Playroom

One of my favorite spots about this house is the playroom down in our basement. Since we live up in New England and have REALLY cold Winters this room gets used a lot. I also host the church moms group and this room is a great spot for all the kids to hang out while the moms have their bible study upstairs. So let me give you a tour...

 As you first come into the playroom you will see our "art center" and toy shelves. I found the easel at the local thrift store for around $10, the ABC's at the dollar store, and the car rug at BJ's. The small table/chest was mine when I was a little girl and it makes a great toy table.
The large book shelves were left with the house! yay! The containers are from the dollar store. I did not want a big box for all the toys to get thrown in. Things get lost and broken that way. I also like the fact that some of the shelves are out of a child's reach. Sometimes I need a spot to put my glass of water, phone, or what ever I don't want little hands to get a hold of. ;)

 This is where we "park" the cars and trucks. I have two boys...there are never enough trucks! ;) The desk chair is where I sit (or whatever adult is watching them). I would love to put a couch down here one day. Maybe even a sleeper sofa would be great.

Don't you just love this rug in the playroom. We found it at a discount store. I think it is the type that they would use in an indoor playground. The carpet down in the basement is stained and I did not want my babies rolling around on it, so when we came across this rug I had to have it.

On the other side of the room is where all the big climbing, bouncing, "get out all your wiggles before bed" spot. Did I mention I have a very active three
year old...and his baby brother is not far behind.




 In an attempt to dress up the really drab walls I put up these cute car wall stickers that I found at Target.

 I really like the fact that the basement has a sliding glass door that leads out to the back yard. This lets in a lot of natural light into the room. Baby N also really likes to look out the window.

 Here are a few ways that I store some of the toys in the playroom:

The Geo Tracks are one of J's favorite things, and since we got them for free at the church yard sale, they are one of my favorite toys too. We had an extra hamper and the tracks fit perfectly.

 I need to get a new basket to hold all of the balls, but for now this will do.

...and since sometimes you need a place to hold the baby while you run upstairs...a pack-n-play. We have also used this many times for friends to lay their baby to sleep while the adults have movie night.

So the key to having a great playroom is a clean safe place with lots of floor space to play...and storage for everything. Now the playroom is not always clean and picked up, but at least a few times a week it is. I help the kids during clean up time. This is also a great time to check on any damaged toys, small things that N might put in his mouth, and just make sure the playroom stays nice.