Play Area Fun

Things are slowly starting to settle down now that we've been in our new home for about a month. I won't lie - there are still quite a few boxes waiting to be unpacked or schlepped up to the attic. But for the most part, we're in!!!

The kitchen is pretty much finished with the one (MAJOR) exception of my gorgeous porcelain tile backsplash which has yet to be installed ((sad face)). But the drawer pulls are on, the mini-pendant lights are in, and the cabinets are all organized. It's such a wonderful experience cooking in that kitchen of mine. I cannot tell you how much I feel like I'm working as a line cook in an upscale restaurant somewhere! Some amazing things have come off that gas stovetop and out of that electric oven (and even the nifty warming drawer!). I love love love it!

All of the bedrooms are "settled" in, which basically means they are functional. Kids' closets have lower shelving so they can reach their shirts, they have beds and dressers in there, but ZERO decor. It's totally okay. I'm not worried about their rooms. I know we'll get there... eventually. Just not a big priority to me since they are functional and honestly, the kids really don't care.

The office is a major mess. It's kind of become dumping ground for all the tools, materials, etc. we've been using for various projects around the house. I like that I can just close the door and pretend that particular roomful of chaos doesn't exist (although secretly I know deep down that it does). Again, not a priority.

There's one room that I've decided to tackle next mostly out of necessity. The kids need a play space and a home for all of their toys, and I'm tired of seeing all the boxes upstairs in the loft/play area, so that's next on the list.

I started out by picking up 3 of these ClosetMaid Cubeicals for toy storage. Oh, and just for the record, that IS in fact how ClosetMaid spells "cubecials." It's really annoying to me, and I needed to point it out in case anyone thought I was misspelling it... ;)

We already had several fabric bins (although they don't really match anything in particular) so I started taking toys out of boxes and placing them in the bins.

It was around that time that I realized I really don't have a vision for the play area.

One of the three walls will don the white cubeicals, but what about the other walls? And what about a color scheme? A theme? Anything??

I got nuthin'.

So I hit IKEA's website today to do a little searching for some inspiration. I found this rug, which I think I totally love (although hubs doesn't care for it):

I love that it has a bunch of bright colors so I wouldn't be forced into a color scheme of only one or two colors that would tie my hands a bit when it comes to selecting other pieces for the room. Is it fun and vibrant? Or just weird or annoying? Thoughts, please...

While surfing IKEA, I also found these cute curtains:

Again, I love the bright colors! And I think I could really run with the "pennant" theme by creating some stringed fabric pennants for wall decor like "PLAY" or "FUN" -- ya know? Something cute, but not too crazy.

I'm still searching for more inspiration, but I know I'd like a rug, some curtains for the two windows, a small kids table for games/crafts and a fun/funky floor lamp for a little reading area with bean bags. I'd also like to put up chair rail and paint some chalkboard or whiteboard paint somewhere in there. I'm thinking about taking the kids on a road trip to our nearest IKEA (only 2 hours away!) later this week to pick up some stuff. I'll try to remember to take some "Before" and "After" pics to share with you guys (assuming somebody still reads this ol' blog...). :)