A boring and cluttered playroom gets a modern eclectic farmhouse makeover on a budget with DIY projects, smart storage solutions, and inexpensive finds.
Some days I’m just a teensy bit jealous of my 4 year-old. The girl can wear a princess dress and tiara in public, take a nap whenever she feels like it, and the hardest vote she ever has to make is whether to choose a cookie or brownie for dessert.
(But then I remember I can have a glass of wine, eat sushi, and ride roller coasters and suddenly being a grown-up feels pretty awesome.)
One thing Robert, Olivia, and I all can enjoy together though is our newly finished PLAYROOM!
Not that playroom.
THIS playroom!
It is officially reveal day after this 6 week long One Room Challenge, and I honestly cannot believe how quickly we were able to pull this one off. To be fair, we’ve had a lot of practice with the other ten rooms in our house.
You can see our entire ORC journey from the beginning in our previous weeks here:
Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5
(I’ve written up a full source list with paint colors, links, and our budget breakdown at the bottom of this post too.)
Here is what this space looked like before: (Affiliate links are provided below. For more info, see my full disclosure here.)
Womp womp.
And after!
Seriously, how did we live with all of this toy clutter everywhere? …and a random office chair.
This space is so functional, and we feel happier and more clear-headed now that the junky mess is gone.
Okay, one more for good measure and then I’ll dive into the details, I pinky promise.
BOOM.
From the very beginning when we first moved into this house, I knew that one day I wanted to install clean white built-in shelves in this room with a place to hang out and relax as a family.
But I also love the rustic farmhouse look, so I wanted to figure out a way to marry the two.
It wasn’t until this wood wall idea from Shades of Blue Interiors came along that the light bulb moment happened.
We ended up using these tongue and groove rustic style boards from Lowe’s after our cheap fence repurposing idea fell through. It was a bit of a blow to the budget, but I’m so glad we don’t have to worry about mold and dry rot being nailed up on our wall.
I ended up hanging this cut-out “adventure” sign above the TV and it’s so stinkin’ perfect!
For some easily accessible toy storage, I found these wooden crates on sale for less than $10 each, spray painted them with Rustoleum Winter Gray, and stenciled on the numbers. Easy! And cheaper than a lot of the other crate/basket storage options out there.
The most expensive project in the room by far were these IKEA hack built-in shelves, but they were absolutely worth it. Having the doors on the lower half have been great for hiding toys and board games, and they’re still easy access for Olivia whenever she wants to dig them out.
It was easy to decorate the shelves since I mostly used toys she already had. I stored some of her building blocks and musical instruments in these hocking jars that I picked up at Walmart. I searched high and low for large plastic or acrylic jars with no luck, but Robert and I just help dump out those toys whenever she wants to play with them.
I made a few cork board picture frames where we can easily display her artwork whenever she brings it home from preschool. And I found this cute vintage cage fan on Ebay for $8!
For this half wall, I knew it would be a great spot to install a pair of desks, one for Olivia and one for me, so I can blog or craft while she colors in her coloring books or works on her reading/writing skills.
I ended up finding a square kitchen table on Craigslist that we cut in half and mounted directly onto the wall. Ha! I’m still looking around for other pieces of furniture I could cut in half that would be equally as fabulous.
A very sweet friend sent me this “S” from an old Starbucks sign. Yay for dumpster diving! The rest of the desk decor were just things I already had around the house.
For the window side of the room, I made these pom pom curtains as Anthropologie / Pottery Barn knock-offs using IKEA sheers.
And I hung them up on this galvanized pipe looking curtain rod I found at Target.
I gave Olivia’s existing play table on this side of the room a quick makeover too.
After a lot of debating, Robert and I decided the cheapest, most practical solution for our old tan couch was actually to sell it and replace it with a white IKEA Ektorp. We made $200 from the old couch, so it covered a big chunk of the cost for a new one. (You’d think IKEA sponsored this room. We just went crazy all over the place in here.)
So now if Olivia ever gets this slipcover dirty, I can toss it in the wash with some bleach and it’ll be all fresh and clean. (I hope… we’ll find out.)
