My daughter-in-law wanted a child’s playroom in the large basement family room. This is a wonderful room because the floor is over a crawlspace so its not cold and it is a heated space. The south side has lots of windows and the french doors exit to a patio area under the deck.
This basement floor is quite large. There is a guest bedroom, a storage room, a large hall closet, a utility room, and a closet under the stairs. Plus a full bathroom, a bar sink and cabinet, a carpeted sitting area and the large family area. All the toys have a home in this area and the family hangs out and plays there.
The old carpet was not in terrible condition but it was worn in some areas and quite dark so they decided it was a good time to install new carpet when the upstairs was carpeted. They chose a textured gray to match the gray laminate wood floors down there. It is a tough weave as it was the carpet they used on the floors in the store! The bedroom and sitting room are carpeted too.
Of course I also changed the basement staircase light fixture from an old barely functional one to a curved glass unit that I found on eBay for $15. But it was wired for a four prong lamp and I decided to rewire it to fit a standard size bulb. I used all LED bulbs in the house.
The first furniture in the area was the storage cabinets from their apartment and a blue and red interlocking rubber floor mat that we originally purchased for a baby birthday party. Then they found a loveseat on a marketplace and a huge bean bag chair stuffed with foam instead of beans. It came with a small footrest too.
There was a choice of several used train tables and we purchased one that was not far away. It also came with extra tracks and train cars. We searched for a wooden play kitchen and child table set but the pickings were few, worn, and expensive. So we bought these items new but reasonably, especially compared to the used asking prices.
Assembly took time and two of us. There are so many parts to sort and put together. The table and chairs were much easier to assemble.
We also really enjoyed getting items for the cabinet dollhouse. The critter family even has a grandma and grandpa with the two children and their parents. It’s so sweet and both kids like playing with it. The cabinet itself was a craigslist purchase.
We were more successful finding a free large table. This table extends if needed for extra room for party seating. We picked up 10 church choir chairs in very decent condition, also for free though a small donation was accepted. One of the techline dressers holds art supplies. Across from this table is an easel for the small fry.
Behind the art area is the small sitting room which will be used for large gaming equipment and musical instruments. My son has a keyboard and my little grandson likes to set up and play rhythms on it. The kids drum set is a family set that belonged to my niece’s son then to my older grandkids, and now to the younger ones.
Another activity area across from the white shelving is a learning center with a magnetic white board, found brand new and still wrapped in plastic on craigslist, and some English/Korean posters. There are other cute additions for children’s learning, the analog wall clock and big measuring chart. The extra bed comes in handy for tired parents just watching the kids play or for extra family guests.
If you look closely at the clock wall, you can see one of the cameras installed that allows the parents to monitor the room from upstairs. The entire room is family friendly for little kids but they expect it to grow with the kids and change as they get older.
