Reader Space: Painting a Place to Play

Although I continue to age and grow older each day, I still remain a kid at heart.  I love heading to the park to play kickball with the boys, to sit down and create Lego cities and to build forts for playroom camp-outs.  And of all of the rooms within our home, our playroom still is one of my favorites.

There is something about a place to create and play and imagine that emotes so much happiness.  And maybe it is the kid in me, but today's reader space left me with all sorts of warm fuzzies, I just had to share it with you!

I have shared many examples of the power of paint over the years, and Brit's playroom update is yet another.  Paint had the ability to transform a dark and lifeless basement into a bright and exciting place for imaginations to run wild.  Well, paint paired with some thoughtful organization that is!

Brit blogs over at House Updated, where she shares many amazing home improvement projects that are sure to leave you inspired and ready to pull out a sledge hammer.  But there was no sledge hammer necessary for today's space.  Just some creativity, a little paint and a few great storage pieces and boom!  Playroom awesomeness.



What is the main function of this space?

"The main purpose of this space is to give our kids an area all their own to be creative, have fun, and really let loose with all their toys.  We want to make every square inch of our house work hard for our family and that includes adults and kids alike.  So we decided to use this corner of our basement as our kids' playroom."

Any superstar tips for keeping it organized?

"A couple of things that make it really easy to keep this space organized.  Both hidden storage to hide all those big, bright kid toys and large storage bins so we can just toss in the toys and go.  Also helpful are the shallow drawers for art and craft supplies and the tabletop storage for our markers and pencils - no more digging through deep drawers to find what we are looking for.  Using labels and organization really helps our kids do all the pickup - great for busy parents!"

What items did you find were essential when organizing the space, and why?

"Essential to organizing this space are the two separate storage areas - one for big things like toys and dolls and another area for smaller storage like art supplies.  Even more helpful to both of those spaces were labels for everything.  We love the chalkboard labels on the large bins which can be updated as our storage needs change and also our metal bookplate labels for the art drawers - who doesn't like to look at organized, pretty things?"

What did you do to go the extra mile and "Make it Pretty"?

"We are working on updating our whole house and didn't want to leave the basement as the only spot that we didn't 'prettify'.  We also wanted to have an area that our kids could be proud of and enjoy using.   Next to the playroom area is our movie watching spot, so it is especially nice for our family and our friends to see a pretty space when chillaxing with some popcorn and bevs."

What items did you DIY to stay on a budget?

"We did a lot of DIY projects in this space, including two Ikea hacks - one for the large storage unit with toy bins and the other for our art table.  Going the DIY route saved us quite a bit so we could splurge on things like a new rug and new kid sized chairs.  I also made the various chalkboards in the room from ConTact chalkboard paper and the kids use those all the time - much cheaper than store bought!"

How has this space impacted your life for the better?

"Our whole family has felt the positive impact of having a new playroom.  It is so great having a dedicated area for our kids' toys and our kids play in their playroom all the time.  Now that they can find their art supplies easily, they spend lots more time letting their inner artists shine.  Our whole family really enjoys spending time in a space that looks so fun and cheerful and stays clean and organized!  Also, all the use of color in this space has made me more excited to bring more color into other spots of our home.  Score one for color!" 

And to make this feature a little sweeter, here is the before and after we all love.

So charming right?  Look at the difference just painting that dated paneling made in the space!  From there, hacking the IKEA Expedit to create storage for toys big and small was quite a genius move.  And how about that craft station?  Organized and labeled drawers, easy to access supplies, a mini table and chairs.... instant crafting and creativity at a moment's notice.  Although the play area is open to an adjoining movie room, the rug grounds the entire space and creates a room within a room while also providing a soft place to play.

Fellow lovers of labels, are your drooling with me?  Bookplates work great on the craft cart while chalkboard allows for flexibility with the toys bins.  And can we talk about that adorable artwork display?  It not only adds whimsy to the space, but it encourages the little ones to reach for markers and paint.

Brit really did a great job seeing something in that previously dark nook of her home.  Her ability to tap into her inner kid and get creative allowed her to give her children a playful retreat to enjoy for years to come.

A warm thank you to Brit for sharing her space with us today!  If you are looking for more details, you can find her reveal on her blog here.

ATTENTION!!  Want to be featured in a Reader Space edition?  Have an awesome organizing story to share?  I am looking for projects that have made a positive impact to your life, big or small.  They can be anything from an organized drawer or cabinet to an entire room.  Please submit your story and photos to iheartreaderspace@gmail.com, and I would heart to feature them right here on the blog!!  Photos should be high resolution and unedited.  Please include a description of the project, including any costs, inspiration, and how it has changed your life and routine for the better!  Oh, and no worries my friends, we will NEVER judge "before" pictures because that just wouldn't be nice!  Only love goes on at this blog!