The playroom slowly… and I mean VERY slowly… evolved over the last few years as my style changed, and I swapped out the bright pops of color for a more neutral palette that matched the rest of the house. Those of you who have my book, A Touch of Farmhouse Charm, got to see the first playroom photos I’ve taken in years, and although that design was a huge step in the right direction, there were still a few things I wanted to tweak and change. Imagine that… Liz wanting to change something!

One of the problems I had with the playroom was the functionality of the design. I no longer have little babies who want to set up their train tracks and drive their tractors around on the floor. I have one boy who is just two short years away from being a teenager and another little cutie who is already pushing the pre-teen years, and their needs for a playroom are much different now.

*You can find a complete source list for this room at the bottom of the post!

So I came up with a plan for a more “grown-up” space where they can kick back and relax, watch movies, hang out with friends, play video games, display their artwork, read, and just be their goofy, little selves. We sorted through all their toys and donated anything they don’t play with anymore, which of course is difficult when they say, “I swear I was just playing with that yesterday!” to every single thing you pick up off the floor. Luckily Momma knows better! Ever since they were little, I’ve had them regularly help me purge their toys, mainly before or after Christmas when they get a bunch of new stuff that needs to be put away, so they’re pretty used to doing this by now. They actually enjoy the process because once we whittle their toy collection down to the things they really love, they realize it’s so much easier to clean up their room and they can actually see the toys they have instead of just a giant, overflowing mess. I’ve always found it important to teach them from an early age about cleaning up after themselves and taking care of their belongings, so showing them how to organize and get rid of clutter (a.k.a. 9 million McDonald’s Happy Meal toys) has always been part of that process too. I’ll show you at the bottom of this post how we organized all their toys inside the closet, but after cleaning all that up, I was able to create a really cozy space for them that I actually find myself hanging out in often!

The first order of business was to create a comfy area for the boys to lounge in. I tried to find a couch that would work in this small space, but everything felt way too big and bulky. So I decided on a gorgeous daybed that could double as a couch and also a bed when friends or family stay over. Doesn’t this bed remind you of the one in my master bedroom? I LOVE it! I went with a smaller creamy white version of our large iron bed frame, and I feel like because the sides and back are open between the metal bars, it feels much lighter and not as bulky as a couch would in here. I picked out a cream scallop edge quilt with matching pillow shams and a set of cozy flannel plaid sheets, then layered on stacks of other neutral pillows to give the boys a cozy place to lay back on.

I added hooks on the wall for their book bags and coats last year (the tutorial is actually in my book!) and strung some twine above so the boys could display their sweet little drawings and artwork quickly and easily. To create this display, I screwed small eye hooks into the side of the window trim and door trim and tied a piece of twine on the hooks. Then I picked up some small clips from the craft store (I found them in the scrapbook section) and hung their colorful artwork for them to admire. Even though I designed the playroom in all neutral colors, these brightly painted papers are the perfect pop of color to make this feel like a fun kid’s space. The boys were SO excited to see all their art up on the wall!

I would like to get a larger rug for in front of/underneath the daybed sometime in the future. But for now I grabbed this one that was in our kitchen, and it works just fine without having to spend any extra money. The boys love curling up on the rug and reading or playing with their Legos, and our pup, Tucker, seems to love it too. Isn’t funny how even when there’s a comfy bed or chair to sit on, nine times out of ten kids will choose to sit on the floor anyway. Just a funny observation!

On the wall opposite the daybed is one of my very favorite things about this entire room… a simple, stunning gallery wall of my favorite photos of the boys. I feel like I take hundreds and thousands of photos every year, and they end up just sitting on the computer or on a drive somewhere. So I wanted to have a special place where the boys and I can reminisce about their awesome sports moments, silly smiles and the occasional mud fight. Good grief… weren’t they just my little babies, like yesterday??

By the way, those beautiful angel wings on the wall first made an appearance in my dining room earlier this fall, but I just never felt like I had the “right” place for them. And they’re pretty massive and heavy, which means that I definitely don’t have room to store them in a closet. So when I started thinking about artwork for the playroom, I decided to try these angel wings in here, and I think they are perfect! Even though my crazy boys are usually FAR from deserving angel wings, they will always be Mommy’s sweet, little angels, so I felt like they were totally fitting in here.

