Simple Kids Play Area in our Unfinished Basement

Hey guys, happy Tuesday! I hope you’re having a great start to your week so far.

Alright, so remember a few weeks ago when I got struck down with the dreaded “vid” and was confined at home? Well the day prior to testing positive, I was actually cleaning the basement to host a little get together for Anthony’s birthday. My diagnosis obviously cancelled those plans, but I had already gotten the ball rolling down there and realized that I had started to pile all of the boys’ play items in the corner that they normally play in down there and I started brainstorming for that space.

While most people recovering from Covid would probably find a new series on Netflix to binge or read a book, I decided to start renovating our unfinished basement! It’s been a “if you give a mouse a cookie” kind of situation and the whole basement is slowly transforming into a pretty neat space.

It’s not quite done, but I am so excited with the progress that I just couldn’t wait any longer to share it with you guys! I failed to grab a before picture of this corner, but here is a screenshot from an IG story to give you a little glimpse at what I was working with.

Not the greatest picture (actually quite terrible), but hopefully you get the idea! Here is how it that corner looks today!

I am so pumped about the difference already! Okay let’s go through what I have done so far.

I had the wood unit in the basement already, so I painted it black and added plywood to the shelves so that the boys could use it to display their Lego creations.

It was actually Tristan’s idea to use it for this purpose and I couldn’t be more proud that he thought of doing that! One of their favorite activities in the basement is building Legos so it works out well to have a place to put them.

I got some of these black acrylic risers to help maximize space and the giant Lego storage bins we have had for many years. They work great for storing all of the millions of Legos that somehow end up in our house.

I decided that the shiny insulation paper was messing with the cute vibe, so I simply nailed up some canvas drop cloth to cover it (these are my absolute favorite ones). To make it more fun, I also put some curtain fairy lights behind it. I obviously still need to go back over it with a steamer to get the wrinkles out!

I slide over this storage unit that I had built at our previous house to hold toys on one side and the boys found this gamer chair set out in the neighbors trash one day (like mother, like sons…) that fits perfectly in the corner.

On the other side we have a couple more curbside treasures. The giant chalkboard and the storage ottoman were both found set out for the trash and are nice additions to this space. I stuck a bin for buffalo check pillows underneath so that they could get cozy on the rug.

I got Tristan this drum set for his birthday over the weekend and this is the perfect space for it!

You may have noticed that the rest of the “spaceship wall” got a more official update with some board and batten—I promise to share that wall as soon as it’s all done.

This cheap fluffy rug completed the space, however I decided to order a slightly larger one instead so that is on its way.

I’m so happy with how this little corner has turned out so far and the boys have been having so much fun down here!

There’s still a few things I want to change up and add, but like I said before I was too excited to wait on sharing the progress that has been made so far!

Our basement may not be finished for a very long time thanks to the rising price of lumber and pretty much everything else these days, so this is a great way for us to enjoy the space in the meantime!

I hope you all have a great rest of your week 🙂

Linking up to these awesome parties

(Affiliate links may be provided for convenience.  For more info, see my full disclosure here.) 

PIN FOR LATER!