Bright Idea: A Fun Shade of Red for a Sunny Playroom
Chris and Alana Chernecki knew they were going to transform a sunroom into a playroom for their three young girls when they moved into their big bungalow near Winnipeg, in the Canadian province of Manitoba, last May. Alana, a former kindergarten teacher who’s now a stay-at-home mom, envisioned a bright, fun space where the kids could easily move from toys to musical instruments to art supplies.
To plan out the room, Alana turned to Houzz and created an ideabook for inspiration that guided her decisions. Since she already had storage pieces in neutral, blonde-colored wood, she decided to jump off with a fun, dominant color. “I chose red because it’s playful. Even though we have three girls, I’m not all about pink-a-fying everything,” Alana says.
Natural light floods the room through three large windows that frame views of a creek, trees and oftentimes deer.
Alana originally bought a chevron-patterned rug for the room, but when she got it in there, she didn’t like it. She sent it back and found this contemporary rug, and everything came together after that.
The table was repurposed; Alana added a different set of legs to make it the right height for her kids. Since this picture was taken, she has created a still life on the table with gourds, pumpkins and a magnifying glass so the kids can explore, draw and handle the items with curiosity. “Bringing in nature was important to me,” she says.
Eames-style S chairs, a large beanbag and animal-print rocking chairs push the upbeat vibe.
Rug: Momeni Rugs; S chairs: Zuo Modern Contemporary; wall paint: Sea Haze, Benjamin Moore
Alana focused on bringing in natural materials. Wicker baskets fill many of the shelves, and most of the toys are made of wood.
She and Chris bought the three blonde-colored wood storage pieces from EQ3 when they married in 2002. The solid pieces have held together well.
Wooden toys: Plan Toys; beanbag: Fatboy
Alana made sure items for multiple activities were always within reach, and that everything looked nice, too. “Having art and music accessible, having everything displayed beautifully with order and teaching kids how to use things with respect and care — those are the principles that guided me as a teacher, and I let that spill over into our home,” she says. “Kids being their own little mini makers plays into how the room was set up.”
This KidKraft kitchen partly inspired the room’s color palette.
Because the family already had most of the pieces, Alana says they spent only a couple of hundred dollars on things like the rug and this art piece, which she bought at a local furniture and clothing store.
The new playroom is a big hit with the kids, and it’s also popular with the Houzz community. After Alana finished setting up the space, she posted some photos in the Advice section on Houzz under Before & After and received dozens of comments on the success of the project.
More:
Kid Spaces: Ingredients of a Dream Playroom
Tame the Toy Chaos: Bin Storage for All
Got a project you’re proud of? Post your own photos in the Before & After section, and your project could get featured on Houzz!
