A New Playroom for Ruby (and her Mommy)!

We had SO much fun this weekend installing a playroom for an AH-DORABLE little princess! Jacki & I (and the oh-so handy hubby, Patrick) went over Saturday morning and got to work. We kept some of the details secret so the reveal was extra special. If we had a film crew and producers, we could've had our own HGTV show for this one!

We loved the room but we loved everyone's reaction to their new space the most!

The room was being used as an office/guest room before we arrived on the scene.

Our client wanted the room to function in several ways:

• a playroom where multiple children could imagine and play
• Ruby's arts and crafts area (creating, storing and displaying)
• a place the family could watch tv
• a place for overflow guests (when the guest room is full!)

A few weeks ago we showed you our plan:

Since it is a place the whole family will use AND Ruby is a sophisticated four year old, we didn't want it to come off as TOO juvenile. A room that will grow with Ruby as she does was essential. The trick was to design something that was bright, playful and FUNCTIONAL for everyone!

Our budget was ample but we had a lot of ground to cover. It was a large room with multiple "zones".

We started with paint. If you can do nothing else, PAINT! It makes a huge impact. We originally thought we would use two paint colors with one as an accent wall. With so many elements to fuse, it just ended up being easier to have one paint color and use accessories for dimension. The paint color we finally chose (after much hand wringing) was Benjamin Moore's Majestic Blue. Jacki is THE BEST at choosing paint colors and of course it turned out beautifully.

Check it out! We're full service...we even vacuum!

We planned to do most of our shopping at IKEA but knew we still didn't have enough room in the budget for a sleeper sofa and decent coffee table. 

Enter our resident Craigslist troll (aka Jacki). 

BEFORE we even got the homeowner's permission, we scooped up one of these in like new condition for less than half the retail price:

We knew she would love it!

Then Jacki found this ugly duckling and saw its inner swan!

You can read all about the cocktail ottoman makeover here.

With the major furniture pieces out of the way, we headed to IKEA. They have a lot of goodies that didn't break the bank.  We chose the Trofast storage system for toy and art storage,

 the Janette curtains,

What can I say? We got cRaZy at Ikea!

the Linnmon table with Vika Kaj adjustable legs for room to grow,


and for seating around the arts and crafts table: the marius stools. A great value and the color was almost an exact match to the Majestic Blue wall color.

We tied the room's colors together with the catalina cove rug from Pier 1. Bonus: It's indoor/outdoor so spills will clean up nicely.

It was important to our client that ALL the arts and crafts gear have a proper home. A peg board with  by-gel rails and baskets and the bygel container cups worked perfectly. Look at all the cute colors the cups come in:

I'm in love with all this organization!

A spot to display masterpieces and corral stuffed animals. Mr. Squirrel makes sure everything is put in its proper place.

The arts and crafts display area might be my favorite thing in the room. It's simple 1x2's cut to size and giant binder clips screwed into them. We found the inspiration for this project on Pinterest:

And last but certainly not least...the dress up area! The room had an over-sized closet that fit the bill. The mirror came from Craigslist and got a coat of Krylon Citrus green spray paint.

Some cute little hooks from world market to hang up hats and purses make this space fit for a princess...even the tee-ball-playing type.

BONUS: You can close the doors after a hectic day of being a princess!

I love all the special details! The vinyl tree is awesome and the art Jacki created is super sweet!

Yes, if you're four, bunnies and turtles CAN live in trees!

Jacki and I REALLY enjoyed the entire process but the BEST part was mom and daughter's reaction(s) to the room. While Mom squealed with excitement, our smallest client gave her seal of approval by putting the room to use immediately!

High praise indeed!

We would love to help you with your project! We have packages starting at just $50. Email us today and let's get YOUR party started!

We're showing the linky love today with Make It Pretty Monday at The Dedicated House! I'd say this playroom makeover definitely qualifies as making it pretty!

Linking up with:

Awesome place to spend a few hours: