Inexpensive playroom decorating ideas

My living room is thanking me right about now.  Our newly finished playroom has provided some much needed relief from the over abundance of toys, stuffed animals, and riding toys that were taking over the family room.

The way our home is set up the main floor is on the second level. The ground level is a large open room that has somewhat of an obvious divide. The front we've always used as a home office, the back...well...that's up for debate. It was a "craft room," a storage facility...okay, I'll admit it: it was wasted space. It was also the perfect spot for a playroom.

Not wanting to spend much money on updating the room, but knowing it needed some fixing up before it was suitable for a toddler, it became my most recent DIY project.  So I started looking for some playroom decorating ideas and here's what I came up with.

Using my daughter's toys brightly colored toys for inspiration I picked a cheery yellow color paint for the walls.

With limited space but still wanting to give my daughter a creative outlet, I opted to paint a chalkboard on the wall, rather than take up floor space with an easel. I have half a can of chalkboard paint leftover, and already have a few ideas how to use it!

We purchased a full size pull-out sleeper sofa off of Craiglist. It's no wonder it was for sale. Not only does the thing weigh what must be 100 pounds, it's ugly as anything.  The addition of the sofa provides seating and a much needed extra bed for overnight guests.

The arms of the sofa are such that I was unable to find a slip cover without getting it custom made. For a play room that was simply not an option for me.  Thus the DIYer in me got inspired by a set of sheets. I searched a online and bought two blue and white striped queen size flat sheets on clearance.  Over the next few weeks I crafted my own slip cover and I must say I'm pretty impressed with myself.

I had enough left over material to make three simple window treatments as well.

Surprisingly, the spare TV still works despite the inch of dust, dog hair and bugs it gathered over the past two years sitting in the corner. But without cable in the room, we moved our DVD player to the playroom (our newly purchased Play Station 3 doubles as a DVD player for the living room...I'd never admit it to my husband who had to have it...but I guess it turned out to be a useful buy) for my daughter to watch movies.

I purchased an inexpensive TV stand with adequate storage for toys, books, DVDs, and whatnot to further organize the space. 

To get even more stuff off the floor and to avoid taking up more floor space, my daughter will be getting a toy hammock to hang on the playroom wall for stuffed animals.

Can of paint: $25 (-$5 mail-in rebate)
Chalk Board Paint: $10
Sofa bed: $100
Sheets for sofa slip cover: $40
TV stand: $130 from Target, $125 on Amazon.com


Playroom Updates: $300


Have you created a designated play room in your home? Share your best playroom decorating ideas with us by leaving a comment below!