured, are my absolute favorite frames for displaying photos of kids.  They come with a matted, which is the perfect way to frame out a sweat pea's smile.

3.  When it comes to displaying artwork, I found inspiration in this alphabet cable system.  However, the price is a little steep, if you are up for a DIY project, this could easily be re-created on a budget.  Most local craft stores carry wooden letters {you could even use your munchkin's initials}, which could be painted in a red color and installed on the wall, with a piece of wire or twine strung in between.  Then, these super adorable sparrow bird clips could be used to hold their masterpieces to the twine!

3.  You had mentioned needing a place for your husband to sleep, a place for your daughter to read, and a couch or sitting area for mom and day while the kids play.  Sleep + Reading Nook + Couch = Daybed!  I think this daybed would be the perfect solution to those three needs, plus offer a place for a guest to sleep as well!  I like the idea of finding some bedding in a playful teal color, similar to this.  And adding bright and textural throw pillows to the daybed, such as this shaggy teal one, this multi-tonal one and this plush green one, turn the daybed into a cozy reading nook/sofa!  And check out all that storage below!  That could easily be a place to stash blankets and toys galore!

4.  For all those books, I would install some wall book storage, flanking each side of the daybed.

5.  These curtain panels are a fantastic way to bring some whimsical artwork into the space!

6.  Let's talk toy storage and crafting.  This shelving unit comes 16 storage cubbies!  The shelf cubbies could hold these bins {which can corral oodles of toys each}, along with smaller boxes such as these, which a great for stashing away awkward sized craft supplies.  I also thought that you could istall one or two of these rails, along with a bunch of these cheapo buckets, to corral crayons, markers, paint brushes, scissors, glue, etc... for quick and easy access to crafting supplies.  You could also install an open ended rod to hold a role of butcher paper for painting projects as well.  I like the option of installing the rail with buckets vs. splurging on an art caddy up on top of the desk, since you mentioned you have table top items that would be used on this space as well.  By having the rails installed nearby, there would be nothing to clear off of the desk when the table top games come out, however, the buckets easily pop on and off the railing and can be toted anywhere!

7.  This rug would be a great way to visually pull the space together.  I would place it under this table, and pair it with these awesome green chairs!

Because I know how much those bookcases can hold when it comes to toys, plus the additional storage under the day bed, I think you should be set.  But if not, I had asked about that dresser, which I think could serve as even more storage if given a fresh coat of paint in any of the room accent colors and topped with a fun lamp {like this one}.

Melinda is also fortunate enough to have a giant spare walk in, in which we agreed some larger, awkward sized toys could be stashed away.

So there you have it!  A gender neutral room for kiddos to grow into, while getting their play and craft on!  I can't wait to here what you guys think!  Anyone see any ideas they can implement in their own play space?

A style tile is a great way of placing room decor and storage pieces together to snag a feel of how they would look in a given space.  They offer inspiration and guidance for making choices in your updates.  If you are interested in a Style Tile, you can purchase them here!