Playroom Do Over Part 2

Hi and happy Friday!!  As promised, I'm following up part one of our playroom makeover with part two - crazy right: )  Taking on this side of the playroom (back towards Scott's gym and sliders) I faced the same issues - wood paneling and no continuity.  And I fixed it in the same way - with white paint and simplifying the decor!

Here is what the space looked like four years (pre move in):

 

 

And two years ago:

 



 

 

And now:

 



 

 

During the first makeover, two years ago, I wanted to use this part of the basement as a place where the girls could work on crafts or draw.  But that never happened and we already have a large art area upstairs for that.  So this space was mostly unused.  Fast forward two years, now both Layla and Hadley are super into dress-up and princesses and this is the most popular place in the whole house!

 

Before (two years ago):

 

 

 

Last year, I bought a bunch of large ceramic feather hooks from Anthropologie and just knew they would be perfect for hanging fancy dresses!  They were originally white so I painted them the same mint green I used throughout the playroom and hung them with 3M Velcro strips.

 

 

 

 

I made the glittery gold dots of scrapbook paper from Michaels and circle punch.  I also added a strip of the glitter paper to the front of a wood hanger to hang the little saying above. 



I also switched around the built-ins on the opposite wall.

Before (two years ago):

After:

Scott has amassed a large amount of this childhood toys that have been, until recently, stored away.  Since I now have a larger space for most of my craft supplies I decided to switch shelves and display his things on the large of the two built-ins. Just made more sense! 

Before (two years ago):

After:

So that's the new and improved playroom!  Hoping I'll stay in love with the colors and layout this time around and that the girls spend a lot of time down here enjoying it!

 

 

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Metallic Star PIllows ~ Free Pattern

On Tuesday, Kendra posted photos of her newly redesigned playroom ~ a truly happy place for my granddaughters.  It's their world of dress up, make believe, and magic.  I wanted to add a little contribution ~ "the little twinkle, twinkle little star."

In a prior post I mentioned one of my favorite on-line fabric stores is Hawthorne Threads.  One morning while browsing the newsletter that they send out each week, I saw this beautiful collection of metallic fabrics from Jacqueline Savage Mcfee's collection "Heavy Metals."

Just two of the available prints

Just perfect for a star pillow ~ and the pattern was free!  The instructions were simple to follow, and the metallic fabric made it twinkle.

In this room where the girls can be a princess, a chef, a construction worker...., they now have a little star "to wish upon"!  ♥





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Playroom Do Over Part 1

Hi there!  Almost exactly two years ago I was sharing photos of the basement playroom makeover I worked on for the girls.   And today, I'm sharing my redo of that and later this week and redo of this! 

I had been on the fence about keeping the wood paneling down there and finally decided that it just made it too dark/dreary.  So out came the white paint (and about three days of numbness in my right arm) and we suddenly had a brighter basement, made only brighter by the addition of the softest white carpeting ever and the removal of a small part of the staircase thanks to the ever-handy Scott.

Here's where we started (pre move in fours years ago):

That turned into this (two years ago):

And here we are today (and hopefully for a long long time):

This time around I wanted things a little simpler, cleaner and more pulled together color-wise.  And it started with making all the walls and floor (carpet) white.  Then painting all the frames above the couch a similar color, making the art gallery more cohesive.  And we donated of a bunch of neglected or outgrown toys making room for other things and just making room: )

 

The decision to carpet the stairs was a hard one, especially after all the effort I put into making them cute (here and here).  But in the end it felt safer for the girls, who run up and down them, to have the extra padding! The prints on the left are from here.

 

 

This little (big) arrow detail was something I just decided to do one day and all it took was a sample jar of mint green paint, painters tape and about an hour.  An easy, fast project that turned out way better than I expected!

 

 



 

 

You can see in the above photo where a portion of the wall at the bottom of the stairs was removed.  It was hollow and not load-bearing so Scott was able to do it himself.  I love how it lets in more natural light from upstairs and makes the space feel more open.

 

Hadley and Layla looove princesses so my mom made and framed this Disney princess cross stitch piece for them.  The light above it is an outdoor fixture that is pretty as well was super bright.

Another before and after for you - this one really shows how much lighter and brighter it is down here now!

Staircase wall two years ago:

Staircase wall now:

Pretty dramatic difference - right?!  We shifted the kitchen over since the wall it was up against before was gone and added a little counter for their checkout/cash register area.

 

 

I changed out most of the art for pieces that fit the new color scheme from Land of Nod (they have an ever-changed curated art section so most of these aren't available anymore) and Etsy.  I love how much less cluttered this wall is now. 

