About a month ago, my dad came over and helped my husband and I hang some cabinets in the back storage room of our house. (By helped I really mean he was the foreman, my husband assisted, and I baked them peanut butter and chocolate cookies to eat when they were done!) Anyway, once the cabinets were up, it was my turn to move in and start putting everything in them. All of that time down in the basement got me thinking. On the other side of the cabinets is the unfinished part of our basement, under our stairs. Hmm. My little wheels started spinning. What could we do with this space that would be better, more efficient, and certainly a lot cuter than using it for storage of leftover paint cans and tile? I think it would make a perfect little play place for our daughter! We could punch a little arched doorway through the wall in our downstairs family room and it could be her own little nook in our house! Maybe it could be a gift for her second birthday (it's still 9 months away, but I might as well start thinking now, right?!?) What a great idea I thought!
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Here are a few problems with this idea, as well as my solutions:
Problem: A while back my husband mentioned that he might want to use the space for wine storage.
Solution: I happen to think some wine storage for him would be a great idea, it's something he's talked about for a long time. So, lucky him, I found a different little nook in our basement that would work even better for that! Not to mention it would hold a lot more wine bottles!
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Problem: With the economy being the way it is, my husband and I have decided to go into a "bunker mentality" with spending for a while. We're not going to spend more than what we need to for a while, just to be safe. Creating a play place for my daughter is not in line with bunker thinking.
Solution: I will stop making trips to Michael's and the scrapbook store. Ouch, that's not going to work! How about I will stop eating out for lunch during the week for a while? I don't do it tons, but if I did cut it out completely, that could add up, right?!?
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Anyway, the more I think about this project, the more adorable it becomes. Here are a few of my thoughts so far:
Next to her archway where she enters would be this cute little mailbox from Pottery Barn Kids. So her mumma could leave her special little pieces of mail throughout the day!
I would place this adorable Hello. decal from TastySuite right by the mailbox.
For lighting, I would hang a large paper globe light. (I must admit that I somewhat stole this idea from my neighbors...they have a few of these hanging in their kid's playroom, and I just love them!)
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Those are just my thoughts so far. I'm still looking for some fun artwork for the walls. It would probably be in my husband's best interest to get this project going sooner rather than later as the longer it goes, the bigger my ideas are going to get!
