{"id":1111,"date":"2009-11-17T13:23:01","date_gmt":"2009-11-17T19:23:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thepickyapple.com\/blog\/?p=1111"},"modified":"2009-11-17T13:23:01","modified_gmt":"2009-11-17T19:23:01","slug":"playroom-makeover-in-progress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thepickyapple.com\/blog\/2009\/11\/17\/playroom-makeover-in-progress\/","title":{"rendered":"Playroom Makeover…In Progress"},"content":{"rendered":"

Note: I spent forever working on this post, then got to the end and thought “Who cares?!”\u00c2\u00a0 Bloggers, does this ever happen to you?\u00c2\u00a0 Anyway, I hope somebody will find this interesting!<\/em><\/p>\n

In case you haven’t noticed, the “Homekeeping” section of my blog has been sorely neglected lately, with most of my posts being about The Littlest Apple or food.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s a pretty accurate reflection of real life right now.\u00c2\u00a0 Home projects and all home keeping but the bare minimum have come to a screeching halt around here not only due to sickness, but also because of a a very demanding Little Apple and upcoming Christmas expenses.\u00c2\u00a0 That bathroom makeover<\/a>?\u00c2\u00a0 Still working on it.<\/p>\n

But I do have one little project to share with you that is very much still a work in progress: The Playroom.\u00c2\u00a0 We have this loft-like space upstairs with vaulted ceilings that is perfect for a playroom.\u00c2\u00a0 It was one of the reasons we picked this floorplan.\u00c2\u00a0 It is most definitely an awkward space- long and somewhat narrow with LOTS of doors: 7, to be exact (leading to the office, the master bedroom, the laundry room, the linen closet, The Littlest Apple’s bedroom, a bathroom, and the guest bedroom).\u00c2\u00a0 The vaulted ceilings make it seem a little bigger than it really is.<\/p>\n

\"Second<\/p>\n

My original plan was to use a bright fun color on the walls.\u00c2\u00a0 I envisioned apple green walls with white furniture and other brightly colored accents.\u00c2\u00a0 See how fun this room looks with the green walls?\u00c2\u00a0 NOT my room!<\/p>\n

\"image

image from Ohdeedoh<\/p><\/div>\n

But when I painted our playroom apple green, it was disastrous.<\/em> It was just too bright and there was too much of it.\u00c2\u00a0 Maybe it would have worked better in a bedroom with lots of white furniture and bed linens\u00c2\u00a0 to offset the green, but in this large open space, the center of our upstairs, it was just not working.<\/p>\n

\"Awful<\/p>\n

I repainted using the very neutral Rice Grain from Sherwin Williams.\u00c2\u00a0 This is SO MUCH better than the green, but it isn’t that much different than the builder’s original paint color.\u00c2\u00a0 This space definitely needs a color that is light, but I’m tempted to repaint it just a shade darker so the white furniture really pops.<\/p>\n

Because of the shape of this space, it is extremely hard to get a photo that shows most of the room all at once.\u00c2\u00a0 Here’s a sneak peek at what it looks like now, mid makeover:<\/p>\n

\"playroom<\/p>\n

\"playroom<\/p>\n

Here’s a breakdown of what I selected for the room…<\/p>\n

The couch is the Karlstaad Loveseat<\/a> from Ikea with a long white slipcover<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\"KarlstaadThe shelving is the\u00c2\u00a0 Expedit Bookcase<\/a> from Ikea.\u00c2\u00a0 I keep seeing these pop up everywhere, and they really are the perfect storage system for kids rooms, craft rooms, play rooms, anywhere!<\/p>\n

\"Expedit<\/p>\n

For the curtains, again I went with white.\u00c2\u00a0 Simple twill and a basic rod, hung as close to the ceiling as possible.\u00c2\u00a0 There is only one small window in this room, so I didn’t want to take away from the natural light.<\/p>\n

\"Playroom<\/p>\n

Rug: I am absolutely in love Dash and Albert rugs<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0 They have so many great stripes and other patterns.\u00c2\u00a0 The Pond Stripe<\/a> is the color scheme we were looking for.\u00c2\u00a0 A little bit of color on the floor should go nicely with this otherwise neutral space.\u00c2\u00a0 The large size we need was back-ordered until this month, so I’m hoping to get it soon.<\/p>\n

\"PondStripe<\/p>\n

I searched and searched for pillows that I thought would complement the colors of the rug (judging solely from the rug photos online).\u00c2\u00a0 I wanted pillows in a pattern, but NOT striped, so as not to compete with the rug.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Then one day at Target, I ran across these pillows on an endcap, not near the other pillows.\u00c2\u00a0 They were pricey for Target pillows, but I grabbed two, then found two in the solid blue to match.\u00c2\u00a0 I also found a super soft throw in the same shade of blue.\u00c2\u00a0 LOVE!\u00c2\u00a0 I’m not convinced as to how it will look once the rug is in the room, but for now, I am completely enamoured with my pillows. (I couldn’t find them online to give you a link, nor could I remember the designer.\u00c2\u00a0 Sorry!)<\/p>\n

\"Playroom<\/p>\n

We hung a huge mirror from Homegoods over the couch to make the room seem a little bigger.\u00c2\u00a0 My husband and I argued over how high the mirror should be hung.\u00c2\u00a0 He won.\u00c2\u00a0 I think it is too high, but maybe everything just seems high because I’m only 5’0″.\u00c2\u00a0 Or maybe we just need an even bigger mirror.<\/p>\n

\"Playroom<\/p>\n

I’ve also got these wonderful sketches of our family, drawn by my father in law, that I wanted to include in the room somehow.\u00c2\u00a0 Aren’t they amazing?!<\/p>\n

\"Sketch<\/p>\n

\"Sketch<\/p>\n

I think the frames and\/or mats need to be more colorful and the off-white mat I used looks a bit pink, but they work for now.<\/p>\n

So, that’s what I’ve completed so far, and I’m very happy with the progress I’ve made.\u00c2\u00a0 But there is still lots left to do!<\/p>\n

Here’s my list of things I still want to do in this space:<\/p>\n