House to Home - Playroom Makeover

We've come a long way in this space, with many, many mind changes.  But, I am thrilled to show you the results!


The previous owners of our house used this space as a playroom and it is allllmost the same size as the playroom in our former house.  It is located just inside of the front door to the left when you walk into our house, so it's one of the first things you see when you enter.

We were originally going to use our trusty old red couches in this room and just paint the walls, like we had set up in our old house, but as it turned out, the room was just a tad too small for two huge couches.

After selling said couches on Facebook Marketplace and starting with a blank slate I started imagining the potential.  Our kids are getting bigger and have more of a need for a desk/homework station with toy storage rather than a full out, toys everywhere playroom.

After searching Pinterest and seeing inspiration pictures like the ones below (sources listed), my vision started to become clear - faux built-ins with a desk in between.  Clean, classy and kid friendly.

Source:  @Palmetto_Haven via Instagram

Source:  Entire Home Furniture via Pinterest

Source:  Nick and Alicia Blog via Pinterest

STEP 1 - PAINT

There is no better satisfaction than seeing a room transform before your eyes with a simple coat of paint.

We chose Sherwin Williams Fluer de Sel and love the neutral vibe.  There are some gray undertones and it gives the room a very cozy feel.

STEP 2 - FURNITURE

We decided to use built ins from the IKEA Havsta series.  They are beautiful and very well made and come with soft close cabinets.  They also offer a range of cabinet colors and different size combinations to fit your desired space.  

Once that decision was made and they were assembled, I found what I thought would be the right chairs and curtains and made this mock up.

Boy was I wrong.




Once everything was in, the vibe was all wrong.  It felt like a doctor's office waiting room and not the cozy playroom/study feel that I was going for.

Not to mention that I ordered the wrong length curtains - that just added insult to injury.

There was no sense in waiting to see if I liked it after a few days.  When I know, I know.  So, after selling the chairs on Facebook Marketplace the next day, I took the clear desk chairs back to IKEA and returned the curtains to Target.  It was on to plan B.

Once I found another set of curtains that I looooooved, I made mock up #2.  

When the curtains arrived I just knew.  They were beautiful and had just the right color palate and busyness.   The original plan was to stick with a pop of color for the chairs, but once I saw the other colors in real life - the neutral oatmeal fabric had me at hello.  

I went with my gut, changed the chair plan again and am SO HAPPY that I did!  I also ordered new desk chairs that I got a great deal on, and began planning out the desk top options.  

STEP 3 - DESK

The problem we were finding was that our space was very long and we were going to find a hard time finding a piece of wood in our exact dimensions (about 78x18).  That's where IKEA came in again and saved the day.

What did we use you ask?  An IKEA counter top!  

We did have to cut about 6 inches off of the back of the counter top with our table saw, but other than that it was ready to go.

We used three heavy duty wall brackets to support the desk top and give the "floating shelf" look that we were going for.

The desk area ended up being around 74 in long and there is plenty of space for both of our kiddos to work simultaneously without even getting close to touching (very important!). 

We have a few more finishing touches to put in the room, such as artwork displays, ottoman/small table, accent pillows, and baskets; but for the most part it is functioning and has been everything we dreamed it could be!

Next up (hopefully)???  

The Wetbar!