Behind the Scenes - Basement Playroom
We wanted a space where the kids could be creative, and burn off the endless energy only possible in a 4 and 6 year old!
Canadian winters are long - really long - so having indoor spaces for the kids to be active are a must. When we originally moved into our home, we used this basement bedroom as a storage room and it was filled with so many odds and ends. We decided that couldn’t be the best use of the space, so I got to cleaning, organizing and donating. Now that we had this nice empty room what do we do with it?
We wanted to create a space that the kids could play creatively, burn off some energy or simply have a little downtime. That’s a lot to fit into one little room.
Here are a few shots of the room before we moved in - I love a good before and after and this one is pretty dramatic!
We wanted to create different zones for different purposes. First the main house (the lower level) has a play kitchen, food and baby crib. The perfect spot to play house or restaurant. The upper level has peel & stick vinyl hardwood floors and we filled the space with a small foam mattress, lots of blankets and pillows and a small TV for watching movies on a rainy day. It's surprisingly cozy up there and we have even been known to hang out as a family in this space. There is a ladder and trap door from the lower level to the upper level or you can access it from the cedar bridge next to the slide.
The Climbing Wall
Opposite the playhouse is a climbing wall, which the kids mastered quickly and can now easily climb to the top. I painted the mountains using painters tape to create the crisp lines. To make the climbing holds extra sturdy we covered the whole wall with plywood and attached it to the studs. This way we could screw the rock holds directly into wood making it very safe and strong. It's strong enough for even us adults to climb. For extra safety we lined the floor with colorful crash mats.
The rock wall connects to the bridge that has a pirate steering wheel and telescope for the perfect look out point. Should you need a quick exit the slide makes a fast getaway.
Swing & Rope Attachments - Let's Hang!
Across from the house we added a cedar 2x6 the existing structural beam above and used these multipurpose hooks for multiple hanging accessories. We can adjust it based on how the kids want to play and the age of the kids in the room at the time. As you can see below, we have lots of types of swings, rope ladder, hanging rings, and a gymnast bar (this is Winn’s favorite!). She has gotten much stronger playing on this.
The closet is the perfect pot to store extra toys and the additional swing items. Stay tuned for a full blog post on how we keep toys organized throughout the house!
I hope you enjoyed this behind the scenes look at our basement playroom!
