We have a finished 3rd floor attic space- a bonus room is what we call it down here- and we use it as a playroom! Our playroom decor got a fun makeover this summer via Serena & Lily, and I have been waiting to share it with you!
This is our bonus room – an extra 500 sq feet of space with a bathroom, closets and plenty of light. With 4 kids in our home, this spot works hard for us!
But the set up was feeling awkward, with a sofa in the center of the room cutting off half the space.
I asked my husband to move the playroom sofa to the side of the bonus room… “just to see honey!”… and it opened it all up! If you’re wondering what I’m talking about, take a peek at how our playroom used to be set up.
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A Bonus Room Turned Playroom Gets a Makeover
Once I saw all the freed up space, I wanted to reconfigure the whole room and have the playroom decor work better for our family! A lot of what we had was working. Obviously that blue wallpaper was staying. (It’s peel and stick – so one day it should peel right off the wall seamlessly!)
I partnered with Serena and Lily on my playroom decor design. I had some ideas on how to make this room work better for us and make our so called bonus room a favorite room for everyone in the family – adults too!
Does the TV look off center to you? It’s actually centered, but the mount is one in which you can slide it side to side.
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This bonus room has always been well used by all 4 of my kids, their friends, and my husband and I too. We have our “Friday family nights” up here where we play games together. But also, now that my husband is working from home, this is a spot he likes to grab alone time in as well!
First things first, I came up with a design board of our playroom decor. I like to make these quickly on my phone before hand. They really help you visualize!
Instead of a bookshelf, try bookledges to make up a book wall so kids can see the covers! Make sure your tall books can fit in between each ledge. This was an easy install I did myself!
Refreshing the Sofa Pillows
A few Serena & Lily pillows on our favorite sofa breathed new life into it! I have said it before– I would rather have just a few select high quality, seriously beautiful pillows than a whole entire sofa filled with pillows I bought only because they were a good deal. 
Our beloved playroom sofa (you can read more about it in this post here) has always held random pillows from other rooms- and to see it come together with all these coordinating beachy blues perked the room right up.
My favorite is the striped Luca pillow – the playful pom poms and the relaxed linen sum up this room’s whole vibe!
Most of the pillow covers I picked out have zippers so that the cover can be washed – in my actual washing machine! Even that textured crisp white pillow sitting in the hanging chair – that is actually an outdoor/indoor pillow and can be thrown in the wash.
The only one that needs dry clean is “mama’s pwetty piwow” – that’s what Camila calls the white with the subtle plaid and tassle pillow! I may be stealing that one for my bedroom permanently though….
Sofa Pillows From Left To Right:
I always recommend using Serena & Lily’s pillow inserts to anyone who asks. They are thick, heavy, substantial, and the feathers don’t come out and stab you. Buy a size bigger than your cover if available for extra plump.
More Favorite Serena & Lily Pillows:
Rug (finally! A jute rug that is actually soft) | Faux Hide Rug | Coffee Table | Rattan Chair | Sheepskin Chair Cover | Book Ledges (simply drilled right into the studs!) | White Pillow |
Dip Dyed Stools and Chairs In Play Areas
In this area we have a lot of the playroom decor and toys stashed away in baskets. If you are using a bonus room for your playroom, resist the temptation to fill the room up with all the extra toys. Instead, slim down your toy selection by donating about half, and keeping only the high quality toys played with most often!
Toy shelf sold out (similar save here and splurge here) | Striped Baskets | Easel | Rainbow Rocker
(Read more about that where that fun rainbow rocker came from here!)
La Jolla Basket | Dip Dyed Stools
I reused these darling Dip Dyed Stools (which really are tables) as little seats by the kids’ chalkboard easel. Sometimes we pull these side tables up next to the couch, but they are too cute not to use as small seats for their chalkboard sometimes too!
In the far corner, we have the kids’ old game table. This serves dual purpose now as a desk with my husband and I both trying to “work” from home. If I am working in our office Jose will steal a quiet moment up here to work.
I was so inspired by Serena & Lily’s Dip Dyed Stools, I thought it would be fun to turn these plain white chairs into dip dyed chairs for a pop of color!
This was an easy project you can do in an afternoon- just tape off parts of the chair with painters tape, and spray the rest with pink spray paint!
Table (Similar) | White Bentwood Chairs
The Playroom Art
The art is mostly collected from local or small shops over time. I love finding fun prints while traveling! The Beverly Hills Hotel photograph is a Gray Malin – and I talk more about our Gray Malin collection here!
I moved the framed London print up from my son’s room to be displayed above the sofa, next to the NYC framed print. These two prints are created by the same artist so they flow together nicely!
Our Playroom Coffee Table: The Atelier Coffee Table
The Atelier coffee table caught my eye years ago for its’ understated style! Our playroom decor has lots of color and pattern, as do the kids’ toys in general, so I didn’t want a coffee table to overwhelm the space.
The ideal coffee table in here would be substantial but minimal at the same time. Right, I know, that sounds like an oxymoron — but the sleek shape of the Atelier is actually just that!
The white glossy lacquer finish bounces light around the room. We have 4 windows up here, but 2 of them face north, and the other 2 are dormers. It was important to keep some glossy white finishes in here so the room stays light and bright!
With its’ clean, streamlined silhouette, the Atelier Table is a classic piece… or what Cher would call, a total betty!
Other Favorite Serena & Lily Coffee Tables:
I was tempted to “style” the coffee table for this post because that’s just more fun – but I thought it was best to share how it’s really used.
A few beachy baskets underneath and on top will provide function by corraling their toys and books, and keep the table looking its’ best!
Classic Storage Pieces from Serena & Lily:
The Hanging Rattan Chairs
Let’s talk about everyone’s favorite chairs!
I shared lot of details about these chairs in last week’s post here, as well as a tutorial on how to hang the chairs from the ceiling and a simple piece of hardware used to make installation easy.
Everyone asks, so I’ll go ahead and answer what you’re thinking: they are actually comfortable! As in actually comfortable for adults! But even more than that, they are fun to sit in.
Each chair holds up to 300lbs, and the hanging hardware holds much more so I don’t worry about them. These hanging chairs are the BEST for kids spaces! They add such personality to a room!
Bonus Room Tips:
- Decide what you are using the bonus room for and commit fully to that idea. I would draw the line at two uses per room to keep the room from feeling cluttered. If you’re trying to pull off a gym/playroom/office/guest room out of your one bonus room, there are going to be major sacrifices that will keep the room from ever working to its’ fullest potential.
- If your bonus room is pulling double duty, designate spaces with clear boundaries unless there are multiple uses for a spot (ie – a desk that is also a craft space)
- Don’t be afraid that color will keep the room from looking classic! I keep my home’s main living areas full of blues, whites, and neutrals- but color in kids’ spaces make them come alive.
- What are the major design elements you are looking for in your bonus room? Going in with this idea keep you on track. The major elements we wanted in here were blues, whites and rattan mixed with playful art, and a large coffee table to center the bonus room!
Ultimately, I was able to keep our playroom decor kid-friendly, but more enjoyable for us adults! If you have a bonus room, I hope this gave you some ideas!
Shop The Room Here:
We have a lot of Serena & Lily items we love throughout our home because they work so well for us. We use their storage baskets in our mudroom, our blue and white kitchen showcases their indestructible chairs and barstools, and their unique coffee table in our living room can actually get wet and withstand water rings!
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What Pillows To Use On a Grey Sofa
What color did you paint this room?
Sherwin Williams Extra White