Robert and I have made several of these engineer print / wood framed type signs before, but this time I used colored engineer prints and typed up the wording on Picmonkey to create these oversized storybook pages. Is there a limit on how many times I can say “cute” in this post? I can’t even stand it.
I always have to get sappy and sentimental somewhere in every room we makeover; this project was definitely as sappy as it gets.
I hung up this felted pom pom garland for some whimsy and they’ve made this room feel very Dr. Seuss-ish.
Back when I was planning this room, I found all of these sofa pillows on sale at Target and they inspired the whole color scheme. I tried not to get too girly with pinks and purples in here, so blue and yellow seemed safe but still fun.
After debating foreverrrrrr on the right rug, this one fit in beautifully and it’s suuuuuper duper soft. I’m ready to wrap myself up in this thing like a blanket burrito. The three of us have loved sprawling out on it to have block building competitions and board game nights.
We finally replaced our plain ol’ builder grade light fixture with this mint one from Hunter Fan. Doesn’t it scream “playroom” to you? I love that it’s modern but still has a vintage vibe.
So now the big crazy breakdown! We ran into a couple of snafus with the wood wall and sofa slipcover plan from the beginning, so we ended up having to spend about $450 more than we originally planned. Ack!
But with furnishing this room with budget DIY projects and shopping as many sales as I could, we did our best to make this room as inexpensive as possible for our long wish list.
SOURCES AND BUDGET BREAKDOWN:
- Paint – Behr Seagull Gray – $62.54
- Bookcase built-ins – $899.62
- Wooden plank wall – $117
- Wall-mounted desks & chairs – $100
- White slipcovered sofa – $299 (After selling our old sofa for $200.)
- Striped cotton rug – $287.99 (On sale at 20% off)
- Mint ceiling fan – $219
- DIY window trim – $80.69
- Pom pom curtains – $53.36
- DIY storybook page art – $68.82 (Tutorial coming soon)
- Pom pom garland – $27.27 (3 strands bought at a 30% off sale)
- Adventure cut-out sign – $49.99
- Wooden crates (spray painted with Rustoleum Winter Gray) – $59.94 (6 bought on sale)
- Hocking jars – $45.84 for all 4
- Barn wood frames – $47.96 for all 4
- Galvanized bins – $29.88 for all 4
- Yellow stripe pillow – $13.99 (on sale)
- Aqua stripe pillow – $13.99 (on sale)
- Teal print pillow – $13.99 (on sale)
- Gray “smile” pillow – $11.89 (on sale)
- Yellow geometric pillow – $13.99 (on sale)
- Made over play table – $21
- Metal pipe curtain rod – $32.99
- Yellow cage fan – $8 (on Ebay)
TOTAL: $2,578.74
Gulp. Well, that escalated quickly.
This is officially the last large room in our entire house besides our laundry room and closets. I guess 2017 is going to be the year of massive organization.
Well actually, not if this little tornado has anything to do with it.
It is absolutely amazing to me how much having this room complete has changed our family for the better. Before this, we would often park ourselves in front of the TV and watch Netflix after dinner for a couple hours before bed.
Now, we’ve been taking time in the evenings completely unplugged to play in here together as a family because it’s a space we can actually enjoy. And that makes all of the hard work worth it.
I have no idea what you’d really call this style in this room. Eclectic? Farmhouse? Modern? I was hoping for a little Joanna Gaines meets Emily Henderson kind of vibe. All I know is I big puffy heart love it! And that’s what matters more than anything, right? Fill your home with what makes you and yours happy. This is definitely our happiest space yet.
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Oh. My. Goodness!!!! This is fabulous! Thank you for the inspiration! Great style on a budget!!!
Thanks, Carol!
Standing ovation to you and Robert on transforming this area so beautifully and functionally, Lauren. It looks phenomenal. What a fun place to rest or play. Cheers, Ardith
Thanks, Ardith!
Simply adorable. Well done! Would like to hear a review in the future on how well the sofa holds up to daily use.
I am sure I’ll be checking back in with a sofa update down the road. 🙂 Thanks, Jonelle!
Looking for the sofa update 🙂 Thinking of getting the exact sofa for our TV Playroom and wondering if it’s comfortable and holding up
Hi Molly! We’re about 3 months in and so far loving it! It’s definitely not a deep sitting sofa, but since neither my husband nor I are very tall, it works well for us.
