What do a 2 year old boy and 13 year old girl have in common? Nothing! How do you design a playroom for them to share? Beats me. I’m actually not sure it can be done, but I’m gonna give it a try!
Today, I am excited and nervous because I have decided to join in on my very first One Room Challenge. Ahh! If you’re not familiar with the Challenge, it is an event that happens twice a year and is hosted by Calling It Home and sponsored by House Beautiful. For the challenge, bloggers are given 6 weeks to complete a full room makeover, and they share their progress each Thursday during the 6 weeks. You can visit a link up of everyone’s projects over on the One Room Challenge blog. You should check it out, there are some really fun projects in the works. We’re #97!
This One Room Challenge came at a perfect time. I currently have a playroom that really a mess and it’s not doing anyone any good. The problem? It needs to accommodate my 2 year old son and 13 year old daughter. This room should be perfect for *his* endless amount of toys, while serving as a relaxing retreat for *her* to watch TV and hang out with friends. How is that possible? I’m not sure it is! Let’s find out together.
This is the room in question. It has great bones, amazing light and is really a great starting point. It is located right off our Family Room and has double glass doors, which I love. I can keep an eye on what’s going on in there and still give them a bit of privacy. The top two thirds of the walls are painted the main house color (Sherwin Williams Rice Grain) and the bottom is chalkboard black. Fun! The door to the storage closet is also a chalkboard. I plan to keep the walls as-is and build on this color scheme. Our house is pretty neutral and with this being completely open to the main Family Room, I’d like to keep the rooms easily flowing into one another. Check out the plan below:
The wish list for the room is two fold. First, lots of storage and a play area for my little guy. He has a ton of toys, crafts, etc and we need places to store them. I envision a bookcase (or two), a teepee, soft rug and play table for him. For her, I’d like to see a relaxing seating area orientated towards the TV. She already has a study space elsewhere in the house and will really use this room to just unwind and watch a few shows at the end of the day. It’s also a great spot for her and her friends to hang out with a little space away from Mom and Dad. To accomplish this, I am planning to basically cut the room in half and gear each side to each kid! Keeping a neutral color palette that ties everything together should keep things from becoming disjointed.
Here are a few of the main inspiration pieces:
I love this world map from Land of Nod and think it will be a great jumping off point for his side.
I also love these cute animal heads for his side, as well. Maybe several in a big grouping?
This cute hedgehog lamp is perfect for her side. It looks teenager-y right? 🙂
To tie everything together, I plan to use two of these rugs. The graphic black and white will work nicely for each area.
So, add all of this together and this is what you get. I’m sure things will change a bit (they always do once the process gets underway), but this is the overall scheme.
I hope you’ll follow along as we transform our playroom from a blank canvas to a shared Toddler + Teen Playroom perfect for two of my favorite people. Can a toddler and teenager coexist in one playroom? Stay tuned! 🙂
You can keep up with our progress in the One Room Challenge in these posts:
Toddler + Teen Playroom, Week 1
And pin this graphic to your Pinterest boards for future reference!
