Extreme Makeover – Playroom Edition

I have always been a little high strung. Things need order. Children need routines. Plans need to be made. Stuff cannot be strewn about willy nilly everywhere in my world. I am not a neat freak by any means, but when I continually have to see things like this…

It freaks me out a bit.
I get sick of seeing the clutter. It makes me feel like I am 2 steps away from being shown on Hoarders. **shudder** The kids playroom was so bad it gave me hives just walking by it, let alone trying to sit down and play with my kids in the disorderly mess.

I made a decision randomly one evening walking past the room. When my parents next visit from Florida, I will take advantage of my dad’s handy skillz and organize the playroom. I wasn’t sure how I was going to do it, but I figured there was something on Pinterest to spark my creativity!

Mom and Dad arrived on Wednesday, and the very next morning we were off to spend the afternoon searching for inspiration at Ikea. After much wandering, and a delicious lunch of swedish meatballs, we left with several bookcases in tow.

Several hours later, we had assembled the cases and realized my original idea wasn’t going to work. The playroom has a stupid bay window.

I say stupid because, originally, I wanted to frame the window with the bookcases and make a cute reading nook, but the sides were not only too narrow, but they are also two completely different widths. I had the measurements with me while shopping, but didn’t realize how much I didn’t like the look until we had the actual bookcases against the walls. Framing the window would only call more attention to the odd measurements, and plus I wanted more storage than would fit there.

On to plan B.

After a lot of rearranging and discussion, we were off to Ikea again to buy the additional cases we needed to complete the new plan.

By Sunday evening, we had this to show for all of our hard work.

We attached the bookcases to the wall for safety and there is plenty of room for more books! Yay! Baby loves to read, and it’s quickly becoming an interest of Jed’s as well. One can never have too many books, or read too much with their children. 🙂

Now our home has a bright, colorful, and organized playroom where my children can now read and play, and mom can breathe a little easier as she walks by.

What is the latest organizational makeover you have done to make your life a little more stress free?