Look at this shot below of the kids' playroom, isn't it lovely? Toys nicely tucked away from view, wood shelves displaying my son's fox painting and cute toys, an oversized custom butcherblock table where the kids can sprawl out and draw. It feels fun, but with enough restraint to allow it to fit seamlessly into a TV room that adults use, too. The scene prior to this redo was much different. Let me take you on a playroom retrospective where you can see how it started, how it devolved and what we did to restore it back to a space that we love in this DIY project.
Playroom v. 1.0 circa 2015 - how it began.
If you squint your eyes and look past the low quality of the photo and old tile you can see it started out looking nice and appropriate for small children. My oldest son has cerebral palsy and so the futon served as a great space for doing stretches and physical therapy and the storage unit worked great for stowing away his toys. Fast-forward seven years after adding two additional boys to the equation and the scene looks much different.
Playroom Devolved -2022 Edition
I can feel the anxiety in my chest rising just looking at this photo. I spent many years turning a blind eye to the chaos because to tame it would have required much more effort than I was willing to put forth at the time. Kids come with a certain amount of chaos - its a package deal and I accepted that. However, I started wondering if there was a better way. I took myself to Facebook where I posted a cry for help. I wanted to crowd-source ideas for a toy system that worked. The responses were helpful and highlighted the unified struggle that we all have with the kids toy issue. My two younger sons were 3 and 6 and were moving from the floor play phase to the drawing / Lego phase. I wanted to create a space that supported those activities and limited their access to toys. The baskets on the old system are pretty, but each basket got dumped onto the floor each and every day as they searched for that one toy that was lost in the mix. The mess became overwhelming to the kids, a visual nightmare for me and a big trip hazard for grandparents.
The grandparents are key ingredients in the this project. I derive my genetic material from two people who have excellent taste and a relentless "can do" work ethic. We had all been commiserating for years on the sad state of the playroom and I had already shared my plan for making things better. It was just a matter of timing. I am not sure what exactly happened to get the project jumpstarted, but over a phone call in early January it was determined that the playroom had reached code red in terms of priority and we had to get started that same weekend. My parents were fully on board.
My dad is super handy and especially loves woodworking and making cabinets. I originally wanted to have a custom built-in cabinet, but decided to do an IKEA hack instead. The rationale was that it would save time and energy. I was also reluctant to invest a lot in something that was specific for kid use when the needs for the space could change over time. We did, however, do a custom table to fit between the two cabinets and I painted the doors dark green to upgrade the look. I also added wallpaper on the wall behind the shelves to give it some visual depth and bring the two cabinets and shelves all together.
As for the toys, I put them all in plastic bins and added printed pictures of what goes in each bin. Does the system work? Yes. Yes, it does. It works great when I personally do clean-up myself. Or when I stand over the kids as a vigilant foreman barking orders of what to put where. I have dreams of getting to a place where they appreciate this genius system that I have created and honor the process by putting everything away as directed by the photos on the box, but folks, behavior change is hard. Especially when you are 4. And so, I have scaled back my expectations. I will say that it is easier to engage the kids in the process of cleaning up when I can get them to focus on one thing at a time - like "pick up all the cars and put them in this bin." It keeps them focused and breaks the process into more manageable bites.
But enough of the parenting blog, back to the design. Once I decided on the cabinet color, wallpaper and butcher block table, I sat back and knew that the design needed warm-colored retro vinyl bar stools. I took myself to Craigslist and, voila, there they were staring right back at me. The man I bought them from had them in his attic for years and was really excited to find someone who was really excited about the chairs. For me they are the star of the show and they are comfortable and practical for the kids. I love them.
Overall, this DIY project worked out great. It wasn't without its hiccups though. We had to cut around existing pipes on one side of the cabinet that ended up being more complicated than expected. Thanks to my father and his iron-clad patience and determination we worked through it and got the cabinet fitted snuggly around the plumbing.
The space checks all the boxes for being pretty and functional. Best of all it is no longer a volcano of chaos that spews its lava into the room and then on throughout the whole house. The source of the toxic toy leak has been addressed and we are all feeling very relieved as a result. Do you have your own "toxic leak" in your house? Maybe the mail drop area or a closet or your office? Whatever it is, just know you don't have to live with it forever. There's always a better way.
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