New Playroom Set-Up (with Photos)
 

Here it is! I am so excited about the new set-up! I finished a week and a half ago but was waiting until we got the new rug to take pictures. The kids really like it!

Before:
http://i49.tinypic.com/uxzww.jpg


After:
The General Set-Up:
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...42342709_n.jpg
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...11902616_n.jpg
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...60283697_n.jpg

Preschool/Arts & Crafts Area:
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...85398028_n.jpg

Dramatic Play Area:
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...76855720_n.jpg

Reading Corner:
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...85979912_n.jpg

Hide-Out Under Slide:
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...30334195_n.jpg

Toy Storage:
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...67590499_n.jpg

Sensory Bin Storage:
http://s14.postimage.org/48s04m5ld/sensory.jpg

:eek:

GORGEOUS!!!!!!! I am jealous and so happy for you. :D:D:D

LOVE IT!!!!!!!! Please come put mine together lol :lol::lol::lol::lol:

I love it, I really want to come and hang out at your house now! Forget my own day care, that set up looks so much fun. :D

Beautiful! Is the sofa in the reading area an adult or child sized set, and where did you get it?

Love it all. happyface

Originally Posted by Crystal:
Beautiful! Is the sofa in the reading area an adult or child sized set, and where did you get it?

Love it all. happyface

The sofa is child-sized and made of vinyl (yay for being easily cleanable happyface). It's actually much smaller than I had anticipated, which works fine for me since it makes it easy for the little ones to sit down. I found it online at Wayfair.

I used to have a huge beanbag couch (you can see it in my before picture if I can get it to work). It was spot clean only and the only way you could remove the cover was to empty the beans. I did it once and decided that the next time it was in need of a deep clean, I was going to purchase something else instead.

I also am glad to have replaced the beanbag with the new couch because the kids used the beanbag as a tumbling mat. As you can imagine, it got really wild. The new set-up has greatly cut down on craziness.

gorgeous!!! so jealous of your big open space!!! need you to come do mine now, LOL, my daycare room is small but I know I'm still not using it to the best of its ability!

Love it! I see you are also a fan of Ikea :)happyface

Originally Posted by Rachel:
Love it! I see you are also a fan of Ikea :)happyface

LOL, that's what I was thinking too! The IKEA catalog is my addiction...

Beautiful set up! It looks great ~ I love, love, love the corner sofa, I've always wanted something like that. It's amazing what a difference a few changes make isn't it?

Love it! Bright and cheery!

love it. I love the little couch too and all the ikea furniture.

VERY bright and cheery! likethis

lovethis it! You did a really nice job!

It looks absolutely great!

Originally Posted by DCMom:
LOL, that's what I was thinking too! The IKEA catalog is my addiction...

Beautiful set up! It looks great ~ I love, love, love the corner sofa, I've always wanted something like that. It's amazing what a difference a few changes make isn't it?

Yeah, I didn't intend to end up with so much Ikea, but every time I went there, I thought...."oh this would be perfect, and for a great price!"

Thank you all for all the compliments!

Beautiful! I would want to spend all day there as a kid... or an adult! Good job, Spud! happyface

That's amazing! happyfacelikethis

lovethislovethislovethis Gorgeous!

Is that tall round-looking structure that you can see on the left of the picture of the housekeeping area from Ikea? It looks awesome...

Originally Posted by SilverSabre25:
Is that tall round-looking structure that you can see on the left of the picture of the housekeeping area from Ikea? It looks awesome...

No, that is from discount school supply. It is a dress-up turn about, but I have to say that it really doesn't turn very well. I used to have all the dress up clothing and accessories in the wardrobe where I now store sensory items, but this is so much better. Not only does it have a mirror, but it has hooks for the clothes and lots of bins for the accessories. The kids can easily reach everything and the hooks make for easy clean up (instead of fussing with hangers).

The main downsides that I see so far are that it doesn't turn very well and my 18 month old dd tries climbing up where the shoes are stored.

Looks amazing!!! Love the book corner so cozy!!

wow, it looks magazine ready. very bright and up to date. Love it!

Everything looks wonderful!

Love, love, love it!! The reading corner is definitely my favorite spot. So open and inviting!!

I was going to ask about the furniture and play equipment as well. They all look fairly new and modern. Did you buy all these items yourself? Were you able to get grants?

I hope that is not too nosey. I just think your space is beautiful and very on point with what many parents are looking for. You did a great job. I wish I could be able to do something nice like the couch, kitchen, etc. Its taken me 6 years to piece together what we do have. Feel free to post more particulars about your space!

very lovely~

It is so bright & cheerful. I love it.

Everything looks wonderful!!! You did a great job!!happyface

Originally Posted by cheerfuldom:
I was going to ask about the furniture and play equipment as well. They all look fairly new and modern. Did you buy all these items yourself? Were you able to get grants?

