Sharing my ideas and inspiration for our plans to remodel our basement into an active playroom for our boys!
When we moved into our 1970’s fixer upper home a few years ago, I was so excited that we had a large playroom area in the basement for the kids! We have 3 active boys so it is so helpful to have an indoor space for them to run and jump around and play with their loud toys, especially during our cold Colorado winters!
The room was finished when we moved in, but was very basic and outdated … dropped ceilings, beige carpet, white walls, and old 70’s trim. Updating the basement has been on my list since moving in and I am so excited that we are getting started!
Below I’m sharing our top basement playroom remodel ideas, plans and design inspiration!
Basement Playroom – Before
Here’s a photo showing our existing basement playroom space. It’s very basic with white walls and carpet. When we moved in we basically dumped all of the kid’s toys down there and haven’t done much to the space since. It’s been fine for them to use and make a mess in, but I’m excited to clean it up and turn it into a space that is fun and appealing for me to hang out in as well!
Basement Playroom Remodel Ideas
My goal for this playroom remodel is to create a space that is fun, colorful, functional and organized. I want this room to be a safe place where my boys can play, build forts, and get some energy out!
For the room as a whole, we are planning to update the floors, the dropped ceiling, the trim, and the walls.
Playroom Flooring
Our plan for the flooring is to replace the carpet with the same Luxury Vinyl Plank flooring that we have throughout our main level.
LVP Floors – Provenza Moda Living Waterproof Luxury Vinyl Plank Collection, Color: At Ease
We installed these Provenza LVP floors in our main level shortly after we moved in, over 3 years ago, and love them! They had held up so well and we are always receiving complements on them.
The Provenza MaxCoreâ„¢ 100% Waterproof Moda Living Collection features a long plank, ribbed, realistic wood texture look with bevel edge effect.
You can read more about our Provenza floors and the install process here!
We will also replace the old baseboards when we replace the flooring, with simple 6″H boards, same as we added throughout the rest of our house.
Playroom Dropped Ceiling
The existing drop ceiling has to go, but I was hesitant to remove it and replace with a drywalled ceiling because that is a huge, messy job. Drywall work is no fun!
While researching online for options on how to make our existing dropped ceiling look better, I came across Armstrong Ceilings.
They make a product that you can easily install with your existing drop ceiling grid and the examples that I saw look amazing! There are different plank options that you can choose from, from beadboard, to wood-like textures. I think the painted white planks will look great in our basement!
I’m trying to figure out what to do with the existing soffit though. Do I paint it white to match the ceiling planks? Or paint it a fun accent color? Maybe even wallpaper it? Let me know if you have any suggestions!
Playroom Layout
We’re going to divide the space into three main area – TV area, Reading & Craft Area with a table, and an Activity area where the kids can climb, swing, and build forts.
Here’s the overall layout –
Below are some ideas and inspiration I’m loving for each space –
Playroom TV Area
I’d love to make this a super cozy spot to watch movies and play video games as a family. Right now, if we want to watch a movie at night after the baby is asleep, we have to keep the volume way down…so it would be great to be able to use this space at night since it is farther away from the nursery!
Eventually, I’d like to add a built-in TV cabinet here with extra storage for games, toys, books, and art supplies.
I’m thinking a built-in “Ikea hack” cabinet, similar to this, would be perfect!
I’d love to paint the built-in a fun color like this too!
This is also amazing…if I can convince my husband to build something like this, haha
Playroom Reading Nook
We have a small nook in this room now where there is a built-in cabinet with shelves. I think it is the perfect spot to build in a cute reading nook!
Here are a few ideas I’m loving as inspiration –
I love the shape of these built-ins –
Love this and the scallop detail around the shelves!
The curtains make these nooks feel extra cozy –
How amazing is this rainbow nook?! My kids would love all the colors! I love the cut out clouds too.
I love the bookcases surrounding the reading nook here –
I live the integrated ladder and cubbies built in to this nook!
Playroom Arts & Crafts Area
I’ve always been very in to arts and crafts, and my two older boys are finally starting to enjoy them with me! They both love to draw and color, and we have started playing board games as a family too! I want to add a big table in the middle of this space that we can use for art, games, and puzzles!
I think it would also be fun to include a big wall that they can draw on, with either a chalkboard or white board surface! Tempaper makes this Dry Erase Peel And Stick Wallpaper and a Chalkboard Peel and Stick Wallpaper that looks like it would be perfect and easy to install!
This cute craft area by Emily Henderson is similar to what I have in mind! I love the kid’s art on the wall and the peg board for art supplies. I’m thinking we’ll do a normal table though instead of a kid sized table.
Here’s another fun and colorful playroom by Chango & Co with a large central table for crafts and games. Love the bright chairs!
Sidenote: these colorful polka dots might be fun on our soffit that I don’t know what to do with!
love this idea from Mindy Gayer Design Co of using cork boards to hang up art as well –
Playroom Activity Area
This is the area that my kids are the most excited about! I have 3 boys – ages 7, 5, and 9 months, and they are very active! I wish I had as much energy as they do, haha! They are constantly climbing and jumping and tumbling and wrestling…my main goal here is to create a safe space for them to be as crazy as they want and get some energy out!
I came across Project Playroom while looking online for ideas and they have so many great products and design ideas for active play spaces!
We plan to add a row of their colorful monkey bars (on the ceiling and possibly some up the wall like a ladder as well), and a couple of their long ninja bars.
I also want to add a climbing wall with colorful climbing grips. I think it could be fun to paint a mural here too!
We already have one sensory swing that the kids love, and might add one more that is slightly different.
We also have 2 sets of Figgy Play Couches that the kids love and use daily! They will be perfect in this space to use to build cozy forts, obstacle courses, and act as cushions below the climbing wall and monkey bars.
Basement Playroom Design Ideas
I love creating mood boards for rooms when I am trying to come with an overall color scheme and look at how the furniture looks together! They are sooo helpful and really help me narrow down my choices when I see everything side by side.
Below are three options I came up with for our basement playroom. Let me know which one you prefer!
Basement Playroom Design Option 1
Basement Playroom Design Option 2
Basement Playroom Design Option 3
Make sure to follow along on Instagram as we update our basement playroom!
I have a “playroom” story highlight saved on my profile if you want to catch up on what we’ve done so far. I can’t wait to get this playroom space completed for our kids!
What else do you think would be fun to add here?!
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