
As I’ve shared before, I’m on a mission to make beautiful spaces in our home — even in the midst of cracked plaster, peeling paint, and spackled walls. The big repairs are coming along slowly, but we realized we don’t need to wait on those to make our home beautiful. This past week, I started on a cozy play area, making the furniture brighter, cleaning the area rug, and adding some nature-inspired beauty!
I’m still working on this space, so be sure to subscribe to our email list and/or YouTube channel, to see the final reveal!
I posted photos of the original play area a few months ago, but the kids weren’t using many of the toys; so I decided to shift gears, keeping just a few well-loved toys. We also added a dedicated space for their many projects and activities.

The matching bookcases were great for storage but they felt too heavy for a cozy play area. We put one in storage and moved the remaining bookcase to a small niche on the side of the room.
This also freed up space for some small activity tables I bought from a friend.
The kids like to work on projects before school; but that means we have to clean up all the pieces before we can start our school day. These little tables are already helping the problem!
They also give us a place to keep the storage ottomans that hold the kids’ toys.

The tables are solid wood so I’m thinking about sanding the tops and painting the skirt and legs; or I might paint the whole table. I’m not sure yet!
The play area is in our living room and the walls will be the same creamy white that we used in the schoolroom. It gives the house a neutral background so we can add pops of color without feeling visually overwhelmed.
I decided to take advantage of this when painting the bookcase. It was in desperate need of paint so I found this lovely, soft green from Waverly.

It’s cheerful but subtle and I think it will give a cozy, nature-like feel to this space, even in winter.
Watch the video above to see how it transformed this corner of our cozy play area!
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