Moodboard Monday: Stop Playing With Your Food!

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December 3, 2012 by Decorum DIYer

Good Monday, all!  Things are starting to get super crazy here at the Drumgoole abode, as many birthdays, and of course, holidays, happen in December for our family.

Christa, of Controlling Craziness, also has her share of craziness in her home.  Apart from having three wonderful children, she also has a breakfast room/sunroom that is barren and unused.  Christa wrote about her breakfast room woes in this post.

Christa is fortunate enough to have a sizable eat-in kitchen, formal dining  room, and breakfast room/sunroom.  The problem?  Well, Christa knows that the breakfast room could be made into a much more useable space for her young family.  Here is a passage wherein Christa describes her thoughts regarding the breakfast room:

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit my blog. I’d love a moodboard. I’m not in too much of a hurry since I want to make sure I find the best use for this space so I’m currently putting various pieces of furniture in there to see what I like. I don’t have a budget, want to use as much from my own house as possible but know we plan to buy bookshelves for both sides of the doorway. I don’t really like painting so that will be last to do. I’d put up the bookshelves first. And I don’t want it a ‘fun’ or ‘bright’ color since I want it to blend in with the kitchen and other areas of our house that are more earth tones. I also didn’t want to do an exclusive kid area since I want it to be a place we can grow into as the kids get older. I like the suggestions of a reading room.

Today, I am sharing with you my vision of what Christa’s breakfast room could look like if it were better utilized as a combination reading/recreation/play room for her family.  Before we dive in, allow me to remind you of my self-imposed moodboard rules.  Only the following items may be used in creating the moodboard:

1. paint
2. free items
3. items found on my local Craigslist (remember to click the images to be directly linked to the Craigslist ads!)
4. a pinch of imagination and diy craftiness!

Below are a few pictures of Christa’s current breakfast room:

To further the real-life struggle with outfitting the room, Christa is dealing with a less than symmetrical room.  Here is Christa’s description of the room’s dimensions:

The room is a rectangle (8ft 10in by 11ft 1in) with openings on every wall and nothing is centered. I’ve measured everything so I know what furniture doesn’t fit where. The windows and patio doors are 77 inches wide including the trim around them. The doorway to the kitchen is 60 inches wide (67 if you add the trim) and the walls on either side of it are 32 1/8 and 31 7/8. The walls on either side of the patio door are 27 1/4 and 2 3/4. The walls around the window opposite of the doorway are 27 1/8 and 26 1/2). The walls around the window opposite the patio doors are 11 5/8 and 18 1/4. Also the trim around the windows is 23 inches from the floor to the bottom of the trim and 27 3/4 inches from floor to top of window trim (the bottom trim). The ceiling is not flat, well one part is, next to the doorway, but the rest of it is vaulted. Oh and there is a floor vent underneath the window opposite the kitchen doorway. I think that is centered on the wall, but not centered on the window since the window isn’t centered on the wall. I hope this answers your question and then some. I like things to be symmetrical so this room just bugs me.

Wait.

What?

In case that is making your head spin,

here are two floor plans to illustrate with what Christa is dealing.

The banner at the bottom is covering the second window in this floor plan. So this room is a rectangle with either a window, a door, or an opening on every wall.

A little 3-D to help you see the layout.

Craziness indeed!

I can see why Christa is hesitant to move forward with this room.

I agree with Christa that the room should be an extension of the rest of her home’s style and color story.  I also agree that using the room as a playroom should be done as tastefully as possible for a few reasons:

1. The room is visible by adjoining main living areas.

2. The children will grow/change and so will their needs.

3. Being able to easily convert the room’s use as needs change is key.

Wow, that was one ‘Cure’-like introduction!

(“Love Song” anyone?)

Sorry, moving on….

Here is my vision of the room:

“Stop Playing With Your Food!” From Breakfast Room to Playroom (Click the image above to view moodboard via Olioboard and shop this look.)

I tried to keep the breakfast room looking like a breakfast room,

but providing plenty of storage to house all of the playroom necessities.

The color scheme is very much the same as the remainder of Christa’s house;

warm, neutral tones.

Here are the paint colors I would suggest:

The walls could be painted with either ‘Warm Muffin’ or ‘Campground’ and the ceiling and backs of bookcases with ‘Grounded’ or ‘Chivalry Copper’, dependent upon Christa’s preference.  The ‘Warm Muffin’ color is not that different than the sponge-painted color currently on the walls.

The sliders would be flanked by these curtain panels:

Two, Pottery Barn, long, window panels. $40

Wooden blinds for the two, large windows:

The width of the blinds would need to be carefully measured to ensure a proper fit. It would be best if the blinds/shades were cordless, but if not, inside mounted blinds would look best. $300

The rug:

8′ x 11′ area rug with scroll pattern to cover the room’s tile.

