The Playroom

Here it is. The Playroom. We have had lots of different layouts over the years from every boy in his own room with no playroom to every boy and every toy in one big room. This is my favorite so far. We are blessed to have 4 bedrooms 3 of which are small. I am all about toys and LOVE toy stores and having lots of toys around to play with.

When we first moved here we used the 4th bedroom as a guest room but it seemed like a waste of a room. With no floor space in their own rooms the boys were always caring toys into the hall to play. We decided to move the queen bed out of the guest room and give it to our 10 year old and use his twin bed in the playroom as a daybed sofa with lots of pillows. The boys and their friends all sit on the bed to play video games. And, if we have guests they can still sleep in the bed. Do you say "in the bed or or "on the bed"? I say "in" it sounds much more appealing than just on top of a bed--yuck.



I was really wishing that I had one of those system things from Pottery Barn that we all love. So perfectly colorful and organized yet kid friendly. But I didn't have a spare $6739 so I thinked and I thought and I thunk. And I had it. I got the small red night stand from the little boys room along with the red shelf {they were both taking up so much space} and moved them into the playroom. When sat right next to each other they started to look really purposeful. Oh my graciousness, I have a system!!

Here's the secret...

Anyone can do this with whatever spare dressers, shelves, tables and picture frames you might have sitting around in the attic. If you don't have anything you can use, ask around or take a trip to the the thrift store! Just spray paint whatever pieces you have with satin black spray paint to look like a set and then line them all up right nest I mean next to each other!

We sat the TV on the nightstand and used the shelf for toys. I store our toys in galvanized tubs. I have tried it all and this is the only thing that can withstand our home and still look good. We are hard on everything around here! Baskets lasted about 2 months and wooden boxes fell apart.


I have had these tubs for 3 years now and they look great. I do have one where the handle is falling off and the top is separating but that's it. I think we have 10 or 12 in our house. They are from AC Moore craft store and they were $5 each. They still carry them. Also today at Lowe's Home Improvement I saw galvanized buckets in the paint section for $5 and they would work great too. If you really wanted to be creative you could tie bows with tags for organizing or paint on them or use magnets since they are magnetic too!


It would be a great idea for us to have a super comfy mattress in that trundle but we took it out and use it for all of those bulky toys that don't fit in tubs. We do have a closet so as soon as I find a super cheap shelf, they will go in there. And yes, I am one of those pesky mom's who likes all the toys to be separated into groups let's see we have

*2 tubs of playmobil
*lincoln logs--how on earth do you spell that?
*kapla blocks
*football tub
*cars
*legos
*crazy tub for odds and ends

I do have one more tip for playrooms or any room with toys: if you have shelves, try to place them where they are not the first thing you see when you walk into the room or past the doorway. These shelves do not always look like this but I can not see them so, it doesn't bother me! I can see cute bed and bedding and that makes me happy and is almost always in order.

I fell so organized now. Thank you.