our bright and simple basement and playroom area
Welcome to our basement playroom! I wouldn’t necessarily call it “done” (I still have about 5 projects/things I want to add to it) but here it is! My favourite thing about having this big space for the kids to play and make a mess that it contains all of the toys and activities and keeps the rest of our house a little tidier, which saves my sanity!
We really wanted to make sure that this space was BRIGHT since it is in a basement (that only has one small window!) It might just be me, but dark and gloomy basements are probably the last place I want to hang out in! So, to ensure that our kids would actually want to play down here - we kept the finishes light, made sure we had enough lighting (lots of recessed LEDs!), and kept the decor simple and clean.
When we do tidy up the playroom, everything has a place in either a bin or basket, and any larger items get stowed away in a nearby closet that can be easily accessed. There is still plenty of floor space to spread out and play, and since kids spend all their playtime on the floor, (parents too!) we went with a really soft, plush carpet to make extra cozy!
The TV area is adjacent to the playroom, and we didn’t want to two spaces to feel disjointed. To do that, we chose a large, low sofa in a light mint green colour that I think adds a bit of fun to the space, and installed a DIY art ledge with prints that compliment the playroom’s colours as well.
I think my favourite part of the playroom is the feature wall behind all of the toys! We DIY-ed the shiplap (It’s so easy to do, there are tons of tutorials out there to follow!), and added the P L A Y sign that we made out of plywood and painted peach.
SHOP OUR PLAYROOM
toy storage: toy bins | grey felt baskets
furniture sources : sofa | lounge chair | floor lamp | coffee table (DIY’ed)
office sources: lamp | desk | storage shelves (similar) | white bin | green bins | chair
My office space (above) is one of my favourite spots in our home! I have loads of storage space for my craft and art supplies, sewing machine and scanner/printer. Everything has a bin, (which is KEY - I am a messy crafter and tend to hoard random supplies!) and my desk surface is large enough for any project!
It’s hard to tell from the photos, but from where I sit I can see both the TV and the playroom! (those sight-lines were definitely intentional!) Also, the only window in the basement is behind my chair (my office is sharing the guest bedroom!) and we didn’t want the door to block off the only source of natural light in the basement. So we made the opening 4’ wide and installed a barn door so that it can stay open all the time! This makes the whole basement feel more open, and since we rarely have guests stay over anyway, we are able to make the “bedroom” feel like part of the whole basement, and include it as more usable space! There is also a full bathroom down here so that makes it even more convenient to spend pretty much all of our time down here!
All in all we are so happy to have this useable extra space - when we moved into our home the basement was unfinished! But more importantly, I love that it functions so well for our family and that it is a space we enjoy spending time in!
