When decorating a playroom, take a tip from the child's interests as you choose furniture and accessories for the area. Since this room is designed for interests of both a boy and a girl, it incorporates a variety of ideas designed to make a multipurpose room a guaranteed success.
- Shelving is a great way to reclaim floor space (figure A). Here, Golden uses a row of small white bookcases along a short wall, as a way to house books, games, stuffed animals and favorite toys. When housed in this capacity, the book jackets of favorite books and colorful toys act as artwork along the wall.
Tip: When purchasing shelving for a playroom, make sure they are tall enough to accommodate the items your children will be storing, and if they feel even slightly flimsy to you, anchor them to the wall studs of the room. If shelves are not an option, see thru containers keep mess to a minimum and make it easy for children to find their favorite toys. - The old video cabinet is painted white to match the bookcases (figure B). It will hold all the video equipment, plus video games and movies.
- The existing futon is recovered in a bold striped fabric (figure C). It is an easy to care for, washable, cotton duck fabric, and the striped pattern helps hide small accidents that are certain to happen in a playroom.
A bright beanbag is added close to the futon, so the children will have lots of room to entertain friends for games and movies. Since this one is square, it can also serve as a handy snack table.A paper star lamp hangs from the ceiling over the futon (figure D).In the arts and crafts area, colorful, interlocking foam rug mats are positioned under a table and four chairs (figure E). With these in place, if paint is spilled, it is easy either to clean it up or to simply replace a section of the mat.A white wall shelf close to the table holds crafts materials, on display but out the way until needed.A painted 1x4 is fastened to the wall, with industrial clips attached to hooks, giving the kids an instant display area for artwork, photos and those very important birthday-party invitations.Inexpensive frames are used to display the created masterpieces.Colorful fabrics in contrasting colors are hung from decorative black iron rods over the window shades, creating a jazzy, open-style valance (figure F).Tip: Many shade styles offer cordless options, which are great for both child and pet safety.
The stage area has a coat rack for handy access to costumes.Framed wallpaper samples hang on the back wall of the stage (figure G). This is both visual and inexpensive, plus it can be easily changed to compliment the next production.And finally, a full-length stage curtain hangs from a very strong iron rod, giving the actress privacy to study her lines or change her costume (figure H).With this formerly boring space now a stimulating, fun, creative space that will bring out the child in all of us, you may want to pull up a chair, grab a crayon, toss on a feathered boa and be part of the hottest ticket in town. One thing is certain, your young critics are certain to give you and this room a rave review.
Figure G
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Figure H
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Your budding artist will never have to look for paper if you take this clever approach to paper storage. Take a wooden drapery rod, cut it to fit a roll of white kaft paper, and hang the rod on its wooden brackets within easy reach of young fingers. Now they can rip off a piece of paper and create a masterpiece anytime they feel inspired.
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