A room for playing

It's time to move the toys out of the living and give them their own space.  They can make some visits down the hall, but I am really hoping we can get a handle on some of this "toddler decor."

I would really like the playroom to not look a daycare classroom.  My goal is to make it look like a fun room that blends into the rest of our home.

The new playroom has been a lot of different rooms in our home since we moved in a few years ago.  It has been an empty room. It has been a formal living room (you know, the room no one lives in).  And it has been an office/studio, most recently.  But since doing a slight furniture shuffle and moving the twin bed from the guest room to the big girl room, it is time to move the studio {back} upstairs and give Lainey a place to hang.

The Playroom Checklist:

A chair for reading - check!
I am going to use the PBK glider from Lainey's nursery.  It's super comfy and has an ottoman so it's perfect for snuggling up in with a good book.

Some kind of shelf for baskets of toys and books - check!
Got a great deal on a PBK shelf second hand.  It even matches Lainey's bedroom furniture so she can use it if she ever gets a bigger bedroom some day too.

Everyone needs a table for craft and lunch dates - check!
Another great second-hand deal.

An art center - {almost} check!
I have an easel that I got on clearance at Michael's that needs to be put together and I will need to find some kind of cute boxes to put supplies in to set on the easel shelf.

Toys - {double} check!
Toys R Us called and they want some of their inventory back! It seems like every time we hand something down to Landon, another 3 toys show up!!  Part of setting up this playroom is going to be a purge of some toys that we don't use anymore.

Curtains - {maybe} check!
You would think after living in this house for as long as we have, there would be curtains hanging in every room.  Well, nay.... this is the only room without curtains.  Luckily, I think I have the perfect pair in my studio cabinet.

Play Kitchen - check! 
Thanks to Santa, we have this covered.  It's just gotta make its way out of my kitchen and into its new home! 

Books - {triple} check!
My girl loves to read so there is no shortage of books in our house... or in our car.... or even in my purse some times.  So, this is not a problem to fill a shelf!

{Not So Perfect} Disclaimer: This checklist makes it sound like a smooth plan, doesn't it? Like a playroom is just going to magically make its way into our home?  Well, I can assure you that is a fairytale.  Because in the midst of this project, the studio has to go somewhere.  Yes, it is making its way upstairs.  But with no desk or bookshelf upstairs yet, it's hard to get things moving! So, where did my studio contents go, you ask? {ok, maybe you didn't ask.} But they are filling my dining room right now! It's cool, we aren't dining in there any way, right?  Good thing there's a long weekend coming up and that Mother Nature may not bless us with the lounge-by-the-pool forecast I am wishing for... at least if it's cloudy and I am stuck rearranging rooms, I won't wish for the pool! 

What are the must-haves in your playrooms?  Or better yet, how do you tame the toys?!

Enjoying her new table!

xoxo,

Linda