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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