And just in case you were wondering where I hide all their toys, this little closet has been SUCH a big help in storing and organizing their toys, puzzles, games, costumes, and more. I installed some simple shelving a few years ago and bought totes to fit on each shelf. One tote has Legos, one has Hot Wheels, trucks, and tractors, one tote has random toys, and then board games and puzzles are stored above that. The other side of the closet has a bar for hanging up their costumes and dress-up clothes and another tote underneath for their plethora of Nerf guns. Yes, I know I should probably paint those boards to match the rest of the white, but I just haven’t been motivated enough to empty their closet and get it done. It’s funny how some of the simplest projects are the ones I always put off the longest!

Now that the boys have this more grown-up space that fits them better, they’ve enjoyed hanging out in here so much more. You can usually find Tucker right here next to them getting spoiled with hugs and attention. At 12 years old, this old pup eats it up! I just got back on Wednesday from a very special trip to Waco, Texas (yes… Waco!), and I promise I’ll blog all about it soon. You can see some highlights from my trip on Facebook and Instagram!

SOURCES:

Note: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which allows me to make a small commission from your purchase, but your purchase price stays the same. Thank you for helping support our blog!

• wall paint color – Woodlawn Colonial Gray by Valspar
• daybed – Wayfair
• cream daybed quilt – Joss and Main
• gray flannel sheets – Joss and Main
• white pillows – Wayfair
• wicker chest – IKEA
• wooden angel wings – AllModern
• vintage rug – Rugs USA
• ruffle edge curtains – Wayfair
• curtain rod – Wayfair
• white herringbone lamps – Target
• arch mirror – Hobby Lobby
• media cabinet – Sauder Furniture
• gray metal chairs – Target
• farmhouse window trim – tutorial in my new book!
• bookshelf – IKEA

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The post A Grown-up Playroom Update appeared first on Love Grows Wild.

This has been a long time in the making, but today I am finally showing you the Room Reveal for our Playroom Makeover! Yippee! This will be a long post, but stick with me because I promise tons of beautiful pictures showing how I cleaned, organized, designed, and decorated our awesome playroom! And don’t worry, I have links to all the projects we did at the bottom of the post : ) 

It all started back in January, after dear old Santa left a big pile of new toys at our house. Once the holiday rush was over and it was time to put everything away, I realized the monstrosity our playroom had become! There were toys stacked EVERYWHERE and definitely no room to put away new ones! It was unorganized, dysfunctional, and a straight up eyesore. I decided it was finally time to get things in order and give the boys a fun space where they could play, create, and read together! 

Warning: These photos contain the real deal disaster that had taken over our playroom. Boxes of Legos stacked twenty high, pieces of train tracks scattered all over the room… you could probably even find a small child missing in there. Photos like these can cause Moms to hyperventilate and you may need to avert your eyes. 

The first order of business was to get all those toys organized. My kids and I went through everything together, and we donated a lot of toys we don’t use anymore and threw away piles of broken, useless stuff. It is amazing how much these kids accumulate over time! The majority of our toys got organized into storage cube shelves (like these) with fabric drawers (like these). 

We decided what each drawer would hold, and the boys put all their toys away in the correct spots. The drawers are awesome for corralling toys with a lot of pieces like Lincoln Logs, blocks, and train tracks! You can read the full post about our toy organization here.

To make it easy for the boys to put their toys away, I created these Faux Chalkboard Medallion Tags to hang on each drawer. They have the trendy chalkboard look but won’t rub off!

There was a lot of empty wall space above the toy storage, so I added two shelves to hold some of the boys’ artwork and knick knacks. 

This Framed Giraffe Art only cost me $1 to make and added a ton of cute to the room!

And these Plastic Elephant Bookends may just be my favorite project from the entire makeover. So simple to make and SO cute! A little spray paint makes everything better, right?

I added a few other pieces to fill in the shelves like a baseball with little sports figurines, some big wooden letters, our Disney pin collection shadowbox, and a piece of stripe art I created using leftovers from our Herringbone Watercolor Art. 