You can see above that I painted the mirror in the same mint green as the arrow and glued on little scrunched up balls of tissue paper in neon pink, green and white.  My mom made the cute star pillow.

My coffee table makeover was a complete accident.  I started painting the black coffee we already had (which is an old Ikea dining table cut down) and after coat number four I could tell the paint was going to too gloppy and thick so I started to scrape it off.  After I made a swipe I thought it looked kinda cool underneath so I made a heart and that was that!

 

Now for one last before and after.  The built-in bookshelves in this section of the basement also got a coat white paint and I also removed (and moved) a few of the shelves since the higher up ones didn't really serve a purpose since the girls couldn't reach them.

 

Built-ins two years ago:

 

 

 

Built-ins now:

 

 

Now instead of just being a display area for a bunch of random stuff, the shelves actually hold the girls' games and toys.  And I had two of my favorite photos from our trip to Disney made into engineer prints (Staples $7) and used those as the backdrop for the top shelf.   Love that the black and white here ties in with the coffee table: )

 



 

And there you have it!  Part one of the second basement playroom makeover.  I'll share photos of the other side of the room later this week.

 

Wall Light
Disney Princesses Cross Stitch Pattern
Chevron Couches - no longer available in coral
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)

Flower Pillows -I just added inserts!

All other pillows

Floor Poufs

Desk Lamp - Vintage

School desk and chair - Vintage

Art - Various Artists found via Land of Nod and Etsy

HOORAY Banner - Oh Joy for Target (no longer available)

Origami Butterflies

Paper Lanterns - Target

Magnet Letters - Homegoods

Play Kitchen - Craigslist

 

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Ombre Stairs

Hello!  Yesterday I shared before and after photos of the stairs leading down to the basement playroom.  Today,  the before and after view of the stairs going up! 

I had wanted to try the ombre painting effect ever since seeing it done on this dresser.    And once I was finished painting over all that dark paneling I knew the risers of the basement stairs needed to be painted in pretty shades of pink/coral. 

I just started with my base color (Navajo Red - deck stain) and simply added white paint to it - a little more for each riser going up. Not very scientific but it saved me from finding 13 containers to mix paint in for each stair. 

BEFORE

AFTER

 

 

 

 

Another quote from Shel Silverstein over the door.

Very happy with how it turned out!
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Brightening Up the Stairs

Hello!  I shared pretty photos of the girls' playroom here and here but what I didn't share was the staircase leading down to the basement.  Mostly because it was dark and dungeony-looking and I knew it was going to take me awhile to brighten it up.  But now, a few month later, after lots of glossy white paint and Advil I was able to transform the walls and stairs into an entrance befitting the lovely basement playroom it leads to. 

BEFORE

AFTER

I love Shel Silverstein and the line above is part of  his poem 'Invitation'.

I made the tassel garland out of neon twine from Lowes and the mini airplanes from map paper from my Etsy shop.

 

 

 

 

Definitely a huge improvement! Amazing how white paint can make a space feel so much bigger and lighter!

 

Tomorrow I will share the view going up the stairs - one word  - ombre!

 

xo!

Kendra



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Playroom Makeover - Part 2

Hello All!  A few weeks ago I shared the photos of the finished basement playroom project/makeover I had been working on.  But that was just half (well more like three quarters) of the story!  The other side of the basement - the area in front of the sliders and next to Scott's gym needed some work too.  I wanted this area to include some things that were special to Scott and I, as well as incorporating a craft space for the girls (and me).  I didn't want to spend a lot of money or time on space so I made made or re-used almost everything you see.  I'll follow this post up next week with a few tutorials and item sources.

Here is the BEFORE photo of this area (as in before we lived here):

More wood paneling that I oddly don't hate.  We had considered painting it but after hanging colorful art on it I liked the way it looked - like rustic cabin meets playful??!

Here is the AFTER:

 

Here is the BEFORE of the large paneled wall on the right:

And the same wall AFTER:

I love how the colors in the scalloped paint card garland I made match perfectly with the World Cities calendar I used as wall art.

Last one - Shelves closest to the slider BEFORE:

And AFTER:

My craft storage/work area.  I backed the shelves with wrapping paper - like I did here - and now I can work on orders for my shop while Layla and Hadley play close by.  I found the vintage crotcheted rug on etsy!

A few more shots of this now more colorful and functional little area - I love it!

Small craft space for Layla and Hadley.  Stocked and ready with art supplies.
I made those pillows in about 10 minutes.

An corner to display of the girls' artwork.

Shelves with some of Scott's books and collections.
The military portrait was a thrift store find!

 

My super easy DIY bear rug.

 

Enjoying the view.

 

What do you think?



 

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