The play room revamp seemed to be one of the most refreshing and smooth revamps we have done at home over the last three years, especially since every room we have decorated here lately has taken such a long time (hello kitchen makeover which took three months!)
The playroom is what would be the formal dining room in our home, but that would be a wasted space, with young kids and toys everywhere, the obvious choice for us was for it to become the playroom.
If you follow me on Instagram you will have seen some of the progress, but not yet the full before and after pictures. I'm sharing it all here, even if the before pictures make me cringe a little.
Before becoming a play room though, this space played many other roles. In the time that we have been living here, the room quickly became the 'dumping room' (every home has one of those right?), then for a short while it was the 'treadmill room', and that was short-lived. After that we had family living with us for a while so this space became the overflow of the kitchen, with a fridge (yes, a fridge!) at the same time as getting back to being a 'dumping room'. When the family moved out last December, we decided it was time to finally make use of the space wisely and turn it into the playroom/games room and give it some TLC. So whilst we were continuing to paint the kitchen cupboards, I was anxiously planning this makeover.
My vision:
I needed to create a space where the Mr would enjoy spending time in (games room after all!) as well as the girls, which meant no pink walls and nothing too girly, but instead a cool neutral space that the whole family could enjoy with plenty of storage for all their toys and games.
This makeover was completed on a very small budget I must add. I shopped my home for most of the items used, and I sold a couple of unused/unwanted items on Ebay which pretty much paid for the paint and storage units we bought, and we did all the sanding/painting ourselves. It was a tiny-spend revamp: win-win!
Before:
It was a typical beige box. Just like the lounge when we first moved in, there was beige carpet, beige walls and brown curtains. What you actually see here is the room already updated with flooring and new blinds so that was already a step forward. However it was uninspiring, with toys everywhere and a complete lack of style. The TV in the photo was just there because we had no where else to put it (dumping room indeed), but it was never actually used here.
During:
The biggest job we had to complete in this room was the painting of literally every surface apart from the floor! After filling in wholes and sanding all the woodwork, we started painting. I kicked off with the skirting boards in the evenings while the Mr spent a whole Saturday painting the ceiling and walls and got it pretty much done in one weekend, with some touch ups left to do only.
After that, it was only a matter of having the time I needed to rearrange everything, complete some DIYs and re-organise and sort through toys.
The reveal
You can just about see above that the ceiling was being painted in a dark blue tone. It was something I chose as it felt right for the room whilst the white walls would still keep it bright. Forget feature wall, I wanted a feature ceiling. It didn't go down too well with anyone to start with. I stuck to my decision though. And I am so glad I did. Here is the room just about finished. Only now missing a light pendant and a picture on one of the walls...
I have done a mini Ikea toy kitchen makeover too as part of this room revamp, to add something extra special for the girls I created their very own pink tile splash back for their kitchen. Super easy to do with the help of Adele at Nutmeg Wall Art. There will be a step by step post next week - it is super easy and if you want to do something similar come back and check it out!
In regards to the toy storage, I used clever containers within the Ivar Ikea unit which can store a lot - I was impressed with how many toys I could fit in such a slim unit. I ended up actually returning a whole unit because I didn't need any more storage (something I never thought I would be saying!) There is also a tall unit to keep board games and some larger toys, as well as nursery bags and backpacks, and I've even managed some toys in the TV unit which was almost unused before.
I have done my best to clear up and get rid of any unwanted or broken toys by donating or recycling them. It was time consuming - if you're a mum you will know what it's like when you're putting together all the pieces of a shape sorter or puzzle after they'd been misplaced. One of the joys of motherhood! It was worth it... And here I leave you with the newly decorated playroom, I hope you like it!
As I have shopped my home for most of the items, some were purchased a long time ago and are no longer available, but I have linked for you below the items that are still available:
Picture 1: Ceiling Paint: Dulux Saphire Salute, Sofa and Chair from Dwell, Rug and Throw from Urban Outfitters, Palm Leaf cushion and Artist Brush Cushion from my shop, Stendig Calendar from my shop (for sale from September to January), 'New Black' Print by Oliver Gal (similar here), Hanging basket from House Doctor, Side table from Zara Home, throw from Ikea
Picture 2: Ivar storage unit from Ikea, Storage felt basket and floor planter from Homesense, Felt Board and Pink Leopard Print from my shop, Handwriting print which I made using my eldest's handwriting, Pink jug from Flying Tiger, Small clipboards from amazon which I have spray painted in grey.
Picture 3: TV unit, Tall storage locker from Ikea, Gold planter from Matalan, Pink Planter from homesense, wicker planter from Trouva.
Picture 4: Ikea play kitchen upcycled with sticker from Nutmeg Wall Art, Small planter from my shop, large planter from Homesense, 'Kind' Plaque from Flat102.
As I shopped my home for this makeover, the only newly bought items were the paint and the Ikea storage units, and a couple of the smaller accessories, everything else I made or moved around to create this new family space.
It was really eye opening to find that I had so many things at home that were either being unloved or unused that I could repurpose. I strongly recommend shopping your home before being tempted to buy new. More £££ for shoes after all!
*Disclaimer: this post contains some affiliate links, so if you click and purchase any of those items I may earn a small commission.
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