Shared Space: The Combo Room

Like most mom's I tried to give my child his own area in the family shared living space.  Like most mom's I ended up with an area that did not fit the rest of the decor or the house.  Ethan's initial space contained his train table and a toddler table with two chairs.  Not only did these pieces look out of place they were not used by Ethan or his friends. I believe the space I had made for him was rarely used because there was very little usable space (in fact I tried to locate some pictures of this area before I changed it and I could find none -- because Ethan nor his friends ever hung out there.)  Moreover, I wanted a space that blended in with the rest of the room. Often times on HGTV realtors and the like say these combo rooms rarely blend together nor look pleasing.  I have strived for both blending and good looks thanks to one great piece: the table.

After a great deal of deliberation I got rid of the train table(kept all the trains and tracks and put in a box in the closet) and toddler table.  I put in one large table that was low enough for little people (and big) to sit around -- thereby creating a usable space.  I found a table on Craigslist that measured was five feet long, three feet wide and fourteen inches tall  -- it needed some work but it was the perfect size.  I bought it for the amazing low price of $15!

I sanded the table allowing the flaws to be exposed (particle board....it is a table with wood legs and trim but veneered top).  I painted the legs an earthy green (Ethan wanted flourescent green), stained the top two different colors and lacquered the top liberally.  I put the table on a rug from Pottery Barn similar to the one on this link.  For the seating and storage I purchased four 26 x 26 pillows and one Expedit single unit from Ikea to house the craft items.  The modern style of the Expedit did not match the craftsman style decor of the room so I put six bun feet on it.  I got the bun feet from Home Depot and painted them to match the shelf with black and brown spray paint alternately until it matched.  Unfortunately, I purchased four of the Knipsa storage boxes made out of a natural wicker type material -- very bad choice.  They look good but they shed horribly.  I am constantly vacuuming and wiping the area around the boxes.  Ikea has a new box the Drona box, which they did not have when I bought the Expedit.  The Drona box is 1/3 the price of the Knipsa, not messy and very colorful.  I duplicated this same Expedit shelf for Ethan's room and used the three green Drona boxes.

I filled the baskets and shelves with paints, papers, games, puzzles, puppets, pencils, craft supplies and labeled them accordingly with mini chalkboards (made from wood from Home Depot then painted with chalkboard paint).  This has been the most worthwhile project I have done for Ethan.  He spends most of his free time at the arts table, as we like to call it, creating, playing games and doing puzzles.  When friends and family come over they gather around doing many of the same activities.  I am not sure if HGTV hosts would say I achieved  my goal of a shared space both blending and looking pleasing but I do know what once was unusable has now become a very usable space.