A new chandelier:

A more visually heavy, rustic chandelier. $35

Round table and chairs:

Ethan Allen round table and four, upholstered chairs with casters. $400

A transplanted built-in that would need to be disassembled and fitted to frame the kitchen entry wall:

The bookcase/cabinet units would be placed on either side of the kitchen entry. The window seat would be placed in front of the window opposite the exterior, french doors. All pieces would be painted in a crisp, white paint.  The built-in need not be accomplished this way.  It could be complied from inexpensive bookcases trimmed out to look ‘built-in’ – clearly a much more customized, space efficient, and budget-friendly choice.  Unfortunately, when I was creating this moodboard, Craigslist was not cooperating with all of the necessary materials.  [Darn rules!] $800 (I’d ask for way less or make my own.)

French doors would be added to the kitchen entry (swinging into the kitchen to maximize space, of course).

A pair of french doors for the kitchen entry wall. FREE!

The items above (or ones similar to them) would create a kitchen entry wall that Christa is looking for.

Example of what Christa envisions her kitchen entry wall to look like. Click the image above to see Christa’s Pinterest page for more of her ‘breakfast room’ thoughts.

Tucked into the corner between the two windows, I would add this desk/hutch as a multi-purpose piece that could grow with the families changing needs. If necessary, it could be placed diagonally into the corner. I really like the warmth of this rich red.  It adds some color to the room, without being too jarring. $75

These common toy storage shelves could be used under the window opposite the kitchen entry.  Of course, I would paint the frames the same white trim color and give the bins a coat of dark, copper spray paint in keeping with our attempt at ‘classy clutter’. The bright hues of the bins are a little much for this earthy room, but the easy access and storage is just right for Christa’s children at their current ages.

Toy storage: $10

This little shelf could be used as is in a corner, or cut in half and used in a two tier fashion in the corner. It would be perfect for housing dress-up clothes. For $3, reworking the coat hanger rack would be frugal and practical.

Accessories and art:

Using the long, narrow window frames horizontally, they could be used to display the children’s artwork or photographs of the family. One frame over the kitchen entry as well as over each window (not the sliders).

To further embellish one of the window frames, this adorned clothesline could be glued to the frame allowing for a quick rotation of art and photographs.

Pillow forms, $15 @ $5 each.

Potter Barn pillow covers, $60 @ $20 each. (Of course, you could buy just one or ask for a discount.) The covered pillow forms would provide a soft place to land at the window seat.

Magazine holders for miscellaneous storage on the built-in shelves. These could all be spray-painted the same dark copper as the toy bins, or Christa could choose to keep a few red, sage green, and black holders to organize her children’s things by assigning each child a color. 20 magazine holders for $30

More storage options for the built-ins. I have it on good authority that Christa’s children enjoy Legos. We all know how tiny (an annoying to store) those pieces can be. $10

Table lamp that coordinates with the new chandelier. $5

Horse bookends. (I’d paint out the eyelashes, they are a bit weird – almost unicorn-esque.) $8

Bird wall art $5

Matching floral wall art. $5

Of course, all of the above was chosen to create the room in my ‘mind’s eye’.  The bank-busting budget for the above moodboard is a whopping $2,100.00.  Much of that is the over-priced built-in that could be completed with less costly materials or pre-assembled items found on Craigslist.  (Sorry, there just weren’t there when I looked.  If you are wondering where the long-winded budget breakdown is, I just can’t get it together today.  So, if you want to see an itemized list, click the link to the Olioboard and the items, links, and prices will be shown.)

Also, in real life, rooms such as these don’t come together overnight or with an overblown budget.  If you read Christa’s blog, she is quite the yard sale queen and could probably whip this room into shape for much less.  In honor of Christa’s frugality (a girl after my own heart), I’ve created a second moodboard that uses different, less expensive items.

The second, less expensive (and laborious) moodboard.

The beauty about this second moodboard, is that the total budget is only $1,480.00. (Again, if you want an itemized budget, click the image above for details.)

The room could be even less, if Christa elected not to paint, forewent the rug, and only concentrated on a few, new furniture pieces to transform the use of the space.  Below are some of the furniture pieces that reduce the cost, but also provide a playful space with plenty of storage.

A 3-in-1 game table with six, folding chairs. This table has endless uses for all ages. $350

This bookcase trio could be split-up and used around the room. The standard bookcase could be tucked in the corner between the sliders and the kitchen entry, while the corner units may be perched in almost any corner of the room (except to the left of the sliders). $225

The red, ROCKING, bench makes a great window seat. $115  I also have it on good authority that Christa’s eldest son would love this rocking bench.

Well, there you have it, my idea of turning Christa’s cramped breakfast room into a functional, yet sophisticated playroom/reading room.  It is a space that everyone in the family can enjoy.

Until next time…., happy Craigslisting!

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