Our basement is one of the reasons we bought our house. It is a huge, open space, complete with a wood burning fireplace. Gradually we have been working on making it a functional and cozy family room. There was one area behind the sofa, however, that remained neglected. It needed to act as a guest room and toy storage area and it was failing miserably at both. This spring, thanks to a project I worked on with Today's Parent magazine, I turned it into a beautiful space that welcomes our guests and hides toys.
Here is what it looked like before: awful, unwelcoming, and sad.
Now it is completely transformed! I placed an IKEA daybed between two IKEA Hemnes wardrobes. Because it is a family space, I added fun colours and patterns to the bed with the cushions and polka dot cover.
Over the daybed, I hung a photo of the boys and two pieces of word art from Penny Paper Co that I love, because of course, my kids are a super big deal in my world. The side table is a find from one of my trips home to Nova Scotia and the rug is a stencil project I did for Cityline.
The wardrobe on the left houses any items a guest may need, including hanging space for clothes and extra linens. The wardrobe on the right is for the kids' costumes and toys. No more clutter! The drawers under the bed contain their train set and out of control dinosaur collection.
The drawers in the toy-filled wardrobe hold the boys' smaller toys and lego in plastic bins. To make sure they never forget where to put things away, I added photos to the bottom of each container. Cleaning up is SO much easier now that everything has a home.
Where the bed used to sit I created a chalkboard wall to display the kids' amazing artwork. To make your own, read these easy step-by-step instructions.
On the opposite wall is a small table and chairs for getting crafty. I hung this colourful art low over the table for inspiration.
Paper-wrapped cans hold art supplies.
We are so happy with the transformation. I now actually want to spend time down in the basement.
If you would like to see more of what I did to our house for Today's Parent, you can see more here.
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