Hi there! I hope everyone has been staying SAFE and SANE in quarantine! Once I realized my family of 4 would be home 24/7 for the foreseeable future – I quickly crafted a plan for my kids to have a ‘space’ of their own. Pre-quarantine we mainly just hung out and played in the basement but my husband and I had to move our Zippy Shell headquarters down there so it was difficult to utilize that space with the kids. Plus, no school also meant we would have to be doing “homeschooling”. I say that in quotation because my son, Mikey is 3 and my daughter Stella, is 1 sooooo not much “schooling” going on. But all in all, we needed a space to do activities, crafts and an additional place to play so we didn’t grow tired of our ‘usual’ play spaces.
Our sunroom seemed like the perfect location because it had a ton of natural light and we could keep things fun and light in there! It is right off our kitchen and has doors so I can close off the space when I need too. I had to make this space functional for a toddler and baby which was tricky but I think I made it work!
While designing this space, I had to really focus on using what we already had. So I repurposed this cart we use to house Mikey’s books on in his room. It became our “craft cart” – we have art supplies, play-doh and our Young + Wild and Friedman sensory kits displayed on it to encourage a little freedom in the craft department. Mikey is more likely to want to use these things if he is able to see them so I used clear containers to hold the items. Stella also has fun banging on the containers lol!
Our art table is an inviting place for us to create!
I like to keep the crayons out all the time in these containers to help with color association and to be honest they also add flare to the look of the table. I used decorations from previous projects to “decorate” the space which gives Mikey a sense of pride to see his work around the room. One of our favorite quarantine projects was our DIY Terrarium Kits from Bowerbird Garden. We get a TON of use out of these aluminum trays for all sorts of projects. It makes cleaning up after a breeze! Especially with our SLIME kit!!!
The sunroom was basically my office before all of this so I had to incorporate those furniture pieces in with the new design. This gray piece is a wonderful cabinet that houses pretty much everything else – our printer, my Cricut and other supplies. I actually got this antique cabinet ages ago and painted it with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. It has functioned as so many things throughout the years!
I “hacked” this desk from ikea by using gold spray paint to give the legs some flare! I seriously probably use gold spray paint for something every other day. It can quickly update and add sophistication to any project!
The baby corner! Stella has a play mat that is comfortable for her to crawl around on and play with her toys. I feel like it helps her to see her toys in there so she feels included. The play mat we have comes in multiple sizes and I can add to it or take away depending on what we need that day.
My point is use what you already have and get creative!! A ‘Quarantine Classroom’ can be created in any flex space in your home. Comment below and share your design ideas!! What have you transformed during quarantine!?
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Thanks for reading!
