We are a couple of weeks past Christmas and the accumulation of toys that Ivy received is slightly out of hand. I will fully admit, however, that some of that is my own doing (what can I say, shopping for toys for a 2-year-old girl is way too fun!). Pair that with a November birthday and we have more new toys than I know what to do with.
When we moved into our house a little over two years ago, I knew I would eventually look to turn our basement into a play area. We live in a two-story home with a fully finished basement (though I hate most things about how it’s finished) and it never gets used. Since moving in, it’s pretty much been used for storage and I can count the number of times on both hands that I’ve spent more than 20 minutes down there. I’ve moved most of Ivy’s new toys down there for the time-being, especially the larger items like a slide and toddler-sized trampoline, and have it in my mind that it needs some sprucing up before me and Ivy start playing down there. (yes, I say me because I’m just as excited, if not more, to play with some of the new toys she received for her birthday and Christmas.)
To paint a visual (because before and after photos will be taken just not in time for this post), our basement currently has hideous green carpet and taupe-colored walls that are textured and not super high ceilings. It’s underground with very small windows, so there isn’t much light that is let in. It’s an L-shape, and when you first walk down the stairs you’re greeted with a mini-bar (complete with a working sink – perfect for crafts!) to the left.
My hope is to replace the ugly green carpet with some nice grayish linoleum hardwood floors (because, who cares if those get wet and/or scuffed up) and paint the walls a bright white (ideally, I’d love to get the texture off the walls, too, but I have to figure out first how to do it). And then get to town on organizing and decorating. I’ve started a Pinterest board with some of my favorite ideas, but wanted to showcase some of them for you here, too!
In addition to the whole room inspiration from these photos above, I’ve kept some ideas of some small projects and art I can find/create to spruce up the place:
These makeovers of the cheap Ikea kids table sets:
Adorable art/quotes that I’d love to DIY:
I know this isn’t necessarily part of a playroom, but I have to show these adorable playhouses (seriously, probably next on my list of things to buy for Ivy… 2 isn’t too young for her own house, right?). They’re so dang dreamy!
We have quite a few things to do before we can get our space looking like these, but a mama can dream. I’ll keep you posted on my progress over the next few months (if any is made)… until then, you can find me pinning and drooling over all these playrooms and playhouses that I’ve saved for inspiration.