I hope that is not too nosey. I just think your space is beautiful and very on point with what many parents are looking for. You did a great job. I wish I could be able to do something nice like the couch, kitchen, etc. Its taken me 6 years to piece together what we do have. Feel free to post more particulars about your space!

I don't mind at all :p. All of the storage units, preschool table, 4 of the chairs, play kitchen and toys were already purchased before I started daycare. Starting up daycare was something I wanted to do before my first was born, but I didn't end up doing it until after our second child was born (due to inadequate time and "life"). Therefore, I used that time that I continued to work to save up for all of that stuff.

As for the newer "stuff," I used a combination of tax return, garage sale revenue, and extra income. The main purchases were the locker system (DSS), the dress up carousel (DSS), the couch (Wayfair), and the new slide (Craigslist). I also got a chair for myself (Ikea), wooden workbench (Ikea), wall decal tree (Etsy), 2 more children's chairs (Ikea), frames and "bookshelf" (Ikea), wooden carts x 2 (Ikea), Plasmacar imitations for half price (Amazon), leaf decoration (Ikea), castle (Amazon), and dry erase and chalboard (Amazon). The remodel totaled nearly $2000 :eek::eek:. My initial budget was for $1000, so my dh was not entirely pleased.

However, this is my life, my work, and my passion. I do it first and foremost for my 2 children, aged 3 and 18 months to enrich their lives. I don't really spend money on anything else and my husband takes great joy in seeing our kids faces light up. Yeah, they're a little spoiled :cool::rolleyes:

Woooooow everything looks so different and very nice!!! You did a very good job!!! Congrats!

What are the demensions of your room?

Do you have out door play area too?
 

I would like to see. By the way, great job likethis

WONDERFUL!!!!

I'm in the process of gathering ideas to redo my space and this was great for ideas! I love a lot of what you did! And it's so roomy! happyfacehappyfacehappyface

Originally Posted by AnythingsPossible:
What are the demensions of your room?

The dimensions are 23x18, but some of that is a wide walkway through the room to the rest of the house.

Here are our backyard photos. They are a little dated (taken a year ago), but you get the idea.

Here is the backyard playground. The mats are tested to withstand a 2 foot fall and the shading structure is great!
http://i48.tinypic.com/165rih.jpg


Here is the backyard. It's an older photo and we've added a patio table for us and a picnic bench for the kids. There is also a trike, a cozy coupe, one tupperware bin with toys and a sand and water table. We are pretty low-key outside, which is great for the kids' imaginations!
http://i47.tinypic.com/2mewmt3.jpg
The oleanders in the background were also removed last year. They are extremely poisonous and I did not want the risk. In their place (temporarily) we have a couple of cheap pots where the kids planted some seeds. The only thing that ended up growing were the sunflowers, and only in one pot.

Originally Posted by spud912:
Here are our backyard photos. They are a little dated (taken a year ago), but you get the idea.

Here is the backyard playground. The mats are tested to withstand a 2 foot fall and the shading structure is great!
http://i48.tinypic.com/165rih.jpg

Nice! likethis

Originally Posted by Rachel:
Love it! I see you are also a fan of Ikea :)happyface

I was gonna say the same thing! It's like ikea threw up in my house too lol

You have a really beautiful space. Soo much room!! And everything looks so peaceful and serene. I love it.

Love it...so jealous right now, lol
But love it !! Congrats :)

I love your pictures! Can I say how much I wish I had a daycare like yours! Very inspired!

Awesome setup! I love all your sensory bin storage too. I need to get my sensory stuff organized as well.

YOu have a nice daycare set up
 

How many children do you have in your daycare? What ages are they?

Love your set-up. happyfacehappyface

Originally Posted by Baan Dek Lek:
How many children do you have in your daycare? What ages are they?

Thanks! I have 4 dck's plus my 2 children. They are 2 different age groups: 18 months and preschool (3's and 4's). Ultimately, I would like only preschool ages 2-5 (my favorite ages).

How many of us are not as stream lined as this? I know I am not.

I have toy over load here and lack in the modern design. Again your space is lovely. My style is a bit different, yet still nice.

Not to take over the thread but to enhance the discussions-

Originally Posted by My3cents:
How many of us are not as stream lined as this? I know I am not.

I have toy over load here and lack in the modern design. Again your space is lovely. My style is a bit different, yet still nice.

Not to take over the thread but to enhance the discussions-

Good point, I will start a new thread to discuss this!

Awesome!!! Very very cool!

I'm sure I asked this before, but where did you get your mats from that are outside for a two foot fall? How much were they?

Eventually I would like to invest, but everything I found needed to be put on cement which costs money and required commitment since you cant just up and move it!

I LOVE your couch area. I went to wayfair as that is the cheapest site for 5 and 8 section shelving but their are so many options for the seating. How did you decide on that couch?