When we moved into our house 7 years ago I was so excited about this room. It is a loft above our eat in kitchen area and overlooks our living room. I immediately knew it was going to be a playroom for our girls. It started out much different than what it looks like now though.
This is what it looked like at the end of 2020. We had a lot of cube storage shelves and most things were just on the floor. Nothing was on the walls. It looked a lot like a daycare center. A lot of my girls’ toys were also in their closet. But I really wanted all the toys in one space. We desperately needed more storage.
Main Furniture
I wanted something tall to utilize vertical space. And I wanted something with shelves and drawers to tuck things away. I immediately fell in love with the Hemnes bookcase from Ikea. It checked all of my boxes and it’s solid wood. We started out with just two, last year I added another one.
I loved the idea of a bench in the playroom. Bonus points if it had storage. I loved the look of this storage bench found at Antique Farmhouse. It matched the Hemnes bookcases so well and I loved the seagrass baskets. Originally I wanted the bench to have a cushion on the top but we realized some toys needed to be stored on the top.
I decided to keep one of the cube storage organizers. I put the Wellie Wishers house on top so it would be easier for my girls to play with. I also put our wooden blocks and Keva planks in the two rope baskets.
We’ve always had a small table in here. The one we had when we first moved in had seen better days, so my husband built a new one. It measures 24” x 48” and is 22” high. I found the cutest metal chairs at Walmart that are surprisingly comfortable. They also come in various colors.
Storage Solutions for Toys
Legos
My girls have a lot of Lego sets and didn’t want to take them apart to put them away every time they played. So I wanted some place to display them. I found the perfect shelves deep enough to hold all the sets. I loved the wooden brackets to match the bookcases. We started out with just two but recently bought another one because we were running out of room.
For the loose legos I decided it would be easiest to store them in containers and keep them in the drawers for easy access. I took measurements of the inside of the drawers to determine what would fit best inside. I found some tiny containers at Ikea for small pieces, people, and cars. Unfortunately they are no longer available. I’ll link ones that are similar, but twice the length. The rest of the legos I wanted to separate by color. I found these lidded containers that could stack on each other and fit inside the middle drawer. I added labels of the colors on the lids.
Dolls
My girls American Girl clothing collection has grown over the past year. We needed more storage for clothes and accessories. I loved the idea of having a little closet to hang up clothes and some shelves for accessories. I found a lot of little doll closets online but none that fit what I was needing. So my husband built this little closet. It has a rod at the top for hanging clothes and three shelves at the bottom for baskets to hold accessories. It measures 18 1/2” x 11 1/2” x 40”.
We also have some larger accessories and furniture items I needed to store. For those pieces I used a large rope basket. I found a few small containers to hold food and other accessories.
We used small decorative suitcases from Target to hold socks, slippers, hats, and coats. Unfortunately they are no longer available. I’ll link a similar set.
For the shoes I had the idea to keep them in the top shallow drawer and separate them using drawer dividers. I love how easy it is to find the shoes.
My girls have been collecting Wellie Wishers for about 6 years now. A lot of the bigger furniture pieces are kept on display.
I keep some of the bigger accessories inside the house.
The bench holds the majority of the Wellie Wisher clothing and accessories. The two left drawers hold clothing, the right one holds small accessories and food. The baskets hold larger accessories and furniture pieces. We keep the shoes in a rope basket in the bookcase.
Lottie Dolls are the first little dolls my girls ever got. They are the sweetest dolls modeled after the proportions of a nine year old child instead of adults.
Over the years my girls have gotten the tree house and stable. We keep them on display on the bench and bookcase.
The dolls and accessories are kept in a lidded seagrass basket. I use these little containers to hold small accessories and food.
Our Calico Critters houses are on display in the bookcase. The house on the bottom left was my Sylvanian Family house when I was little! Most of the furniture stays inside the houses. The animals and other furniture accessories are kept in a rope basket.
Our Maileg “Mouse House” toys are kept in little decorative suitcases. Each suitcase has a different room with furniture. We keep the mice in a gift bag that looks like a castle. Larger accessories are kept in a small rope basket. And other items are kept on display. You can read more about our Mouse House in my blog post.
Open Ended Toys and Games
Most of our other toys are kept in baskets throughout the playroom. Our games are kept in the drawers of one bookcase.
The top drawer holds card games and other small games. The bottom two drawers are very deep and holds a lot of larger board games.
11” Rope Basket | 11” Short Rope Basket | 13” Rope Basket | 13” Short Rope Basket | Set of 3 Lidded Seagrass Baskets | Round Rope Basket
Decor
Since the playroom is open I wanted it to feel cohesive with the rest of our house. I decided to keep the furniture mostly white with some wood accents. The rug matches the one in my girls’ bedroom. I love the muted colors and thought it went went with the toys that are on display.
This room doesn’t have any overhead lighting. It can get a little dark in there in the evenings even when the lights are on in the living room and hallway. I found the perfect floor lamp that matches the furniture and doesn’t take up too much space. I like how it is open at the bottom since the only location I could put it is in the corner where the vent is located. As far as wall decor, there isn’t much room for any. I have this cute little alphabet print that I’ve had since Emma was two. I thought the colors went well with the toys and rug.
I’m not sure how long this loft will be a playroom. My girls are getting older and it probably won’t get as much use as it once did. But we have loved it for so many years and will continue to enjoy it for as long as we can. Let me know if you have any questions or need links for anything!
With His Grace 