Zander is ready for some serious play time in his new, custom-made playroom.
Here’s a breakdown of what was purchased vs. made:
Bookselves – purchased from Ikea. We added paint to the back for color.
Rug, pendent light and magnet boards – purchased from Ikea
Framed Prints – I made various prints and framed them, but only the “So many toys so little time..” is pictured
Wall Prints – The frame of animals around the magnet board and alphabet squares were printed on 8.5×11 cardstock, cut and assembled on the wall using masking tape.
Memory Board – This is a custom-made, open frame with metal wire suspended across. Clothes pins can hold anything from photos to artwork. We’re using it now to show Zander photos of his family he can’t see everyday. All parts for this can be found at the hardware store. The wood came in long pieces and were cut, assembled and painted. Zander has Daddy to thank for this one.
Reading Corner – Zander loves books. There’s no denying it. For this reason, I wanted to make a cozy little reading corner for him. I made the pillow chaise – at least that’s what I call it. It’s open on the opposite side with velcro to secure the pillows. This makes it super easy to remove the pillows and wash just the cover.
The fabric book holder is made from scratch. I sewed 2 pieces of fabric together and inserted mat board inside to make the backing. Using a contrasting fabric, I made the pockets for small, light weight books. As you can see, it’s already sagging and not meant for heftier books.
The portion underneath the book holder is also made from scratch. Not gonna lie. It took me forever and it made me never wanna do it again. It’s made of 2 pieces of fabric sewn together, then I sewed a grid pattern, stuffed each square with poly-fill and a piece of mat board to keep it stiff and straight. By this time it’s huge and way to stiff to fit underneath my sewing machine to sew the open end. This is where my trusty hot glue gun came in. Worked like a charm and voila – Zander’s got a nice wall to lounge against and even better, something to cushion the blow when he makes a leap for the pillow chaise.
Storage Boxes – Zander loves animals so I wanted to incorporate them into his playroom. The boxes were purchased from Ikea. I printed these animal illustrations on paper and transferred them onto foam sheets (by pressing firmly on the paper while tracing the face). Cut them out with an exacto knife and hot glued them to the box. Simple, but it completely changes the look of the boxes and adds personality to the playroom.
There you have it! Hope this inspires you to make a fun space for your own kiddos.
