Hi Friends! It is Week #4 of the One Room Challenge, an amazing six week room makeover challenge started by Calling It Home-there are literally designers all over the country frantically tackling their rooms as I write! If you’re new to Postbox Designs, I’m Kristin: a wife, mom of three cutie pies, and I’m an interior designer. When the craziness of trying to juggle my job and family life tipped the scales I decided to start doing design my way. In fact, I call it “Interior Design for the Modern Lifestyle”. Because….how many of you have time to run with me all over town to pick out items for your room? Nope-you either have a job or kids at home, and it’s hard to add that one extra thing into your schedule. So now I custom design my client’s rooms with E-Design, and I get to work with the most AMAZING people all over the country. It really is as fun as it sounds!
But because I’m always designing for others, sometimes those rooms in my own home aren’t getting the love they deserve. So this Room Challenge is exactly what I needed to whip my own Family Room into Shape! If you missed the first few weeks (and want to see the ugly “Before”), I’ll hang while you go check it out.
Plus as something special this year I decided to create a series of FREEBIES for my Free Design Library to go along with the ORC.
I put them all in one spot to make life that much easier.
GET ALL OF THE FREE GUIDES & SHOPPING LISTS HERE
WEEK #1: I unveiled my Mood Boards and created 2 “Shop this Room” Freebies
Week #2: Was all about the sofa and pillows. I created a “Killer Pillow Combo” Freebie & a Bonus Freebie of How to Style the Perfect Sofa. Plus I weigh in on the great Ikea v. Pottery Barn debate. I have both in my house, so check out my review of them both! (and which one I would do again!)
Week #3: I gave you the low-down on how to paint furniture, unveiled my Target Dresser Hack (for just $8 in materials), and gave the full tutorial on it. Plus I created 2 Freebie Paint Guides, download these BEFORE your next painting project!
So what’s going on for this week?
Week #4: How to Create a Kid Craft Corner
My kiddos are now 9, 7, and 5 and I never ever (ever) thought we would outgrow the million toddler toys and plastic kitchen in our Family Room. But we finally have! So even if you have cuties that are still smaller, read on…because I’m going to not only show you our Kid’s Craft Corner, but also some tips on how to set up a kid-friendly space without it taking over your entire Family Room.
These days our kids are much more into crafts, Legos, and puzzles. So I was ready to (finally) move their bins of toys up to their bedrooms and create more of a “Craft Table” in our Family Room. That gives them a place to not only keep out their gazillion piece puzzle, but it is also going to double as a snack table (cuz remember I have a new sofa??)
So in case you missed Week #1, here is my Mood Board for my Kid’s Craft Area:
This style fits into the overall theme of my Farmhouse Style Family Room, but it also has some special kid-friendly charm to it (and hold on because I chose each piece for a certain price/durability reason….uber important when kids are involved!). So what do you need for a Kid’s Craft Table?
#1 THE TABLE
Okay, if you want kids to actually USE this table, it needs to be something you are not going to cringe about everytime they pull out the markers! I chose this table because of the dark, distressed finish so stains are scratches aren’t going to show. It is also super durable, has room for six, and it is a great price. It was only $99!
Check out the entire Shopping List & Sources for the Room HERE (it is a freebie in my Resource Library).
#2 THE CHAIRS
When I design a Craft Room or Playroom for kids, I’m not a huge fan of “kiddie furniture”, it tends to be either flimsy or ends up being really expensive when you factor in they will only need it for a year or two. By the time you have a toddler, they will be crawling up onto real chairs whether you want them to or not! BUT I do choose my chairs carefully. These white metal chairs are inexpensive, lightweight (easy to move for kids) and because they are light, they are not going to get hurt if one topples over. Plus, they are super easy to wipe down!
#3 THE LIGHT FIXTURE
There was already a can light in the ceiling, so it made it really easy to swap out for a new light fixture (it is a lot more difficult to add in a new one where you don’t have one already). But can lights are a bit…boring. Because this is a kid’s space, I wanted something fun and whimsical and this beaded chandelier did the trick! Plus it still coordinates with my overall Modern Farmhouse style. Look for items that have some charm but aren’t too obnoxiously kid-centric (i.e. bright primary colored plastic items). It will not only grow up with them, but it flows into the space for grown-ups, making it all feel cohesive.
#4 THE WALL DECOR
So if you can go budget friendly ANYWHERE it has got to be in the wall decor! There are millions of (free) printables for kid art, not to mention places like Etsy. I got this print off Etsy for $5 as an Instant Download (it came with multiple sizes) and printed it off for an additional $3 as an engineering print. And for a little extra durability insurance, I chose an inexpensive frame with clear plastic on the front instead of glass (I have learned from past experience my friends!). In the end I decided to go uber simple-just one 20×30 framed print.
#5 THE RUG
Okay, so I’m not planning on my kiddos doing painting projects at this table (that is for our beat up 35+ year old table upstairs!), but if you were, I might nix the rug. I added a rug to the space to help define it, since it was in a nook in a larger part of the room. A rug is the perfect way to create separate groupings in a larger spsace. I chose something inexpensive AND had a pattern to help hide stains/dirt…a must with munchkins!
#6 MY $3 DIY TASSEL GARLAND
Going back to the tip from above, when you are decorating for kids-add some whimsy and charm! But I wanted something inexpensive because wall art is a place that I often swap things out for a new look. What is more cute and fuzzy than a yarn tassel garland?! I made mine for just $3! I wish I had made a note about the type of yarn I used (sorry!), but I went to Michaels and found the fuzziest off-white yarn they had. It was $6 but I had one of those glorious 50% off codes, so it was a mere $3. Besides that, all you need is a pair of scissors:
Step 1:
Wrap the yard around a piece of cardboard (or your hand…or anything you can find), that is about 4″ wide. I wrapped mine around 40 times (the more times=the puffier the tassel):
STEP #2:
Cut a long loose piece that will serve as your main length of garland-I made mine about 4′ long. Also cut off several shorter pieces around 6″ long-one for each tassel you are making. Slip off your new yard bundle and hold it open. I found (the hard way) that it is a LOT easier to thread your main piece of yard through your new bundle at this point.
STEP #3
Once it is threaded through, pinch your bundle near the top. Create a 1/2″-1″ loop at the top-this is where you will tie it off. Tie it as tight as you can with one of the 6″ pre-cut pieces. After it is secured, cut through all of the loops to create the bottom part of the tassel.
STEP #4
Repeat to make as many tassels as you would like! My yarn skein made 12 tassels. Mine stayed put well on the garland, but if you find your tassels slipping, you can tie a little knot on either side of each tassel to keep them in place. Enjoy!
So there you go….my Farmhouse Style Kid’s Craft Corner! It’s hard to believe four weeks have already flown by.
So what’s next week?
-You already had a sneak peek at my new board and batten wall, but more on that
-My wall paint color
-How to Style a Coffee Table
Throughout the week I’ll be posting extra behind-the-scenes photos on both FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM!
And if you want to check out my library of Freebies (including all of the special ones I created for One Room Challenge):
GRAB YOUR FREEBIES HERE
See you back here next week!
Lizzie Ravn says
I LOVE the chandelier, and the tassel garland is so cute!
PostboxDesigns says
Thank-you! It’s starting to come together! (it only took me 4 years to get around to it) 🙂