5.21.2015

Playroom Ideas: Your Kids Will Love

Our playroom is always evolving along with my boys preferences.  For instance, we used to keep all our costumes and dress-up clothes in our window seat.  I had one container full of costumes and one container full of weapons.  You know, the essential dress-up items for boys.  I noticed that the bins were overflowing and the boys could never seem to find what they were looking for.  I also noticed they were constantly running downstairs to look at themselves and make sure that they're ensemble was just right.  I knew something needed to change. 



{COSTUME ZONE}

I created an entire dress-up area.  I bought a simple wardrobe rack from Ikea along with some cute wood hangers.  Also at Ikea, I bought a fabric bin (on the right) for all the weapons.  We needed some knobs to hang the bags, pink boa (it gets used), lanyards and a whip.  I also used the same knobs to hang the hats.  The simple coat rack (also purchased from Ikea) is easy for the kids to hang their masks up when they are done.  The mirror completes the area, along with a drop bin, for all the little odds and ends!  This has been one of the most used and most fun areas of our playroom.  



{ART ZONE} 

This area is where the kids draw with chalk or dry erase markers (on the reverse side of the chalkboard).  Because I have a toddler at home, I keep the chalk and markers put away in my office and only get them out when I can be close by.  The kids love to put on the capes, which are hanging on the wall, before they begin their projects.  It's also an awesome way to protect their clothes.  I keep construction paper, white paper, stationary, lined paper in the blue "magazine racks" on the wall.  I found those at Ikea in the bathroom section and spray painted them to match the playroom.  The basket below the chalkboard is filled with hand puppets and puzzles.  The basket below the paper is filled with coloring books and other art supplies.  As you can see, we also love the decorate the walls with the kids art projects.  It's a great way to show off their work and also add a little more color to the playroom.


{LEGO ZONE}

We used to keep all our legos in a large bin.  It was such a mess and took the boys forever to find what they were looking for.  Since my boys LOVE legos and are always creating, I felt like it would be worth the time and money to sort them.  I bought these containers and we spent a few weeks sorting.  I have to admit that I was nervous things would not stay this way for long, but we've had these for a couple years and it's ended up being exactly what the boys needed.



{MAGNET BOARD ZONE} 
With any great playroom, you need variety.  While I don't love have a TON of stuff, I do love having lots of different options.  This magnet board has provided that for the playroom.  My toddler loves putting the alphabet letters on the board and it's a great way to teach him his letters.  My older boys love to create things with their magformer toys.  I bought the three white trays from Ikea to have the  magnets easily accessible and encourage the boys to use them.



{TABLE ZONE}

The rug and table in the middle of the room helps to bring everything together.  The boys sit at the table for art projects or, as you can see, use it for super heros.  A table is a must for every playroom!  See the two closets we have on each side of the window?  That is where I hide all the toys!!  I love that MOST of our toys can be hid out of sight.



{CONTAINER ZONE}
This closet holds all the toys that can be contained in bins.  I love the clear bins so that we can always easily see what we are looking for.  In case it's not that obvious, I also have labels.  Our bins include, playdough, kitchen toys, music toys, magformers, super heros, batman, guys, star wars, ninja turtles, imagenext, nerf guns, etc.  I always have the boys help me decide on the containers and it's typically decided by how many toys they have.  Because the boys helped me organize everything, they can easily clean up without my help (genius!!)


{BIG TOY ZONE}

The other closet contains all the toys that are too big to fit in the containers.  They are easy to see and easy to get in and out.


As you can see, these boys love the playroom!


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