The Playroom: our first point of call when boredom strikes. A handy option to have to break up part of the day.
Here is our Playroom journey:
My thinking
The style of the whole house is cool-toned neutral with a modern twist. In addition, I still wanted to keep to a modern flow , to be cohesive for the style going on with the rest of the house. However, this room needed to be inviting for the children. Give off an impulse to play and be creative.
Scandinavian Style
The Scandinavian style. Renowned for their simplicity, utility, and beauty. Besides, when researching different themes for the room I came across many different ones, from Boho to Classic. Nothing matched my love for minimalism until I saw the Nordic/Scandinavian Style. The love for clean lines, simple art and functionality. But, what pulled my heart in the most was the use of natural materials like wood.
Choosing a colour palette
Choosing the room colour is very important. I knew I wanted top take a risk with this room and ditch the typical neutral toned walls like the rest of the house. My usual motto is to go with neutral walls and add colour and warmth with decor.
The room is a small box room. Therefore, choosing a dark colour for the walls was out of the question. Finally, once I had settled on the intention of a playful environment with colour, I began to look at palette that were suitable for this idea.
Nordic Spa by Dulux was bright, clean and fun. I can not explain to you, how much using this colour on all of the walls changed the openness of the room. It was like we had added an extra window.
The tone worked beautifully with dusky pinks, grey and blue.
Wall Art
The three posters have been framed with a thick black frame to create the clean defined lines seen in Scandinavian styles.
The background colours on the art add pops of colour and tie in the rest of the colour palette.
I purchased them from Desenio. They were placed in the centre of the wall and a little higher up to allow for a spacious feel, as most of the storage and play toys are at the lower level.
Storage
The key to making a Playroom complete. Storage is essential. I went for large draws that are big enough to throw all sorts of toys in that are usually on the floor making the room look untidy. Most importantly, storage is vital for keeping for children entertained.
How?
Toy rotation. Storage allows toys to be hidden out of sight. Rotating the toys makes them feel like new.
Using natural materials for the storage was necessary. I hate plastic. It is bad for the environment. Plastic takes away the Scandinavian style where the core purpose is to provide functionality with natural materials.
The storage we use is from Flexa.
The Storage Bench 3 in 1
My favourite feature is the cut-out. This ensures that the child will not pinch the fingers when the storage bench is been closed. The sleek, modern design means that the storage bench will look beautiful in any room of the house. Place cushions on top to make the storage area a seating area.
One downside I have with the storage bench is that it is tricky to open the draw on the carpet. It would work better on wooden or tiled floor.
To add to the storage. This toy chest on wheels allows you to decide if you want it as storage or a pull along cart.
Book Storage
Flexa Play Shelf
In addition to the toy storage, to keep the furniture matching, the bookshelf is also from Flexa. Originally, I wanted the bookshelf higher on the wall to create shelving and free up floor space. However, the kids have access to the books when it is on the floor and I did not want to drill holes in the wall to hang the case up on.
Table and Chairs
Shortly after Mole celebrated her second Birthday, I realised the need for a table and chair set. Allowing her to be creative with arts and crafts or her favourite thing to do is set up a tea party on.
I had spent hours researching table and chair sets that were of good quality. An easy option for me was to go back with the brand Flexa. They have provided quality and the colour scheme their furniture comes in matches the theme of the playroom.
The deep pink serves a contrast with the greys in the room.
Play table Popsicle?
You can mix and match the stools for more pops of colour.
Stool Popsicle
Creating Space
The Playroom is a small box room so, when all of the furniture and storage moved in, the space closed in too. I needed to extend the space without extending the physical footprint of the room. To do this I added a simple play mat.
The play mat has created a new section in the room in fact, we call this section the kitchen area, when I see Mole or Frankie getting bored of the area, it can be changed to a new area.
The style of the mat flows with the rest of the room.
Our playmat is in the shade: Moon Grey
Statement Toys
Lastly, you need statement toys for defining the playroom from a storage room, moreover, once all of the main toys have been tided up and put away, I leave the following toys out for character and style.
Mole and Frankie love to stack the blocks and I think they look fantastic spread across the playmat.
This toy kitchen belonged in the living room. I choose this kitchen because it was small enough to fit in the space I had available for it at the time. I didn’t want an overpowering toy kitchen in the area where I like to relax.
The kitchen is made from natural wood.
Frankie’s personal favourite. Soft play blocks with a slide. The soft play has given us so much laughter over the year it is my favourite part of the play room too!
I hope you enjoyed reading about the thought process behind creating the playroom. I am always keen to hear your thoughts. Most importantly, advice on what I could add to improve functionality or style. Please leave a comment below.
Zoe
xx
This year, 2020 has been a very mentally challenging time – the pandemic. With the new year right around the corner, I made a pledge to myself to get in the best mindset for a fresh new start. We all deserve it. That is why i’m going to share my simple self care tips with you.
