When it comes to Children’s Playrooms, this one is about as colorful as it gets. It’s actually in a non-profit center for children in need. A friend of mine who was volunteering there a few years back, asked if I’d be willing to lend a hand giving this room a fresh coat of paint. When I walked in, the walls were white, and I looked down at the carpet and thought, ‘Yep, this room needs an update!’ It was then that I was told the carpet had just been donated, and it wasn’t going anywhere. Yikes! So what do you do when you have bright blue carpet, that mixes multi-colored farm and exotic animals together!? The only thing that came to mind for me was….If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em!
Unfortunately, I don’t have “Before” photos of this playroom, but I did manage to take a photo of the carpet up close. Can you understand my dilemma?
Keeping in mind that the Center is in use 24/7 and we didn’t have lots of time or money for this makeover, I decided to keep the closet shelves and built-ins in a crisp white, while infusing three other colors in the room that would tie in to the carpet: a deep blue, a classic red, and a butter yellow.
I first split the room horizontally putting the darker blue on the bottom, and the yellow up high. I figured this way I could paint a few accent animals up top and even throw in a few mismatched polk-a-dots that would all match the carpet. The red was used only in the back wall of the shelving. This is actually a great way to infuse color in a room and give the shelving some depth. It allows whatever is on the shelf to stand out.
I remember this day so vividly. I was quickly painting sheep..and alligators..and bears..OH MY! There was practically smoke coming off my paint brushes! And my friend was covered in paint as she helped brush on the red in the back of the shelving. All the while, she was on her cell phone calling around looking for an inexpensive chair and end table. She found the perfect rattan set on Craigslist, then ran and picked up a red valance and coordinating pillow to tie it all together. It was a whirlwind makeover, that in the end cost us only a few dollars and a little of our time.
When I look back on this Children’s Playroom, I know it’s not the best work I’ve ever done, but because it was for a worthy cause, I sure am proud of it just the same. That’s what happens when you use the gifts God gives you to bless someone else. And that’s as good as it gets for me.
It turned out great!