Well done, Lauren – I want to play in that room!!!!
Thanks, Mary!
Wow Lauren, your new playroom looks amazing! I love all the little details and the colors. You guys did such a wonderful job!!
Thanks, Sabrina!
Love the story book art with the pom pom garland! I think that’s my favorite part 🙂 Everything looks great, though!
Thanks, Erin! That’s my favorite part too. 🙂
Oh my goodness! LOVE this room Lauren! Every detail is perfection! Great job!!
Thanks, Denise!
I can hardly even stand how gosh darn cute this room is.
It is a family haven. GREAT JOB!
Thanks, Melba!
What a great transformation of that lofty-open space! From a real estate point of view, the built ins and wood wall are your best investment in that room. Lets people know what the room is. You’ve made it very comfy, cozy looking and I can tell it’s a warm family room. I’ll be interested in that tutorial regarding the storybook prints. I’d like to do that on a more adult theme. Also, we had that very same IKEA sofa, but I ended up selling mine after a year. Even after scouring the internet for any and all tips on cleaning those covers, mine never smoothed out (after endless steaming!). They just always had that “sloppy” sheet/slipcover look. I hope you have better luck! I know many have good luck with those – I just didn’t. I went for a more streamlined sofa and realized I preferred that afterall. Nicely done room and happy playtime for all of you! (great detailed blog btw, one of the best diy blogs out here)
Thank you so much, Kristine! I’ll be sharing the storybook art tutorial later this week. I’ve heard mixed reviews about the slipcovered sofa, so we’ll see how it goes. People who love it have said they usually use Oxyclean to keep it clean and when they do a full wash of it, they put it on slightly damp so it stretches out the wrinkles and is easier to put back on. I’ll probably post an update in a few months to show how it holds up. 🙂
Bam! You have done it again Lauren!! Awesome room and I can totally understand escaping to that space at the end of the day for some family fun time! Great job creating a space that welcomes you in and says, come stay and play! Another amazing transformation! ?
Thanks, Jana!
Looks amazing. What a fun room for your family to enjoy!
Thanks, Dianne!
So I’m re-doing my playroom area right now and I knew I HAD to check this out as soon as I saw it…PERFECTION!!! I love everything you did from your pompoms to the die-for mint green fan…congrats on pulling together a perfect playroom!!!
Yay! Thanks so much, Kristin!
WOW! So pretty and practical!
Thanks, Carol!
It looks amazing what a great transformation, I’m sure it’s a good feeling to have it completed!
Thanks, Sandra! It most definitely is. Now to decorate for Christmas. Whew! Haha!
Oh my goodness….what an AMAZING transformation!!! I LOVE it! My boys are definitely past the playroom stage, so won’t be doing one of those in my house anytime soon, but love all of the great ideas that went into transforming this space! I love the color scheme and how you accessorized, but my favorite might have to be the wood wall and the built-ins….definitely swoon worthy!! Congratulations on an amazing space for your family – hope you all enjoy it and make wonderful memories! Thanks for sharing….
Thank you SO much, Lanita!
I’ve been so excited to see the reveal. As always, you did an amazing transformation! LOVE it.
Thank you, Linda!
So I NEVER leave comments on blogs anymore because I just don’t have time, but I HAD to take the time to tell you that this room is AMAZING and I love everything about it, Lauren. LOVE IT!!!! Did I mention I love it?!
Haha! I’m the same way. Guilty! Thank you SO much for taking the time to comment, Tasha! I really appreciate it. 🙂
You did an incredible job, Lauren. It looks fabulous and I know that you and your family are going to enjoy spending many hours together in this pretty space.
Thank you, Paula! We definitely will. 🙂
Oh my gosh, that is so cute! The “adventure” immediately reminded me of Up, and I really love the storybook signs!
Me too! Love that movie! Thanks, Andi! 🙂
I can’t tell you how much I love this! Every detail is so gorgeous. What an incredible transformation. The fan and the signs are my favorite. All the colors are so fresh and bright. Perfect for a rainy day (ok. EVERY day.) Congrats on another amazing room! xoxo
Thank you, Karisa!