In our home, we are fortunate enough to have a second living space that many would traditionally use as their “formal living room.” Having a two-year-old at the time we moved into our home meant we were anything BUT formal, so transforming that space into Jackson’s playroom was a great option. The former home owners had begun to turn this room into a 4th bedroom and had built a large closet on the inner wall. This gave us a great place to tuck our large Ikea storage system filled with all of J’s toys. And when we didn’t want to see all of those toys, the closet doors could be easily closed!

When I originally styled our playroom, I used what we had – our former dining room rug that had seen better days, an antique armoire that hadn’t found a spot anywhere else in our home…even the Ikea storage system had originally been a right-out-of-college purchase for my first apartment. This room never felt fully put together, but certainly did its job of keeping Jackson contained to one room right off of our kitchen, where I knew he was safe.

The same year we moved in, my dad built Jackson a large train table from designs that I had found. With 2 drawers on each side and a chalkboard top, it was a great space for Jackson to build and play. But it also took up a LOT of the playroom space and eventually became a catch all for EVERYTHING. As Jackson’s love for Lego developed, I attempted to turn the train table into a Lego table, but Lego just ended up everywhere and he had no dedicated place to build.

Jackson’s love of Lego continues to grow and in fact, our entire family is quite fond of Lego. So recently, I was inspired to restyle the playroom to meet our ever growing boy’s needs. It was time to remove the train table and find a better Lego storage solution.

I plan for a large DIY floating desk to be mounted inside the closet with rolling tiered carts as Lego storage. Floating wall shelves will provide extra storage as well as a display area for special creations. Two wall sconces provide sufficient light for building and a small wall mounted TV is an extra perk that will be great for Jackson as he grows up and becomes interested in video games like his daddy. Remember, this room didn’t always have a closet, so there was already an electrical outlet on the back wall, making it easy for us to plug in electronics, like the sconces and TV.

Other plans for the room include:

• Rearrange art and choose a more intentional arrangement for the playroom walls
• Add a coffee table to create a lounge area opposite the Lego closet/TV
• Replace the playroom rug
• Purge toys and reorganize using one part of our Ikea system and the armoire
• Create an accent wall

Stay tuned to see how our plans start to come to life in this budget friendly makeover!

xoxo, L