It's happening! It sort of has to. With two small children running around here all the time, we are seriously outgrowing the room we have. Fast. For years we have toyed with the idea of creating a playroom, but we knew the only way to do that was going to be to get rid of our "formal dining room". In all honesty, that room is a serious waste of space with the exception of maybe 4 times per year. It has just taken us this long to let go of our "need" to have it. We enjoy having it, but times are changing. These types of rooms are less and less popular and less and less utilized as society changes. We have held on to our ideal of having big dinners in that room for long enough. We don't do it, so we realize we are wasting serious hot property. We do Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner there and also put food in that room for birthday parties. The other 361 days out of the year though, there is minimal in there. It sort of just sits, waiting to be used. Okay, okay.... I do use the big table for all my crafting, but I can do that elsewhere and maybe getting rid of the room will encourage me to move my crafts elsewhere and keep them out of sight unless I am specifically working on them at that moment. (Note the ridiculous amount of junk on that table. Between wreaths, books we are moving to Steven's office and out of the house, my laptop... and monitor because we dropped the laptop a month or so ago,cracked the screen, and haven't fixed it yet, and all the other junk... we look like hoarders.)
We are finally biting the proverbial bullet, and pulling the trigger on the playroom. Well, after Christmas at least. We figure we can get through the next two holiday meals first. Maybe. Thanksgiving isn't that far away, but as we decide what to ask Santa to bring this year, it is starting to look more and more crowded around here.
We have decided to draw inspiration from items we already have as we design our perfect playroom. We have to remember that this room is open to the house. It isn't behind a closed door so it has to remain presentable (or as presentable as can be while filled with toys), but also be functional for our family. We have to remember that we have two children. One boy and one girl with some different and some shared interests and the kiddos are in different developmental stages so there are some roadblocks that we are already thinking through, such as giving Kenzie (and eventually Will) an art corner but keeping crayons and markers out of the hands of one very curious toddler.
We already own this Kritter table and chairs from Ikea. Just last week I traipsed down there, with two kids in tow, and picked up two more chairs. Unfortunately, they no longer carry our blue ones. In lieu of white, which is just screaming to be colored on and ruined, we chose red. I am now considering adding red polka dots to the table top and sealing it so that it ties in the red chairs, but that is still just a consideration. We also already have a few big items, like the easel and kitchen. We are going to focus our colors on the red and blue and I am working on getting Steven to consider a nautical theme (if we theme it at all). We are actually leaning towards no theme (which is driving the creative person inside me crazy) because eventually we will likely change this into a more "homework/media" room for the kids and I do not want to change themes as they become older and more opinionated. Also, one day we may sell and too much theming might be overwhelming for potential home buyers.
Steven is taking the week between Christmas and New Years off work so (if we make it that long) we will be doing our transition then. I've been pinning like a crazy person in preparation. We have a couple of drawings done already to help us (read: obsessive me) get prepared and know what we want in what general area.
I might be a bit overexcited about this, but I am just so ready to not only give the kids an area of their own, but also remove the large toys that are in our living room and put them in a more centralized place. I am fully aware that, especially with the playroom being open to the remainder of the house, that toys will spill back into the living room daily, but at least when we clean each night, things can go back into the playroom and our house can be livable again.
We think the kids are going to love having their own space. Luckily, Will has learned very quickly where he is and isn't allowed in the house without someone else. For instance, no playing in the bathroom. Yes, he is a toddler so he sometimes does those things anyway, but most of the time he stays close by. That's why this room is perfect. It doesn't have a door, but both kids will love playing in there where their toys are. I am just so excited! You know you're a mom when the best part of your week is deciding to make a playroom. Haha! Wish us luck! We have a lot of furniture moving and cleaning out/boxing up to do to make this happen.
We are finally biting the proverbial bullet, and pulling the trigger on the playroom. Well, after Christmas at least. We figure we can get through the next two holiday meals first. Maybe. Thanksgiving isn't that far away, but as we decide what to ask Santa to bring this year, it is starting to look more and more crowded around here.
We have decided to draw inspiration from items we already have as we design our perfect playroom. We have to remember that this room is open to the house. It isn't behind a closed door so it has to remain presentable (or as presentable as can be while filled with toys), but also be functional for our family. We have to remember that we have two children. One boy and one girl with some different and some shared interests and the kiddos are in different developmental stages so there are some roadblocks that we are already thinking through, such as giving Kenzie (and eventually Will) an art corner but keeping crayons and markers out of the hands of one very curious toddler.
We already own this Kritter table and chairs from Ikea. Just last week I traipsed down there, with two kids in tow, and picked up two more chairs. Unfortunately, they no longer carry our blue ones. In lieu of white, which is just screaming to be colored on and ruined, we chose red. I am now considering adding red polka dots to the table top and sealing it so that it ties in the red chairs, but that is still just a consideration. We also already have a few big items, like the easel and kitchen. We are going to focus our colors on the red and blue and I am working on getting Steven to consider a nautical theme (if we theme it at all). We are actually leaning towards no theme (which is driving the creative person inside me crazy) because eventually we will likely change this into a more "homework/media" room for the kids and I do not want to change themes as they become older and more opinionated. Also, one day we may sell and too much theming might be overwhelming for potential home buyers.
Steven is taking the week between Christmas and New Years off work so (if we make it that long) we will be doing our transition then. I've been pinning like a crazy person in preparation. We have a couple of drawings done already to help us (read: obsessive me) get prepared and know what we want in what general area.
I might be a bit overexcited about this, but I am just so ready to not only give the kids an area of their own, but also remove the large toys that are in our living room and put them in a more centralized place. I am fully aware that, especially with the playroom being open to the remainder of the house, that toys will spill back into the living room daily, but at least when we clean each night, things can go back into the playroom and our house can be livable again.
We think the kids are going to love having their own space. Luckily, Will has learned very quickly where he is and isn't allowed in the house without someone else. For instance, no playing in the bathroom. Yes, he is a toddler so he sometimes does those things anyway, but most of the time he stays close by. That's why this room is perfect. It doesn't have a door, but both kids will love playing in there where their toys are. I am just so excited! You know you're a mom when the best part of your week is deciding to make a playroom. Haha! Wish us luck! We have a lot of furniture moving and cleaning out/boxing up to do to make this happen.
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