Playroom (Re-) Makeover

Our playroom is a beast. It's really supposed to be a formal living/dining room (hence the chandelier we've never bothered to replace), but being very INformal people, we thought it would be far more practical to dedicate the space to toys and games for the girls than to turn it into some fancy sitting area where no one would really sit. Don't get me started on whose idea it was to put the dining room around the corner and down the hall from the kitchen, anyway--how is that practical?? Anyway, it's HUGE and is off the main hallway leading from our front door back to the family room and kitchen, so it's one of the first things you see when you come into the house, and that makes it a challenge to decorate. I have the hardest time deciding whether to go all-out with the kid stuff, or to try to conceal as much of that as I can and make it blend in more with the rest of the decor.

When we first moved in, we pretty much just threw all kid-related things in there and it looked like this. Blah.


When I was pregnant with Ellie, I saw this Jellybean Tree art print and became kind of obsessed with it...but it was almost $300. Having zero artistic ability whatsoever, but motivated by my cheapness frugality, I decided to attempt painting a jellybean tree on the wall and doing the whole room in a candy theme, complete with lollipop flowers and a Skittles rainbow:

That's how it's stayed for quite a while, but last week, I decided the wall paintings just weren't working for me anymore. I wanted it to look less--I don't know--amateurish? and a little more elegant (if "elegant" is a word you can use to describe a room that contains a Cozy Coupe...which it probably isn't). I've also been wanting to do these rain gutter bookshelves I've been eyeing on Pinterest, and there wasn't anywhere to put them when the jellybean tree took up an entire wall. So, with a slight cringe as I thought of how many hours it took me to paint all of that stuff, I busted out the blue paint last week and made it all disappear.

I also brought out the triangular bookshelves from the girls' rooms, donated and loaned out some stuff they weren't using anymore, and copied the curtain rod artwork display I saw at my friend Lisa's new house and loved. The end result? Well, there's no denying it's still a playroom, but I'm a lot happier with how it looks! It still needs some rugs and a few little touches, and I wish we weren't storing all their bikes and ride-on toys in there, but that's the best spot we have for them right now, so that's that.

(Hi, Ellie!)




The bookshelves/library area is my absolute favorite part. I found the prints above the bookshelves online (where else?) for free (no surprise there, either) at Bowl of Cherrys and Restless Risa and stuck them in cheapo Ikea frames. I love that the girls immediately plopped down and started checking out books they haven't looked at in ages, just because they were suddenly on display. That's, like, the whole point! I wish I could do these in my classroom, but with limited space, sharing a classroom, and possibly a rule against drilling holes in the walls, I'm guessing it's not likely, for now.



I was ridiculously proud of myself for figuring out how to use my grandpa's power drill and mounting the rain gutters all by myself, using a level and everything, while Bear was at work. I also put anti-pigeon spikes on our roof without falling off the ladder in my jammies, and fixed our misbehaving bathtub spout thingy (which wouldn't switch from bathtub mode to shower mode) recently, so I'm pretty sure I get an honorary Y chromosome or something now, right? Actually, if I get to pick my prize, I'd prefer that ability guys have to drop 10 pounds just by switching from regular to light mayo for a week. I have a strapless bridesmaid gown to fit into!