I’m still playing with the look of the shelves, but for now I think they turned out pretty cute. The canvases my boys painted with artist extraordinaire Leoma Lovegrove always make me smile and bring back such sweet memories. You can read all about our painting lesson with Leoma and the story behind the paintings here. 

Moving around the room, I used a small, empty corner to setup a Creative Center for the boys where they can build Legos, color, and do crafts!

I found a school desk at Goodwill for $10, which gave the kids some workspace plus a little additional storage inside the desk. 

I took advantage of vertical space for storage and hung tool organizers from the hardware store on the wall above the desk. The bottom one holds Legos and the top holds crafts supplies. On the opposite wall I hung three clear wall files that I covered in a pretty blue chevron contact paper to hold the boys’ coloring books. 

The boys are always wanting to draw or build something, and now they have their very own space to do it! You can read the full post about our Playroom Creative Center here.

Next to the creative center is a toy box for some of the bigger toys and a little reading area. A bookshelf full of books, a rocking chair with a comfy pillow (which I made to match the curtains I also made!), and a soft rug is all it took to create a cozy and inviting space to read! 

I added a fun gallery of colorful old records above the reading area to spice up the boring gray walls. 

And I gave a washi tape makeover to an old lamp for our bookshelf. Yes, I said washi tape! I spray painted the lamp base a pretty turquoise blue and wrapped the middle in a polka dot washi tape. It took no time at all and looks super cute! I just love washi tape… don’t you? 

In the center of our room is a big train table that the boys love to play at. 

We also have two Baking Sheet Magnet Boards for the boys to have fun with. It keeps all those crazy magnets off Mommy’s clean refrigerator and keeps the kids busy for hours. It is definitely a win-win : )

And above the magnet boards is a gorgeous piece of Modern Watercolor Art that my boys helped create! They made watercolor paintings, and I cut them up into strips and created a fun herringbone pattern with them! The bright colors look stunning with a white frame.

On the last wall sits one of the most brilliant organizing/up-cycling ideas I’ve ever come up with: What do you do with a baby’s changing table once you’re done using it? Turn it into a parking garage!!

Even though ours was a cheap one from Walmart, it had good shelving and was still in great condition once our youngest baby grew out of it. And let me tell you Moms, big open shelving like this is PERFECT for all those big trucks and tractors! My boys are little farmers-in-training, and there is never a shortage of giant tractors in our house that are impossible to store. But our old changing table was the perfect solution to house all those vehicles, and the boys love “parking them in the shed” at the end of the day. 

On top of the changing table parking garage sits the containers we use to store video games. I got tired of finding games all over the house and tripping over charging cords, so I used simple dollar store bins to store, organize, and charge their handheld games. 

My kids are 100% boys, and that means we own quite a few dart shooters, swords, and toy guns. My boys think they need to have a full arsenal in case the aliens attack or Loki comes to steal the Tesseract. (Please tell me I’m not the only Mom who knows what that means!) They’re fun to have, but absolutely impossible to store. I was about to get rid of an old wrapping paper organizer when I realized it would make the perfect “weapon holder”. A garbage can would probably do the same thing, but I like that this organizer is tall enough to hold the long swords. I just hide it away in a small closet in the playroom to keep it out of sight since it’s not all that pretty. 

As part of the makeover, we also installed some extra shelving in that small closet to give us more space for games, puzzles, etc. 

And that, my friends, is our Playroom Makeover! Whew, that was a lot of playroom to go through! Here’s a little Before and After so you can see how far we’ve come with this awesome transformation:

Big improvement right? I hope I’ve inspired you to tackle your own playroom and give your kids a space that is fun, playful, and organized! 

What was your favorite part of the playroom makeover? Did you find an awesome organizing idea or a DIY project you can’t wait to try? Leave a comment and let me know what you liked!

Here are all the playroom projects again with more details and step by step instructions:

1) Plastic Elephant Book Ends   2) Modern Watercolor Art   3) Playroom Storage Solutions   4) Record Wall   5) Framed Giraffe Art   6) Baking Sheet Magnet Boards   7) Faux Chalkboard Medallion Tags   8) Disney Pin Shadowbox   9) Creative Center   10) Video Game Storage   11) Kids Canvas Art

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P.S. I’m sharing this post at some awesome link parties… Check them out HERE!

