Lillie Foulé’s Bedroom/Play Space Makeover | October 2019

October 15, 2019Posted inUncategorized1 Comment

Lillie Foulé’s bedroom doubles as her play space (and at times as a play space for her baby brother too). Her mama reached out to me because she was feeling overwhelmed by the space, which had become cluttered and wasn’t fostering independent deep play. After an initial consultation it was evident that the main issue was LF had too much stuff.

Being her bedroom, the room needed to have a bed and a space to store all her clothes. It is also the access for her parent’s bedroom door, which is in the finished attic. Being her play space, there was a lot of toys, stuffies, art supplies, and lot of miscellaneous. Lillie Foulé is a vivacious creative four year-old, so finding a way to create a calming sleep space as well as an inviting play space was the challenge.

BEFORE and AFTER

Evie + John’s Play Space Makeover | August 2018

August 17, 2018Posted inUncategorized2 Comments

Evie (4) and John (2) have a large playroom dedicated almost entirely to them (there is a bookshelf and built-in for parent storage), which needed a little reorganization to help create more defined play spaces. Mum and dad had gathered all the bones for the room and just needed help putting them together to create a flow that allowed for more independent open-ended play, greater play arcs, and an easier time cleaning up.

This is actually a super common problem folks have, they have everything they need (usually more than need!) for a really great play space, but lack the know how on how to arrange and organize things to create a space that feels open, organized, and inviting. 

Working with their mum, this was a quick ‘swoop in and get it done in a few hours’ kind of job, with very little prep needed before I arrived. Here’s what we did:

  • Removed the large antique change table and replaced it with a 8-slot white Kallax shelf, which doubles as a little play kitchen thanks to the addition of a door in one slot and kitchen decals.
  • Moved around furniture to create a larger, more open space for building and small world play.
  • Reorganized toys to be in specific buckets/baskets – making it easier for the kids to find what they want independently and also clean up without help.
  • Used the lofted area for quiet solo activities like puzzles (a curtain will be added later).
  • Turned their Ikea Raskog cart into an art cart, which can be moved between the work table (which will have mirrors added above it) and the wall mounted easels in the other room.
  • Added a few new ‘spare parts’ to the building area, and moved art supplies onto the art cart to free up the little wooden drawers for easier spare part storage/access.
  • My favorite part of this make-over was the little kitchen we made for Evie and John. This is a great little hack if you’re limited for space/storage, but still want a play kitchen. I scored this Kallax shelf on Craigslist for $25, snagged the door at IKEA, and these decals from Amazon. Total cost: $58. Bargain!

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Garrance + Gaspard’s Play Space Makeover | August 2018

August 14, 2018Posted inUncategorized1 Comment

Garrance (7) and Gaspard (4) have a lovely little play space in their sunroom at the back of the house. The space is dedicated to them minus half of the shelving unit which is used for general storage. They have mostly IKEA-type storage for their toys, which had become a jumbled treasure chest of materials over time that were buried deep.

Client goals:

  • Mum wanted a space that was more organized and allowed for more independence and greater play arcs.
  • Garrance wanted a place she could do art, and for it to be easier to have friends over and play.
  • They rent their home so they did not want anything attached to walls.
  • I also tackled their art storage chest, and created a little reading nook in the kids’ bedroom.

Here are the main things I did:

  • So much sorting and organizing! Garrance is an avid artist and also the owner of so many teeny tiny toys. There were totes and baskets filled with them that needed to be sorted through and organized. This is where the main chunk of my time was spent.
  • Rearranged the storage box in the room to be under the windows to free up floor space for a designated art nook.
  • Brought down the dollhouse from the kids’ bedroom as well as the small table and chair.
  • Purchased an IKEA Raskog cart to use as an art cart. Most of what was in their art storage chest was moved over here.
  • Used the two lower shelves on the large shelves for small world play toys and dress-up/gross motor storage.
  • Created a reading nook in the kids’ bedroom using a chair and cart that was already there, but I moved to the free space created when I moved the table and chair to the playroom.

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