the cupboard under the stairs

{Sorry, this is a repost. It's still a good post, though. And I think I might have some new readers}

After living in apartments, I never thought I would have enough storage space to consider using a closet for anything else. But our house has a 600 square foot crawl space that's pretty much an unfinished basement (with a 4 foot ceiling)--it is insulated, cemented, and has lights--so when Tempe asked me if the closet under the stairs could be her playroom, I said yes! We had a fun week putting it together.

First, we went to Home Depot to browse their "oops" paint, and found a gallon of robin's egg blue for $5 (Hint: If you aren't picky about the color for a room, "oops" paint is a great way to get paint for a fraction of the cost. Just go every week until you find a color that you like!)

After I painted (and that was fun--trying to paint a ceiling that slopes down to ground level), I put the wire shelving unit that had already been in the closet down at the girls' level. Tempe helped me choose some toys to put on it: books that wouldn't fit in their rooms and the books from the basket in the living room, some flash cards they like to scatter around, a game of "Go Fish", several photo albums that Grandma Lisa has sent, the doctor's kit, a few stuffed animals, and a basket of dolls and doll accessories.

Finally, it was time to accessorize. We went to Wal-Mart, hoping to find a body pillow on sale (I have seen them for $10 there before). We didn't find one, but we did find two really cute throw pillows for $5 each, so we got them instead. Then we went to Robert's to get wooden flower cutouts. We also got a bird and a bumblebee. I painted green flower stems along the baseboard, then hot glued velcro to the top of the stems and the back of the flowers--voila! Interactive wall art! Helena especially loves pulling the flowers off, over and over.

Even though it is a very small space--probably about 3 feet by 8 feet, but will a ceiling that slants down in the back--we got a lot in there. I'm also going to add framed family photos on the wall, and Tempe and Helena are going to help me paint a few more wooden flowers to put on the flower stems. Maybe someday I will add a roll of paper to the wall so they can use it as an easel. It's really cute, and the girls love it! They play in there while I cook (it opens off the kitchen) and enjoy having their own little space.

Here are some pictures:

Oh, and the trapdoor to the crawlspace is at the back of this closet (under the chair and pillows), so I couldn't put, say, a kitchen there. I needed to find something light enough that I could move easily whenever I need to get down to the crawlspace. That is why I decided to make this mostly a "reading nook" sort of playroom.