  This post has been sponsored by:

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The post Playroom Makeover Room Reveal appeared first on Love Grows Wild.

We’re in the home stretch of our playroom makeover, and I have just a few more projects to share before I show you the big room reveal! One of the hardest parts of putting this room together was getting everything organized. Kids are messy little creatures and tend to accumulate a lot of stuff! We had toys coming out of our ears! To help keep the playroom organized, I divided the room into sections. There is a place for them to read, a place to play, and a place to be creative! I used this little corner of the room for the boys’ creative center:

Kids need a space where they can spread out their crayons, get messy with finger paint, and build a masterpiece out of Legos. We were definitely missing a space like that before! The boys’ art stuff was mostly in my office, and they had no space that was truly theirs to get their creative juices flowing.  

I found this school desk at Goodwill last year for about $10 and had to have it! I had no idea what I was going to do with it at the time, but I knew I would come up with something eventually. It is the perfect size for our little creative corner! The desk has seen better days, and I went back and forth for awhile whether I should paint it or not. There is so much color going on in the rest of the playroom, I decided to leave it as is for now. But who knows how I’ll feel next week! What do you think… To Paint or Not To Paint? 

I’m a big believer of utilizing every square inch of storage space you can find, and using vertical storage is a great way to do that! To store my son’s coloring books, I picked up a set of clear plastic wall files from Staples and hung them on the wall over the desk. They held our coloring books perfectly, but since the wall files are clear it still looked like a bunch of cluttered coloring books thrown in there. I love organizing, and when I can turn my organizing efforts into something beautiful for my home as well I’m a happy camper!

So after a few minutes staring at the plain, clear wall files, I had a brilliant idea on how to hide the coloring books inside and make them look pretty at the same time! I grabbed a roll of blue chevron shelf liner I got from TJ Maxx awhile back, and cut a piece to fit each wall file. I peeled off the backing and carefully stuck the liner to the outside of the wall files. I made a small cut on the bottom corners of the liner to help wrap them around the bottom of the file, like a present. The pretty blue chevron stripe hides away the coloring books and adds a fun pattern to the wall! Mission: Accomplished.

On the other corner of the wall, I hung two organizers for the boys’ Legos and art supplies. I was walking through Menard’s one day and spotted these tool organizers that I thought would be perfect for storing Legos. There is nothing more annoying than getting up at 2 a.m. to use the bathroom and stepping on little Lego pieces! Those suckers hurt! 

I dumped all their Legos into a pile and sorted them out by color. I thought it would a great way to keep  all their Lego pieces organized and not to mention look pretty too! If you follow me on Instagram, you saw this photo of a very exciting Saturday afternoon spent sorting Legos… oh the glamourous life of being a Mom : )

The little drawers hold the Lego pieces perfectly, and we had extra drawers left over to hold projects they’re working on building. My three year old has a tendency to “Hulk Smash” the Legos my older son is working on when they’re left out, so now we can hide them away in the drawers until he’s ready to work on them again! 

I used the top organizer for the kids’ art supplies like glue sticks, scissors, pom poms, popsicle sticks, etc. I made sure they’re up high enough that my littlest one can’t make a mess with them when Mommy’s not looking! On top of the organizers I set this sweet picture a dear friend painted of my boys and our farm. You can read all about my boys’ art lesson with the fabulous Leoma Lovegrove here! 

Now the kids have a place where they can come be creative and work on their “projects” like Mommy. It seriously melts my heart to see my boys using their creativity to make special things for people! My oldest son once cut up an empty tissue box so I could store things in it at my desk. Any anytime my youngest son sees me painting something, he wants to be right in on the action! I may not be able to teach my boys how to throw or football or how to change a flat tire, but I can certainly teach them how to use their creativity!

This is my youngest son, Wyatt. Isn’t he a doll? I’m pretty fond of this little super hero. 

“That’s enough pictures Mom. Put down the camera.” 

Want to see all the projects from our Playroom Makeover?

Click here to check out the room reveal!

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P.S. I’m sharing this post at some awesome link parties… Check them out HERE!

