The Under $200 Playroom Makeover

The other day Danielle said our playroom was "boo-ring!" When I asked why, she replied that it was "too grown up."  Hmmmm.. 

I looked around and saw dark colors, adult sized furniture and piles of disorganized toys. Sure, it was big and there were a lot of toys down there, but I had to agree that it didn't really look like a  FUN place to play.

I didn't want to spend a fortune making over a room to suit a 6 year old. After all I had just bought the dark rugs few years ago - they hide dirt so nicely! And I hate to paint so that wasn't going to be the main focus of my redecorating strategy. (I just finished repainting Amanda's room - more than a year after I stripped her ugly wallpaper.)



Looking at the room I could see that two tables in one space was just too much. I need to move the big table out of the room. I repainted  the child sized table and chairs pink & white so they are more "girl-y".



I moved the dolls and got rid of the rolling cart that held doll clothes & dishes.

My concession to painting was to create an accent wall at this end of the room. I wanted to use chalkboard paint, but I didn't want a black wall in an already dark room.

I donated the easel. Danielle prefers to sit at a table to draw or paint so there was no point in wasting the floor space. Not only was this an inexpensive make-over, but I donated so many of the girls old toys and things that we ended up with a nice tax write off as well.

I moved the air hockey table out and brought  in an old chair from another room. I added an inexpensive floor lamp and a hot pink chair from WalMart to make a kids reading area closer to the Craft Center (total cost $40). I found the furry pillow at Goodwill ($3).

Cozy reading area on a gray day

the "pillow pile" featuring converted baby quilt

The rug was from Danielle's baby room. I made a floor pillow by folding her baby quilt over 2 inexpensive pillows ($10) and sewing the edges together - by hand.  This end of the room is now my Quiet Zone for art, reading,etc.

Before - cluttered

The center of the room is now the Medium Zone for TV and the girls' computer. I raided Dollar Tree for brightly colored bins to store the toys and things that were piled into this unit. These bins hold the girls' games, Legos, blocks, etc.

After - bright & organized with easy access

  

Now Amanda has her own space to watch TV or use the computer, but can still be included in the action of the other kids playing.



 

 

 

The final area is the Active Zone.

I confess that I wanted (and bought) a swing and a rope ladder for this area, but I was vetoed. They are both outside now. I had to settle for a very cute, brightly colored Alex Hopscotch Rug.



Before - no definition

I moved a lot of furniture around. I searched other rooms of the house for things that would work in this room -- like the hanging Moravian star light.

I removed the two tan arm chairs and used the space for a tent that was blocking traffic in another room (you can see it in the picture above). The chairs are now in that room which makes so much more sense.

The pallet was free from Lowe's.
 I used leftover plywood and paint to finish it off.

Next I moved the pallet stage I had made for Danielle's ballerina birthday party into that end of the room. I stapled some colored lights along the border and used leftover tulle for curtains. Within a day every musical toy we own migrated over to the stage area - and I wasn't the one who moved them!

The Memorex MKS-SS1 SingStand Home Karaoke Systemstand microphone was one of the best gifts the girls have ever gotten (thanks to my generous in-laws). It was less than $50 from Amazon I highly recommend it for both boys & girls of all ages. Even our adult friends like to get in on the act! You can just sing into the mike or you can plug in your phone and run music through the base. Add a karoake app and you've got a party.

The microphone & the hopscotch rug were
gifts from the girls' grandparents.

 

I cleared out the shelves and moved the dolls, toy food & dishes, Barbies, cars, etc. all into that area.  

 

 

After - "Active Zone"

 














I created a dress up space with a $20 adjustable garment rack and an inexpensive ($10) full length mirror. The dress up clothes which had been stuffed into a toy box are now being played with almost daily.

The wooden wall decorations came from Goodwill. I painted
the low wall with hot pink chalkboard paint like the table top.

 

This all cost just over $100 dollars.

The rest of the money went for paint and drawing boards. I spent about $30 for bright pink paint on the accent wall by the craft center and $10 on the white pain for the table and chairs. I painted a few flowers on our old bulletin board, added a white board ($20) and a stick on erasable flower decal ($7).

I bought 2 small jars of hot pink chalkboard paint ($7 each from Jo Ann's --without a coupon.) I painted 2 low walls and the top of the small table and I still have some left.

This was clearly an instance where less is more. Reorganizing toys and furniture with a plan in mind was the center of this "make over" project. I didn't move walls, buy rugs, a lot of furniture or even repaint the entire room. I thought about how I wanted us to use the room and what we needed to make that happen. I tried to take the girls' interests and preferences into account rather than just making this another adult room. 

  

The Ballerina & Astronaut Party - Games & Activities

Activities

Crafts are a good ice breaker for young children who don't all know each other. I'll have each child decorate a paper rocket or ballerina when they arrive. I bought paper rockets at Hobby Lobby, but I had to cut out ballerinas. The template came from Pottery Barn Kids so at least I didn't have to draw it. The craft materials will come from the supplies we have around the house (glitter, stickers, ribbons, etc.)

