The Completed Family Room + Playroom!

Our second floor received a big facelift when we nixed the home office in favor of a family room + playroom! Let’s take a tour.

The playroom is complete, and it’s been such a joy to have this space in our home! And – surprise! – the adjoining former-studio-lounge-turned-family-room has been getting more use than ever. If you’re wondering where this big, family-friendly space is located, it’s on the second floor. The open space mimics the size of our living and dining rooms, which is long, but narrow. These rooms act as a passthrough to our bedrooms and main bathroom, as opposed to, say, a traditional hallway. Let’s take a tour!

PS: All sources, including paint colors, are at the bottom of this post.

Re-Purposing Our Furniture

After selling our former office desk, file cabinets and chairs (in favor of our dining room), we unrolled a pretty pink vintage rug and shopped for furniture from other rooms in our home. That cream rocking chair and end table? They used to be in Lucy’s nursery (and therefore, I can’t bear to ever part with them!).

This credenza? We moved it from one wall to another within the same room, and now it makes for awesome toy storage. The lidded seagrass basket used to be in the snug, but since adding built-ins to that room, we could bring it up here for stuffed animals! And speaking of toy storage…

Toy Storage

… we initially worried that the credenza might not hold enough stuff as Lucy is gifted more toys over the years, but then we realized: Why are we so worried about containing all the toys when her interests are constantly changing? As new items come into this room, lesser used items go out – to neighbors, friends or our Buy Nothing Facebook group.

But as I began to fill the credenza with Lucy’s toys, I quickly realized that this credenza was plenty big for her + our needs. As many of you suggested doing, I picked up these clear storage bins so that she could see her toys, and we have room to spare:

Ah, glorious empty bins, be still my heart! The other section of this cabinet is home to a dollhouse, the nearby basket holds stuffies, and… that’s it. That’s all her toys that we keep in this room! That said, the downstairs snug is where we keep board games and a few items that she enjoys playing around the coffee table.

All the Greenery!

Hands down, our favorite feature on the second floor is the sunlight. So much beautiful, bright sunlight! Our plants simply sing up here. Our living wall pocket has been going strong for years, with tweaks along the way. (My spider plant didn’t make it, but ZZs and pothos thrive.)

Who was here when I spray painted this dinosaur hot pink? Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would be a favorite toy for my future child, but here we are! It makes my heart burst every time she plays with it (which is literally every single day), and I love discovering it new places around the house. Most recently, I pulled back our bed covers to find him tucked inside, nice and snug.

But I digress. Our Ficus Audrey couldn’t be happier, although I keep waiting for the moment that she begins dropping leaves. It hasn’t happened yet, but I’m still over here crossing my fingers for a healthy, long life! I’ve been rotating her ever-so-slightly as she turns towards the sun, watering her weekly and misting her leaves in-between drinks.

A Place to Create

Lucy’s craft table has made the rounds on each floor, but for now, it makes sense to keep it up here. (We bought it unfinished, and I sealed the top and painted the legs black.) It’s lightweight enough to move out of the way for more floor space, which is something many of you brought up as being important in a playroom – and I agree!

The vintage chairs I bought from our Flash Sale for Charity add a dash of whimsy, and we can easily pull items from the nearby craft room to work in here (you can see a glimpse of the craft room on the right side of the photo above). Inside the desk, we stash construction paper, colored pencils and sticker sheets, and I like to keep a basket of wooden stacking rocks nearby – although it’s tough to say who has more fun with these, Mom + Dad or Lucy!

Tomato Tea + Cheese Soup

Lucy turned 3 in January, and our gift to her was the infamous IKEA play kitchen! We spray painted the faucet and hardware gold, but beyond that we left it alone, and I’m happy with that.

Lucy makes us silly variations of tea and soup, and she loves to bring me breakfast in bed – typically, tomato tea with a side of cheese, eggplant or lettuce. We stocked the kitchen with cute thrifted plates and cups (click here for more tips to stock your play kitchen), and we laid a soft faux fur on the floor (which she also loves using as a ‘reading mat’!).

We tried a handful of art pieces to fill this wall, even considering a gallery wall or a few DIY ideas. In the end, I couldn’t resist this print from one of our favorite local artists, Ryan Duggan. He just restocked the third edition of this print, and I can’t stress enough how wonderful the quality is! This brass frame showcases it beautifully. (And don’t you love how the cat looks like she’s hanging onto a branch from our ficus?)

Lucy’s Top Request: A Dress-Up Station!

There’s a small nook tucked against our exposed chimney, and I knew all along that I wanted to make this Lucy’s dress-up station. She’s been obsessed with wearing costumes since her first Halloween, and if you’ve ever seen us out and about, it’s very likely you’ve seen Lucy as a chameleon, unicorn or frog. She just started venturing into the world of tutus, so it was time she had a place to store all her goodies!

I loved this palm trunk the moment I saw it, and Lucy loves the round tabs that ‘keep Mommy and Daddy out’. Okay, fair enough! The peg rail we DIY-ed is perfect for necklaces and hats, and her sweet silhouette is the cherry on top.

A Room for the Whole Family

The other half of this room has become a nightly family hangout for reading books, also doubling as the perfect perch for morning cartoons. We stash hand weights and small exercise equipment inside the storage ottoman, and we keep extra blankets inside the nearby lidded basket.

The sofa was originally intended for the Two Flat (when we were considering it as a short term rental), but we absolutely love it here! It’s comfortable but streamlined, supportive but soft. We chose to have it upholstered in Quartz velvet, which is durable enough for kids and pets – although Catfish’s hair sticks to it like a magnet (just FYI). Even still, no regrets; we love it.

A big thank you! to each and every one of you that left feedback on our playroom planning post. We’re two big leaps closer to making every inch of our home work as hard as possible for our family. Even still, we look forward to seeing these rooms evolve and change with us over time!

Family + Playroom Sources:

Paint + Lighting: Wall color is BEHR Pale Bud | Trim color is BEHR Ultra Pure White | ceiling pendants | plug-in wall sconce | lion lamp

Furniture + Rugs: ​​​​​​​play kitchen | credenza (similar) | cream rocking chair | craft table + vintage chairs | Charly sofa in Quartz velvet | Lucy’s rocker | storage ottoman | pink vintage rug | blue + purple rug | faux fur rug | bubble side table (similar)

Accessories: ‘what now?’ print + frame | ‘work hard’ print | silhouette art | faux fur throw | standing mirror | tree planter (similar) | white planter w/ wood stand | living wall planter | cat planter | terrazzo planter (similar) | palm storage trunk | seagrass baskets | small rope basket w/ leather handles | clock | peg rail

Toys: stacking rocks | wood figure | denim apron | mesh bags | play food | wooden kitchen utensils | plush dinosaur | unicorn costume | clear storage bins