🚀Turn your basement into a Playroom

You'll love having a space like this for your kids to play! Hopefully it keeps all the toys contained to one tidy area. For a good functional space, the key is organization. And w/ a space as big as a basement, you have tons of room to create fun storage!

READING NOOK:

Since my 6 year old daughter is now learning to read, she loves reading books to her 2 younger brothers. A reading Nook is a perfect addition to our Playroom!

The banquette seat was part of the custom built-in shelves we made (how-to bellow). To finish we topped the bench w/ patio cushions wrapped in fabric.

A very simple no-sew fix; purchased green material (w/ decorative twigs) from fabric store to match the scenery on the wall & wrapped 2 patio cushions we no longer use.

We hung a white wooden shelf 4 feet above, leaving enough room for the kids to stand on the bench under it.

Magnetic Chalkboard Wall:

The great thing about a basement playroom is that you have these massive walls to have fun with. I knew that 1 of the great walls HAD to be a big magnetic chalkboard! To add extra storage for craft supplies, we hung up floating shelves. They were from an old media center we had kicking around... we repainted them w/ white paint.

Dowels were hung to create tape roll & paper roll holders. For the full how-to click here.

BUILT-INS

Figure out the length & depth you want your unit to be using a measuring tape. Ours was 18" in depth because we wanted to have a wide platform on top for a larger play area. I don't advise going much wider then that. When figuring out the length don't forget to divide your total length by the number of sections your unit will be, if you want your boxes to be the same size.

We bought two 4x8 sheets of 3/4" knotty pine at the big box store and got all of our main cuts done there. They will usually give you around 3-4 cuts free, then charge you for all additional cuts. Use your table saw at home to make any later adjustments. 3 main long pieces were cut to size for the large horizontal sections as well as 5 medium main panels (1 for the banquette & 4 for the unit) to create large boxes. 4 small pieces were cut to use as dividers. Using a drill, screw in your pieces together to create a box. Use wood filler to hide any visible screws.

DRESS-UP CORNER

Every playroom HAS to have a dress-up corner. This is my kids' favourite activity to do! Shop for clearance costumes and accessories the day after Halloween. It's a good way to get stocked up at great prices. And check out your local thrift store for fun wigs, hats, scarves & suit jackets/pants.

The wall unit is pre-fab shelving purchased from the big box store.

And the wooden coat rack we made. It's a really easy project to do, that takes no time at all & will save you half the cost. TRY IT one weekend!

ACTIVITY TABLE

My dad built this table for us so I don't have pictures of 'the making of the grassy table'. My only request to him was to have shelving underneath for extra storage for our larger containers of toys. My husband & I got the green grass material and fastened it to the table w/ a staple gun.

I plan on painting it 1 day soon.