Today I’m giving a little tour of Sophie’s playroom and offering you 5 quick and easy playroom decorating ideas in the process. Which is kind of like a two for one deal at your favourite restaurant, but without the added calories!
Now I should begin by saying that when we bought this house I was all set to turn the spare bedroom into a guest room. You know, with a nice bed and fancy towels and teeny tiny soaps all laid out Pinterest style on a soft white duvet cover that would get used approximately zero times a year as that’s roughly how many times we have guests come to stay!
So I decided to get a bit creative and instead of wasting time and money on a room that wouldn’t be used, I thought I’d turn it into a room that had an actual purpose. And so, Sophie’s playroom was created.
Kirsten and co’s 5 Quick and Easy Playroom Decorating Ideas
1. Shop What You’ve Got
I didn’t want to spend a fortune putting this playroom together, so most of the big ticket furniture items in the photos were things we already owned.
From left to right:
The IKEA shelving unit was a purchase I made about 5 years ago. It was in my office (you can read about it in my Budget Friendly Home Office Storage Solutions post where everything in it was hot pink and black or in my Home Office Storage Solutions post where aqua and black was my preferred colour scheme!)
The timber blanket box was a gift from mum back in the 90’s and is still going strong. The black and white polka dot and striped cushions were purchased from Freedom several years ago.
The yellow dipped side tables are from Kmart (large one from the furniture section, small one from the children’s section).
Desk was purchased for $99 from IKEA and like the HEMNES Buffet in my home office took Scott a good couple of hours and several swear words to put together. The white chair was purchased from Freedom several years ago.
2. Keep Things Organised
I find if toys, tea sets, lego, board games, art supplies etc have a designated box they’re more likely to be put back into that box once they’re finished being played with.
Having toys in their own boxes makes it easier for children to find what toy they’re looking for and keep things set up in a similar way to what they’re used to if they attend day care/kindy/prep/school.
From top to bottom:
soft toys randomly plonked on top of IKEA unit (I wouldn’t recommend doing this if your children are small as they’ll want to climb up to reach them, which, if your shelving isn’t attached to the wall, could potentially be very dangerous)
Top Shelf, left to right: books, art supplies stored in containers purchased from kitchen section at Kmart, more art and craft supplies stored in two yellow boxes purchased from Kmart
Second Shelf, left to right: board games, white photo albums purchased from Kmart, black arrow purchased from Target USA, books
Third Shelf, left to right: various toys all stored in plastic containers purchased from IKEA
Bottom Shelf, left to right: various items all stored in black pull out fabric boxes purchased from IKEA
3. Don’t Forget The Walls!
I didn’t want to paint the walls, mainly because painting isn’t my thing, but I did want to show the walls some love so I put together a couple of small wall galleries.
I made the DREAM BIG poster myself and put it in a A3 frame purchased from Kmart. The gold glitter stickers were purchased from Cotton On Kids, as was the wall hanging beside them. The aqua light up love heart hanging underneath was purchased from Kmart.
I also created a Selfie Wall, which is a bit of fun for a tweenager!
I designed the prints, which I probably should put in The Shop sometime soon, printed them and put them in $8 frames I picked up from good old Kmart. I attached the frames to the wall using 3M hooks, so something like this would be a great option if you’re renting or don’t want to damage your walls with pesky hook holes.
4. Don’t Be Afraid To Hack!
Despite having a love for all things decorating, I’m always a bit reluctant to give things a makeover/hack because I’m not that great at crafty things. But I’m quite pleased with how my $20 Kmart pineapple lamp hack turned out!
You can find all the details on how to create your own Pineapple Lamp Hack right here
5. Leave plenty of space to play!
This is probably the most important element when it comes to decorating a playroom and one that’s often overlooked. You’ll notice that all of the furniture is running around the side of the room and there’s not an artistically arranged teepee or tent to be seen? That’s because floor space is needed so the kids can get down there and actually play!
Yep, when Sophie has friends over they grab those cushions off the blanket box, pull out several boxes of toys off the shelves and make a mess. There’s lots of giggling and squealing and “No, you be the Mum” to be heard and it’s always a delight to hear!
And there we have it! My 5 quick and easy playroom decorating ideas.
Do your kids have a playroom? Or maybe you have a guest room? Got any decorating ideas you’d like to add? I’d love to read them!
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