Sweet Magnolia Way: Basement Playroom Reveal

Hi there! I mentioned last month, in this post, that I had just finished up the basement playroom for the girls. Our basement is big, finished with decent carpeting and light but it wasn't a place we ever spent time in - except to bring up (and down) the Christmas decorations. The girls were outgrowing our family room as a play space so I finally decided that the days of the basement being used as storage were over.

My first step was creating a design board so I could see all the furniture, art, colors in the space before ordering anything.

Ignore the right side for now. Ideally I'd like to do something similar with our stairs - but I think that's a bit of stretch.

BEFORE

This shot was taken before we moved in. But it looked pretty similar when I started - just more empty.

Since the basement doesn't get a ton of natural light I wanted to use colors that were bright and happy. I love coral, so I planned to do a mix of that with some gray, white and pink. I also wanted to mix patterns to give the space a cozy, playful feel!

AFTER

I thought finding seating for this area would be my greatest challenge because I wanted something colorful, kid friendly and inexpensive. But I was pleasantly surprised to stumble upon these coral chevron futons from Target. They were the perfect size to make a "sectional" with the addition of an ottoman we already had draped in similar fabric. And the best part was they delivered right to our door and it took about ten minutes to screwing in the legs.

This giraffe canvas was love at first site. I wanted something big and vertical to hang on this wall since the gallery art wall was so busy. When I bought it (in December) was on clearance for $60 down from $129!! Looks like it's on sale now for $114.99 - odd?

Above is the opposite side of the room - next to the stairs. Initially, I thought I was going to paint over the wood paneling but as I started working around it, it kinda grew on me. So it might be staying for now at least! The magnet wall was something I wanted to try after seeing this tutorial. But instead of using custom cut sheet metal like she did I bought a galvanized duct from Lowe's for $8, flattened it and nailed it into the wall.

The sweetest thrift store find ever - $25 from ReStore - a white school desk and chair that must have been pink at one time because you can see the color popping through all the chipped up goodness.

There are a three sets of built in shelves down here - I'll show you the other two when I share pix of the rest of the room next week. Filling up these shelves was probably my favorite part of this whole project. I love seeing how things I have collected or picked out months ago work together along with the girls' artwork, books and toys. Oh and my second favorite thrift store find? The globe lamp above- $15!

I spent a lot of time thinking about what kind of rug I wanted to pull the space together and make it feel more grounded. I wanted it to be soft too because I knew the girls' little feet and bums would be spending a lot of time on it. After I picked out the couches I knew I had to keep the rug neutral and solid. (I had a bunch of fun prints picked out before I found the couches). The cable knit rug I decided on looks and feels like a really cozy soft sweater. I waited until RugsUsa had one of their huge sales and got this 8x10 rug when it was 60% off. Money well spent!

And finally, the art wall! While putting all the odds and ends on the built ins may have been my favorite part of this project, seeing the final result of the art wall was my happiest. Art is a huge part of my life - I love all kinds and am endlessly inspired and amazed by the beauty that people can create. I have tried to make sure both Layla and Hadley are exposed to it as much as possible and I thought having this huge reminder before them would be a great start!

This wall is a mix of Etsy and Society 6 artists, thrift store finds, along with stitched art by my Mom and others. Of course there is some of the girls' art and a few things that I thought would look cute thrown in for good measure. Like the big pink bow that was on the bicycle Layla got for Christmas and the book jacket from I Had a Favorite Dress (love this book!). But what inspired the whole wall, was the photo of my Mom (the girls' Noni) when she was a little girl. Her smile, the blue pastel wash of the photo and the frame made it a great starting point and I just built everything else around it.

OK, that was another long post! I'll source what I didn't mention above and can (remember) from this room below. If I miss anything just ask!

Coffee Table - A friend gave this to us when they moved and we didn't need a dining table so I cut the legs down - perfect square coffee table!

Owl Pillow - Target (no longer available)

Polka Dot Pillows - I made these using this fabric and two Ikea pillow inserts rolled and tied off with rubber bands and ribbon!

All other pillows

DIY Dot and Heart Pillows

Chevron Afghan - Scott's Grandmother

Desk Lamp - Vintage find 10+ years ago

Art - Various Artists including: AshleyG - Janet Hill Studio - Kelli Murray - Nan Lawson - Sarah Jane Studios

Origami Butterflies - My shop

Bunting

Hanging Lanterns - Target