A Playroom for Kate

So this happened over the weekend...

(It's hideous.  I know.  but sometimes LOVE for your child looks like this)

That, ladies & gentlemen, is a corner of our "formal" living room.  Heck, it's more than just a corner, it's probably 1/3 of the room!  I knew the day would come, I just didn't realize it would be so soon.  I can't really complain though, it's not like I had a picture-perfect Pottery Barn living room anyway.  We were in the middle of re-decorating the room when we found out baby was coming, so needless to say, that project (as well as 1,000 more to-do's in our 1849 fixer-upper home) was pushed to the side.  On top of that, the whole pack 'n play never really worked out for us as a play space & instead it just acted as an oversized toy/blanket box, taking up about 6 square feet of space in the corner of our living room for the past 7 months while we played on blankets on the floor with Kate. (holy run on sentance) So, when we ventured out to to Babies R Us Saturday morning to look at some convertible car seats in person (because no matter how many hours you spend pouring over reviews online, you need to see them for yourself) we ended up coming home with a package of these foam floor blocks.

Now I never intended for them to take over our living room as they suddenly have but My.God. - you should hear this little baby girl squeal with happiness & glee when she's playing on her new floor.  It's like she knows this colorful, fun area is *just* for her. She's so smart, isn't she?! :)

All of that being said, we know this arrangement is only temporary.  Now that half of our living room furniture is displaced & with her impending increased movement past rolling & army drags (i.e. crawling) the need for a proper playroom is approaching.  Quickly.  Our goal is to transform our current den/tv room into a playroom by her 1st birthday.  It's so odd, when you're looking at houses, how you know that "someday this could be the baby's room" etc, etc... but it's now even somehow more surreal that "someday" is here!!!

While Dan might be in a bit of preemptive mourning (the den was the room he got to "decorate" - i.e. choose the paint color for) I, on the other hand am super excited.  With renewed enthusiasm I've jumped back onto pinterest & even started a new board for the playroom inspiration. So *hopefully* in a few months our TV room will be transformed into something as pretty as this...

 (simple & sweet via)

or this...

 (I adore this room - simple & not screaming "Crayola/Disney/trendy-kid-thing" - totally my playroom style, via)

or, if I was super-handy & creative, something like this...

 (pottery barn kids farmers market playroom)

Well, I've started 2 new boards actually, because since we'll be giving up the den I've decided to finally, really & truly re-do the living room too - Wooo hoooo! (want to help me start buying lotto tickets?)

In the meantime, if anyone has a beautiful, immaculate, House Beautiful - worthy living room, would you please invite me over for a cup of coffee?  I suspect it will be YEARS before I ever get one of those.   Even after the re-do's.  But I'm ok with that.  It's just another part of my "new normal"... & I love it.


xo

p.s.  Those poofs & paper garland hanging in the Kate's little corner of our living room?  They're leftover Lily Pulitzer decorations from my bachelorette party in Newport.  Yes, I am a nostalgic pack rat.  We were cleaning out one of the spare bedrooms (the one which also still has 2-3 boxes of wedding decorations in it) when Dan told gave me the "use it or lose it" ultimatum.  You can imagine his groans when he saw them pop up in the living room Sunday morning. :) Hehehe, how I amuse myself. 

p.p.s. I apologize for my terrible photography skills... that's next on my 2013 goals to work on.

p.p.s.s. One word of advice to those of you who may be expecting & rug shopping right now - seagrass rugs + babies DO.NOT.MIX.  Just a heads up.