The hard thing about living in a project house is spaces are always changing. We have a living room right off the kitchen that has served as a playroom since the day we moved in. We have loved the space (mauve carpet and all!). But we’re getting ready for a big remodel which involves the playroom space morphing into something better. Kids are growing up and the need for a large room to contain toys is dwindling, so it’s time for the space to grow with our kids.
We gave the kitchen set to friends. We got rid of the annoying walking popper toy that every kid who comes to visit feels inclined to use where everyone is talking. We sorted through books and got rid of ones that could use a new home. We donated the leapfrog table and the baby walker we’ve had since Hallie.
There’s still a few things that need to be moved upstairs and a couple more that need to find a new home in someone else’s home. But we’re making progress. Several loads have already made their way to the donation truck. We even took down the alphabet wall. The wall I spent so much time collecting letters for. It’s down. Hunter was quick to volunteer for the task, he was even more happy to get a hammer and remove all the nails.
It was fun while it lasted.
What will the room turn into?
I had several ask the same question! We’re actually undertaking a much larger project that I’m pretty sure I’ve been planning and saving for since we moved into the house – a kitchen remodel. Part of that process is reworking the layout of the kitchen, and the room that adjoins it which is the playroom – as well as the storage room connected to the playroom. The nice thing about living in a home while you remodel is learning the flow of how you use a home and with how we live we realized we could use the space better. Part of the current playroom will be a pantry (which I’m really excited for) and the rest of the room will be joined with the storage room to create a playroom/game room/movie room. The current playroom was really heavy on little kid toys – we’ll still have some of those toys, but it will also function well for the others that use that space. What’s interesting is when we first started planning this years ago – I couldn’t have imagined giving up that toy room, but as I’ve traveled down the less is more road and have intentionally sifted through toys and stuff I realized those kids had more than they could ever play with – we had a room full for that matter. I’ve spent the better part of a year coming to understand what was worth keeping and what was just taking up space because we spent money on it. This was not playroom specific – this was our “stuff” in general. (Not sure if you’re anything like me but I love “The More of Less” by Joshua Becker – a lot of light bulb moments). Which is why the playroom in its newly constructed state will be more of a multipurpose room instead of just toys. Anyway – probably more than you wanted to know. But I had a lot of questions regarding that and thought I would clarify. Thanks!
I understand. We have a “room for toys” too. There is too much of it. I can see how little kids are more apt to take a toy in the play room and bring it out to where others actually are like the family room than remain in the play room alone while playing with it. I can also see how likely a child will stay in the play room if they are older and its for things like video games.
Totally- the little kids adore their older siblings which usually means the toys end up just about every where throughout the house, except the playroom. I’m excited to create a space that both young and old enjoy – and my kids would think I’m the best parent ever if we let them do video games…they’ll have to settle with board games! (aside from our occasional mario kart battles on our 12 year old wii!)