We live in a very, very small city house. We have no front or backyard, no garage, and a very small living room. But because we live incredibly close to a great park within a fantastic neighborhood, the limitations of our living space usually doesn’t bother us. Kind of like when you go on vacation to a fabulous place, you don’t worry about booking a fancy hotel room because you plan on being out exploring your surroundings. But as Miss H is getting bigger and more active, we know that keeping her happy and engaged in different activites is important. And sometimes she just gets bored in the house, especially when the weather doesn’t cooporate and we can’t get outside.
Which brings me to our porch. The space is just big enough that we can keep a table and a few other things out there. But up until recently the porch was just a holding place for a whole lot of stuff that didn’t belong anywhere else. It was basically our junk room!
So a couple of weeks ago we cleaned the porch out completely. I ordered an outdoor rug to bring some bright color into the space. I opted for one that is basically a plastic mat; I wanted something that would be easy to clean off if needed and I wanted something fairly inexpensive so I wouldn’t have to stress if it got ruined. I found this one from Overstock that works perfectly for us. We set up Miss H’s water and sand play table and her table and chair set. We also planted some flowers and herbs and have them on a small table that is right at Miss H’s height – perfect for her to learn about watering plants and seeing them grow! She loves flowers and is always so nervous to touch them.
As you can see, it’s not a big porch, but just perfect for a toddler.
And Miss H definitely approves! She’s already gotten her hands wet in the water table and she absolutely loved it.
I’m so excited we have this space finally set up as a dedicated kid-friendly play area! Have you transformed any spaces in your home for your LO to play?
cherry / 155 posts
I love it! What a great idea.
We did something very similar– we live in Boston in a 975 sq foot condo and luckily we do have a backyard for the nice weather– but we needed a playroom. We have a little entry-way that was used for a desk, coat-rack, not really a good use of the space.
So I was inspired this winter to paint the space bright orange, get some toddler Ikea furniture, we got a bench/coat-rack unfinished wood shelf that we painted ourselves and I used some of my pinterest ideas to decorate. My son loves his playroom and its much better used space– the one mistake I made was a rug that I love but its light gray and white (from the Land of Nod so not cheap) and its so dirty! White in a playroom– parenting fail.
I love your rug and it seems much easier to clean- outdoor rugs are the way to go. So cute!
guest
Hi Mrs. H, your setup looks so nice! Is this an indoor porch, like a sun room? I’d love to set this up but worry that putting furniture outdoors will ruin them fast. Miss H looks soooo happy with her new play space.
GOLD / nectarine / 2884 posts
Love it!
blogger / apricot / 366 posts
@Jen: Yes, sunroom!! That was exactly the word I was looking for when writing this post; much better than porch. So yes, the room is completely covered and free from the elements!
honeydew / 7283 posts
What a great space! Miss H is looking like such a big girl!
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
what a fun little set up! We have an outdoor balcony that is somewhat covered. One side is open to overlook the park behind our apartment. I thought of a water table but I fear for the mess since we’re on the second floor and can’t just throw the water over the side of the balcony haha! But he LOVES the balcony and goes out there to play quite frequently. Our issue is he loooves to throw things off the balcony
blogger / persimmon / 1398 posts
I love this little room! So perfect and cozy.