Play time...finally!

For a long time I have had a love/hate relationship with toys.  Of course love wins, but I have always had a ridiculous fear of toys overtaking our house and having it look like a preschool or a toy store or just a massive mess.  Our home is on the small side, so dedicating an entire room to toys and books and puzzles was just unfortunately out of the question.  As I mentioned before, our dining "room" was virtually unused and since we still have an eat-in kitchen/family room, we decided to donate that table and make that area a play space.   Room is in quotes because really it is not a room.  It is a portion of a room...a nook...a tiny nook.  :)  We are making it work, though.  Since the other half of the room is a living area and also the first room of our home that you see when you walk in, I wanted the spaces to flow and to make sense in our home and I didn't want the toys to be the first things you see.  I wanted a cohesive space and while we still have some things to do, the play area is really taking shape and we have already spent some quality hours in there.

Before checking it out, I thought I'd show how the space has looked in the past.  It has had it's share of changes over the past few years.  When we first moved in, we had it as our sitting area:

Then we flipped the room and moved the table to that side.  Unfortunately, I never really took pictures of the table area because it left a lot to be desired.  Often it was just a bare table where I worked on art projects or blogged, other times it housed holiday decor:

treats at my son's first birthday party

Halloween 2010

Though you can't see the table, this Christmas decor was on it!  :)  (2010)

the day of the move (2011)

I wanted the play space to be a fun, creative area while also still making sense with the decor in the rest of our home.  I didn't want the space to seem disjointed in any way.   Here is how it looks now:

So that's it!  Connor runs in there as soon as he wakes in the morning, so I am going to pretend he loves the design of the new space, not just the toys.  :)

A few details:

• The shelving and accessories were already in our home, just taken from other rooms, so this was a free makeover.  
• The mirror on the right wall is metal, so not only is it perfect for face-making, but also letter magnets!
• The easel was one of his Christmas gifts from us and is currently doubling as a kitchen/grocery store, with a bin of pots, pans, and utensils underneath, next to his car.
• My husband and I made that penguin from a box.  I 100% copied the one from Gourmet Mom on-the-Go when we had a penguin party for Connor's first birthday.  My mother-in-law helped me sew felt fish bean bags to be thrown into the penguin's mouth.  They are in the bucket next to the penguin.
• I still have that bowl of corks in this room.  :)  Joining them are two (aluminum?) trees my parents gave us as part of our Christmas gift.  I love them!  They will be perfect for Christmas, but I plan to keep them up year-round.

Now we just need to finish the seating area on the opposite end and then this room will be complete.