Our New Playroom

I feel like with children, you are always rearranging things around the house to make their play area better. It has to work on an everyday basis and not drive you crazy at the same time — which sometimes can be hard to accomplish!

In our house, the den is the best place for Calder's toys. It's right next to my office and the kitchen, and it's in the back of the house, so you don't see a big mess of toys right when you walk in the front door. Before, this side of the den had a round table in the center of the room that we used as a breakfast table. BUT, it was in the way of her toys and there wasn't much space for her to move around and play. See before pics below.

I've been wanting to do this for a while, but wasn't sure what kind of rug I wanted. I finally bit the bullet and bought this stripe rug from The Land of Nod. I just love it. I put a thick, comfy rug pad underneath, so it's super soft for knees. And with my mom's help and design expertise, we rearranged the furniture. Mom suggested we put the round table in the corner. At first, I thought this was a crazy idea, but she was right (aren't they always)!

We moved the chest to the corner of the den. You can see it now (to the left) in the picture below.

Calder loves playing with her kitchen and digging through her toy basket(s) here. She loves to take all of the toys out of the basket, and then put them back in. That is our latest fun activity!  Believe me, this basket is usually empty and toys take over the room. But, that's what the "PLAY" room is for. The more toys the merrier!

And I love the new view from the kitchen and my desk. Wow, what a difference this made in our playtime with Cader-bear!