Ever since having Ava and Thea, I’ve wanted a playroom. But we haven’t ever had the space, so our lounge has been full of toys, and the girls bedrooms have been too. But I have come up with a way of making space, so I am excitedly planning how it will look. We’ve put the girls in the same room, in bunk beds, so that we can make the bigger of the two rooms a playroom and creative space. Now we have the bedroom sorted, we can get onto the good stuff: planning the new playroom! Here’s my Pinterest board, full of playroom inspiration, why not follow along?
Do you want to see how the room looked when we moved in four years ago? Get ready, it’s not pretty…
We’ve painted the room in the same soft grey as Thea’s room, and got a new carpet when we moved in.
First Steps to a Playroom and Creative Space
We’ve started their new playroom and creative space by adding some storage from Aldi. This cabinet was only £39.99 from Aldi, and took ages to put up, but it’s well worth it.
I also treated the girls to this gorgeous neon pink screen print from Flat102*, I think it looks lovely, and is a really positive message from A.A. Milne.
The next task, after removing Ava’s old bed, was to clear away the toys, and generally declutter. It took me a whole day, and I got rid of a bin bag of broken toys and general junk. It felt so good!
The Room is Ready to Make Into A Playroom and Creative Space
This is how Ava’s old bedroom looks now. It looks a lot bigger! If you’re wondering about the window decals, you can read all about them here. They were easy to apply, and look so pretty, especially on the rare occasions we get a blue sky.
It’s a shame we have to keep the wardrobe and chest of drawers, as they take up a lot of space, but Ava still needs somewhere to put her clothes.
I am planning to recover the big black beanbag to make it lighter, as it dominates the space too much at the moment. Ryan’s mum made it for him when he was at uni, and it is super comfy and the perfect place to snuggle up with a book. We may end up putting in some different book storage, as the wheeled cart is very bulky.
Desks for our Playroom and Creative Space
Next on the agenda is desks. We went on a little trip to IKEA to see what they have on offer. The girls had a great time and quickly choose their favourites:
But then they saw these ‘sister desks’ as the girls are calling them, and they were smitten:
I think these Svalnas wall mounted desks are fantastic. They are made of bamboo, which is a sustainable, fast-growing material. Because they are on the mounting brackets, they can move up as the girls grow, and they have draws to stash clutter in, plus shelving above. The only downside is the price. This set up would cost £220, without the accessories or chairs.
A more cost effective solution is the kid-friendly Pahl desks. They come with adjustable legs that go to three heights. So Thea could have it the lowest height, Ava the middle height and then when they get older, they could be fully extended. They are £40 each.
It also comes in a larger size, which they could share, for £50. Unfortunately, they don’t have drawers, which I do think may be essential to keep clutter hidden.
We have the basic white top and legs combo in our home office, which would be the cheapest option of all. We have a stack of drawers in there too – that would be useful as the girls have a million pens and pencils to store. So I expect we will be going back to IKEA a few more times before making our minds up.
I’m on the hunt for accessories and fun bits and bobs now, and considering whether to paint the walls, or keep them the pale grey. Do you have a play room, or a play corner in your house? I’d love to hear any tips!