I strongly believe in unstructured play time. If you give children a few props and a lot of leeway they can create some amazing games on their own.

Dress Up & Play Time

This is my big splurge - a costume for each party guest. I confess that when I found tiaras and armor at Dollar Tree I tried to talk Danielle into switching to a princess and knight party. No go - she is set on ballerinas and astronauts. It makes me laugh. It's the kind of party we would have had when I was a kid in the 1960s and 70s -- very retro.

Ballerinas: I bought the girls each an adorable tutu from Halo Heaven. With shipping, the tutus were on sale for just over $2 each. (Tip: Get on to their mailing list. They have amazing sales!) They are every bit as nice as ones I've seen for $7-10 in stores. They have satin waistbands and three layers of tulle. Really lovely.

I'll hang the tutus over the windows so they look like curtains before the little girls put them on.

How to Make a Tutu

I think it is impossible to make a tutu for less than the prices at Halo Heaven. However, if you're feeling crafty & brave you can make your own no sew tutus by tying 20 inch strips of tulle around some elastic. All you have to do is fold the strip of tulle in half lengthwise, lay it over the elastic and then pull the cut ends over the elastic and through the loop. There are tons of tutorials out there if you want to go that route. I will warn you, however: one tutu requires about 20-25 yards of 6-inch wide tulle- and a lot of time! I priced 6" wide tulle at $4.99 for a 25 yard roll from Hobby Lobby- wider tulle was 97 cents a yard at Walmart if you don't mind more cutting.

 

I did make one tutu - to go around the cake plate. I love the way it looked and it cost less than $6.

Astronauts: Space helmets for the boys cost $4 and are adorable. Frankly, I think they are cooler than the tutus so I ordered extras in case some of the girls want to be astronauts as well. (My husband assures me that it is unlikely any 6-year old boys will want to wear a tutu. I'm not so sure...) In fact, I think the astronaut theme is much cooler than the ballerina theme - especially as Danielle dropped out of her ballet class.

How to Make an Astronaut Costume

Another idea is to make a simple NASA inspired baseball cap. Use a blue baseball cap ($21 for a dozen from Oriental Trading) then attach a space themed sticker to the front ($2.50 for a roll of 100) with fabric glue. Any leftover stickers can go in a pinata or goodie bags. Or - if you have only a few guests or an unlimited budget - use iron on printer paper to print the NASA logo onto inexpensive white T-shirts.

Games: Dancing & Rocket Launches

I had a hard time thinking up dance games that didn't involve a pretend ballet class. First we'll play Freeze Dance. For younger kids you can play the Choo Choo Soul Freeze Dance or Fresh Beat Band Freeze Dance songs. For this party I also like Laurie Berkner's Rocketship Run.  Danielle says those are "too babyish" so we'll probably play Rianna or Usher if I can find songs with G ratings...

Next I created  "Dreamlight Studio Stage" for dancing with colored shadows. Happily, my daugher thinks any raised surface is a stage - it doesn't have to be high. This is one of the rare instances where being a pack rat paid off. We nailed a scrap piece of plywood onto a pallet to create a sligtly elevated  stage. We washed them, then painted the top a pretty pink made from paint samples we had in the garage. Of course, Danielle helped with the painting. Then I draped the ceiling with tulle to create curtains.

This is secretly a very cool science experiment about light. You need three bright lights with colored bulbs (or covered with colored cellophane) and a light or white surface to create shadows against. You'll need a red, green & blue bulb (about $3 each at Lowes). With these three lights you can make shadows of seven different colors: blue, red, green, black, cyan (blue-green), magenta (a mixture of blue and red), and yellow (a mixture of red and green).

If you can only find low wattage bulbs, the kids will have to be close to the wall to see the different colors. I hope I can resist explaining the physics to a bunch of 5 and 6 year olds....


The backyard will be "Mission Control". We'll have a "Launch Pad". We have a stomp rocket already. The kids can also play with rocket balloons and big Styrofoam gliders from Dollar Tree.

I'll create a "Flight Training Center" where the kids can take turns on our zip line. I made sure to include a warning on the sign for the zip line. I'll set a basket of bike & horseback riding helmets near the steps. We wrapped the "target" tree in heavy duty foam padding. I want to keep this as safe as possible.

I found a tutorial on how to make a cardboard rocket playhouse from a garment box. I didn't have any friends who had moved recently but I was able to pick up a new one at a local moving center for $12- beats the $60 kits for sale online!

Party Favors : Moon Rock Hunt

Instead of a pinata we'll end the party with a Moon Rock Hunt. I'll wrap small toys left over from previous parties in aluminum foil and hide them around the yard. There was no candy in these since I was hiding them in the yard. I can't imagine anything grosser than picking up a prize covered in ants.

I'll use bouncy balls, small bottles of bubbles, shaped erasers, pencil sharpeners, plastic rings, yoyos, small plastic figures.  The kids can collect them in brown paper bags labeled "Moon Rocks" in a retro NASA font.