This post has been sponsored by:

The Weary Chef features weekly menus of tasty, quick dinners PLUS kid dinner ideas, bonus recipes, and Friday cocktails! Follow The Weary Chef on Facebook and Twitter to never miss a recipe!

The post Kid’s Creative Center appeared first on Love Grows Wild.

Our playroom makeover is almost complete, and I’m so excited about some of the finishing touches we’re adding! First we found the perfect toy storage and made adorable chalkboard labels so the boys know where everything goes. Then we added a vintage record wall, herringbone watercolor art, magnet boards, and simple animal artwork to help decorate the space! Everything is looking so fun and colorful, and today I’m super excited to show you my latest little addition to our playroom!

Plastic Elephant Book Ends!

I spotted this photo on Pinterest awhile back, and instantly fell in love. I knew I had to have them for our play room!

{Source}

Come to find out, these adorable Labrador Bookends are from Pottery Barn Teen, which means definitely not in my price range! 

One day while shopping with my blog buddy, Jocelyn, I spotted some little plastic elephants in the dollar bin at Michael’s and just knew they had to come home with me! Ever since my youngest son, Wyatt, was born, I find myself drawn to elephants for some reason. There’s some connection between the two. My aunt says it has something to do with the strong maternal instincts Mommy elephants have when their babies are born. Whatever it is, I just love them! 

So I picked up two elephants from the store and came home to see what else I needed to DIY some book ends. I had a couple spare pieces of 1 x 4’s at home, so I decided to use those to create the base of my book ends. I cut the 1 x 4’s into four 5″ pieces and sanded down the rough edges. 

Next I spray painted all the wood and the elephants. I first used a spray primer and then painted everything in a pretty teal blue, allowing to dry between coats. To protect the paint and give everything a nice, glossy finish, I also sprayed on a few coats of clear gloss sealer. 

Once all the pieces were dry, it was time to assemble the book ends. First I laid one wood block down on a table. I applied wood glue to the long edge of another wood block and placed it sitting upright on the far edge of the bottom block, creating an L shape. Perpendicular to the bottom block, if you prefer : )

I held the block in place for a few seconds to allow the glue to set a bit, and then repeated the process with the other two wood blocks. To attach the elephants to the book end bases, I used a dab of my favorite E-6000 glue on the bottom of the elephant’s feet and placed him centered on the bottom wood block. You can use whatever super glue you have on hand! 

After allowing the glue to adequately dry, I set the adorable new book ends on our shelves in the playroom:

I was worried they wouldn’t be heavy enough, but they hold the books up perfectly! And seriously, how cute is a tiny teal elephant? Swoon!!

Just think of all the other fun animals you could use too!

But these little elephants are definitely my favorite : )

And they look adorable sitting next to the Framed Giraffe Art I made with a simple dollar store frame and scrapbook paper!

It’s the fun little details like these book ends that give a room huge personality. I cannot wait to show you the playroom makeover room reveal soon! 

Want to see all the projects from our Playroom Makeover?

Click here to check out the room reveal!

Let’s Keep In Touch!

The post Plastic Elephant Book Ends appeared first on Love Grows Wild.

I have another fun piece of artwork from our kid’s playroom makeover to share with you today! This Framed Giraffe Kids Art was created simply with a dollar store frame and some paper. It adds a whimsical touch to the room and was very inexpensive to make!

I hope you’re not tired of my playroom projects yet. It’s been so much fun adding bright splashes of color to the kid’s space, since the rest of my house is totally decorated in neutrals! 

I recently added white shelves in our playroom over the toy storage bins, and I wanted some inexpensive artwork to help fill up the shelf space. I got the idea for this sweet giraffe art from NanaCompany and decided to recreate it with scrapbook paper instead of fabric!

I simply cut a giraffe silhouette from some blue polka dot scrapbook paper and glued it to a piece of white card stock. If you’re not the best free-hand drawer (like me!), you can find lots of giraffe shapes on Google Images!

To bump up the cuteness factor, I wrote a sweet message from Mr. Giraffe in a pretty cursive font with a black fine tip Sharpie. 

I found a silver 8 x 10 frame from The Dollar Tree (gosh, I love that store!) and framed my little giraffe inside. 

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The post Inexpensive Framed Giraffe Kids Art appeared first on Love Grows Wild.