I am not usually one to be so optimistic about decorating or thinking about how to design a room but because we are so happy with our new house, it's something I am all of a sudden so excited about and loving getting my teeth into. Any time I have spare at the moment I am searching Pinterest browsing for ideas as to how to decorate our already lovely home, putting our own stamp on it and improving it. I also want to get things right, unlike we did in our first home together, bodging every job, making snap decisions and then realising perhaps in our haste that we hadn't chosen items and colour schemes wisely enough. So I'm taking my time this time and making sure we get things right the first time.
A playroom for us will be one of the main rooms we use in the house, the "heart of our home if you like. Up until recently, we've been so busy unpacking, sorting and carrying out the "desperate" jobs, we've had little time spare to do the things we love to do - play and craft! With this in mind, the playroom we design will need a designated corner for crafting, with somewhere to house all of our craft materials, paper, pens, paints and the like and perhaps a small table for working on. Our playroom has also for me got to have a cosy corner for reading and chilling out in - perhaps a tepee or some sort of canopy. Bookshelves are also a must for us - we literally have hundreds of books that need somewhere to live. They filled every room in our old house. It will be nice to have an area where books are displayed an attractive way and an area where both children have easy access to them. Ideally we'd also like an area reserved for role play - perhaps a kitchen/shop area where the children can play together.
The theme
When we were thinking about colour schemes and/or a theme for the playroom, we settled upon a bright colour scheme. I really like all the modern-looking monochrome playrooms/bedrooms that pop up everywhere on Instagram and Pinterest but I wanted something a little less cold and sparse than this. I wanted a space that was a lot warmer, somewhere that oozed fun, warmth and life. So we've settled on a primary colour scheme, with a rainbow, sun, cloud (I guess, weather-related) theme, along with the odd hot-air balloon thrown in. Is this all even a thing? I don't know! It seems to you right now that it's probably a really quickly thrown-together idea, that I have little direction but I promise you, a LOT of thought has gone into this and if it ends up looking like the image I have in my head, it'll end up being a beautiful room. You'll just have to take my word for this for now. I'll go into more detail as to why we've chosen the theme in a later post, perhaps when the room's finished.
We've chosen only the paint so far ('Bonjour' by Valspar) which is a really bright - perhaps too bright - shade of yellow. The walls are already a similar colour but a more orangey-yellow than we want to go for. The rest of it we still need to decide on.
Here are some elements I'm thinking of incorporating into the room:
1. IKEA Kallax shelving unit - we're going to organise most of the children's toys/craft items into one of these shelving units - they are super cheap and sturdy and the cubes come in all sorts of combinations and sizes to suit the shape and design of your room.
2. GLTC Fabric Storage Cubes - these will fit neatly inside the Kallax unit and house our more unsightly craft items, Lego pieces, train tracks, Schleich animals, those sorts of things that can look untidy if left on a shelf. Hopefully then everything will have a place to live, the children will know where to find everything and everything will be kept (relatively) tidy and in some sort of order. that's the theory, anyway...
3. GLTC play shop/theatre - we bought this for Tommy for either his birthday or Christmas a couple of years ago and he absolutely loves it but it's something I would like both children to have access to so I'm making sure I reserve a little corner for this.
4. Farg and Form fabric - I am intending to buy some of this gorgeous fabric to make some curtains and cushions that will complement the whole theme.
5. Pablo Picasso wall sticker/plaque (Etsy) - It is really important for me to be able to celebrate all of the lovely pieces of artwork our children create at home or at nursery and school, so I'd like an area somewhere in the playroom to display their masterpieces. I found this wall sticker on Etsy and I'm thinking of buying something like this or a plaque with the same quote on, along with empty brightly-coloured frames to hang their artwork in.
6. IKEA Smila Sol Ceiling Lamp - this was the only ceiling light I could find of its type, unless I was willing to either fork out a ridiculous amount of money or get one shipped from China. I think this will tie in beautifully with the rest of the room and it's a bargain at just £14!
7. Ava Sofa bed (Argos) - Although having a space in which the children can play is crucial, it is also important that the playroom can be multi-functional. My parents live two hours away from us and it's important for me now we've got a much bigger house that we've also got somewhere for people to sleep if they stay over. I like this sofa bed from Argos because it's a reasonable price, won't take up too much of the room and it's a great colour.
8. Kidikraft Pastel Play Kitchen - we bought this play kitchen for Isla at Christmas and she has played with it a lot since. Again, it's a toy I would like both children to have access to and it's something they can play with together so it will be going in the playroom too.
9. GLTC Wigwam in Red Star - we love the GLTC wigwams, which cannot only be used inside, but also outside in the garden too. They're a generous size and can be squished up in order to make them take up less space in a room. They are beautifully made and are such magical spaces for children to hide, read and sleep in. It'll certainly help create a cosy corner for ours to curl up and chill out in.
And that's it, so far. I'll be posting an update and showing you the finished room soon, so watch this space!
No comments:
Post a Comment