One very nice thing about living in a town home community, where all your friends have the same floor plan, is that you can steal ideas. This was one of those. Our neighbors have built a little "Harry Potter" closet under their stairs that they use for storage and/or a play area. Monkey see - monkey do.Now I don't know what in the world I want to do with the space. It is so small, so I need to maximize surface area. Once done and complete, I think Emma will really love playing in a space just her size.
So here is where YOU come in. What would you do with the space? What cool gadgets or space savers or knick knacks have you seen that would work well in a SMALL children's play area?
This is the left wall. I think here I'm almost positive we will dry wall and then add shelves, so that all of her toys can have special labeled bins - organized on the shelf.
This is the cement wall that you see ahead of you as you open the door. Not sure whether we should dry wall? Maybe paint with a chalk board paint so that she can color to her heart's content? Any other ideas?
And here is the area to the right - this is the one I really struggle with. Do we dry wall the stairs off so she doesn't bonk her head? Turn it into a reading corner? AAARRRRGH!
And here is the general area on the floor. We will definitely lay down pads and carpet so that it is comfortable, but this is just to give an idea of the very small space we are working with.
Any help, ideas, suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I'd really like to have this project done within the next few weeks if possible. 
8 comments:
You could pad the stairs with fabric so if she did hit her head it would be soft? Did you know there was such a thing as magnetic paint? I just learned about it. That might be fun! I wish I was there to help you...I love projects like this! Good luck!
Yeah magnetic paint would be cool. You could do a coat of magnetic paint then a coat of chaloboard paint and you'd have a magnetic chalkbord.
I like hte idea of just covering the stairs in cloth. It would make it very colorful and cozy. Fun stuff!
You could turn her art work into wallpaper and then you wouldn't break Greg's heart every time you threw out one of her drawings :)
I'm loving these ideas you're getting! One small toy that is a sure hit with any kid I've ever seen is the Busy Ball Popper. My girls love it and it is pretty small. Just turn the switch to off when not in use, so it doesn't drain the batteries (learned that the hard way.) Also, I'm sure your little musician would love a tiny piano in there. We have a fun pink barbie one that is like a tiny upright, and also one that Lara has at her house, a colorful electric type one that plays all these songs, and it has a little seat (check it out...she told me about it so I got it on craigslist for my girls.) When she's older, she can have a little doll house in there too! And a doll bed and high chair and stuff. I LOVE that little space.
I would just toss her in and lock the door. She can make her own fun and create wall decorations using her imagination.
Yep, that is a good idea.
If you need some help, I'm here. Seriously. I love doing that kind of stuff. I put all M's toys into a bin that IKEA has. It works great and looks great in our family room. I have some chalkboard paint if you just wanted to test it out before buying it. kleighd@msn.com
I love the magnetic/chalkboard idea! Totally great. I wish I had some great advice, but I am just loving all the advice your really smart friends are giving!
I for one am just loving, and a bit jealous of the fact that you have a room under the stairs. Or shoot, a room ANYWHERE for that matter that can hide some of the toys. Love the chalkboard magnetic paint idea, it's a keeper! Can't wait to see the results.
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