Over the summer once the reality of our unexpected addition started to sink in, we started to really put some thought into how we’d use the rooms in our house since we put an addition on last year.

When we first moved into the new family room I sectioned off a 5′ area behind a sectional couch as a play space for Little Stroller. But I found that the toys migrated quickly and even though he was putting them away when he was finished, I was still staring at toys in the play space from every spot in the open kitchen/family/dining room. We’d gone from several small rooms to one big room and suddenly it felt like there was no “adult” space and the clutter problem I thought the addition would help was still there.

So I decided to move toys up to his bedroom and it’s working our fairly well. We didn’t really play inside all that much this summer and he prefers to do “real” stuff when we’re inside like vacuuming and washing dishes. Or harassing the dog. But his big toys like kitchen and easel were still in the family room. Since I’m no longer working from home, I decided my office/sun room should become a dedicated playroom where all the toys could live and the door could be shut. Most importantly, however, the room felt like the perfect spot for a chair where I could sit and nurse the baby for a gazillion hours a day while Little Stroller plays, draws, builds, etc., but I wouldn’t feel compelled to clean up at the end of the day when I could be sleeping instead.

Making the office into a playroom meant everything from the office, including all my sewing stuff, books, and furniture needed to move elsewhere. Because Little Stroller’s former nursery was the smallest of the upstairs bedrooms and had a tiny closet, I decided that it should become a small shared office and our old bedroom could become the new baby’s nursery.

So that’s the long story of how we arrived at a dedicated playroom in the former office sun room. Now for the good stuff.

Open the closed door and come on in!

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To the right of the door when you walk in, which is visible from the front door and living room, we have one of the four flokati rugs we took from Mr. S’s grandparents’ house when they moved earlier this year. They were a bear to wash, but are so cozy now. This rug sections off the perfect spot to sit and nurse the baby. I painted an Ikea Poang chair that Mr. S picked up on the curb with Annie Sloane chalk paint and instead of making a new cushion, bought one since the cost of materials was more than the cost of a new one. The pre-baby to-do list needed a few shortcuts. X that off!

Some of Little Stroller’s blocks live in the 3-sprouts racoon bin next to the chair and the rest are in the family room under the couch in a under-the-bed storage drawer.

We took a small, low dresser from our guestroom and made it into a train table. It’s not really big enough for the largest train creations, but it works.

As you enter to the left of the door we moved the triangle shelf from the living room, which was always a clutter collector, and made open storage for that week’s current rotation of toys. We still have a three-bin rotation, but at any given time two of the bins are out: one in here and one in Little Stroller’s room. The third is packed away.

His little kitchen is nestled in the corner. All of his play food is out all of the time now. I’m big and tired and just couldn’t keep up with play food rotation too.

His easel is in the opposite corner – this week it’s on the white board side, but we switch it up to paper or chalk board fairly frequently.

Instead of using another rug on this side of the room, we put down a hand-me-down foam alphabet mat. Little Stroller loves finding his “special” letters – M and X.

His little table and chairs that Grandpa made, which I also painted with chalk paint using small sample pot colors of Little Stroller’s choosing, fit perfectly under the windows across from his toy shelf.

And for the ultimate kid-friendly decoration, we hung Ikea Dignitet curtain wires around the perimeter of the room so Little Stroller’s preschool artwork could become our window valances. He loves it!

Little Stroller loves his playroom and it’s proven to be well worth the effort to create the space. We have middle school-aged twins who live across the street come to play with Little Stroller a couple of times a week to give me (ahem, my giant aching belly) a break. The past few times they’ve come it has either been raining or Little Stroller didn’t want to go to the park. So they’ve locked themselves in the playroom and for two hours I hear nothing but shrieks of laughter while I’m in the other room cleaning. Plus, now when I’m making dinner, Little Stroller is no longer underfoot with a dozen ankle breakers in the kitchen; he’s in his playroom happily playing choo choos or trucks.

I never thought we’d have a playroom in this house, but I have to admit, it’s just about the best thing ever!

Do you have a dedicated playroom or somewhere to shut the door and ignore the toys in your house?