Woot woot! The playroom/office is DONE and it feels so good!
This room has been so nice now that we can use it for all the things we wanted! Like, way better than I had imagined when starting the whole project in late September.
Now that I can show you the WHOLE ROOM in its entirety - without having to skillfully crop out power tools, closet contents, painting supplies, etc. - let's just go section by section!
The Desk
Probably the thing that was changed the most from the planning to execution phases. If you recall, I had initially planned to do a wall-to-wall desk with two seats (one for blog stuff, one for sewing stuff).
The plan changed (approximately 16 times), and morphed into this desk with Ikea Ivar cabinets, topped with a DIY desktop out of plywood.
And because some things look good on paper but not in practice, let me tell you that this desk is good! It's been up and running for a few weeks now and is so pleasant to work at, plus it's a beast for storage.
One thing I was wanting to avoid was having to get out my sewing machine and put it away each time I use it (hence wanting a separate desk space where it could be out all the time), but it's so easy to grab it out of the cabinet when I need it.
The Bookshelf Playroom Area
I'm realizing now that I didn't tell you this the whole time it was underway, but a big part of this room is a dedicated playroom. Surprise!
Initially, I had planned for this to be an enormous whiteboard wall, but then I saw my chance to get all the toys out of our living room and I took it!
It's one of my favorite parts of the whole room, and is probably the thing that's made the biggest day-to-day impact on our lives. It is so nice having toys contained in here!
The Gift Wrapping Closet
Is it weird to make visitors look in your closet? Because that's something that I do now.
I was really excited to have a wrapping set up that wasn't a pain to get to, but this turned out so much better than I had expected! The whole thing fell into place so perfectly.
I love the color (a last-minute change), the wrapping paper storage (a somewhat haphazard DIY attempt that turned out so well!), and having a place to store boxes, ribbons, tape, etc. without having to search the whole house for supplies is so luxury.
The best part of the room - I can't pick a favorite "feature" since I love them all! But just being able to use this room again after having it closed off for close to two months has been so good. Our kids love playing in it, I love working (and wrapping, and playing) in it. Fun for everyone!
And I know listing "floor space" as a favorite is kind of lame after two months of work on every other part of the room. But I really do love the floor space. So much room for activities, plus, air mattress potential if needed.
The hardest part - Painting the closet! Painting in general is always more work than I think it will be, but painting this closet was next level. It goes back quite a bit farther than you can see in these photos, and doesn't have a light in it. So I was painting it at nights using my phone's flashlight, cramming myself into tight corners and climbing up and down the ladder countless times.
What didn't happen - The whiteboard wall was the only thing I had planned for that didn't end up happening. It's still on the short list, because I would love to have one for brainstorming/lists/quilt planning, but I wasn't confident enough on wall space usage to commit!
That's the hard thing about putting a room together so quickly - you don't get the benefit of living with it and seeing how it's used as you go. So while I love having made so much progress here, and am happy with everything I've done over the past 8 weeks, I still wouldn't call this room "done." Which I guess then begs the question is a room ever really done?
Here's a round up of all the posts of the office/playroom:
- Week 1: Plans for the Bonus Room
- Week 2: Contrast Trim
- Week 3: Wrapping Closet
- Week 4: DIY Hanging Wrapping Paper Storage Solution
- Week 5: IKEA Desk Hack
- Week 6: Countertop for Desk
- Week 7: Desk Organization
And of course, some before + afters!
Sources
Desk
- Shelf
- Swivel chair
- Lamp
- DIY desk post is here, and the DIY desktop post is here
Playroom Area
Wrapping Closet
That wraps up my Fall 2021 One Room Challenge! It was fun, and a really good way to get a room "done." Feeling so satisfied right now that I might have to do it again in the Spring!
If you want to look at more One Room Challenge rooms, head here!
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