How I Would Use That Space: The Penrose Living Room Turned Play Room

We are asked frequently, “how would you use this space?” Most people struggle with deciding how to use the rooms in their new home. While most rooms are obvious (hello Kitchen!), some buyers are looking for a little flexibility and creativity in determining how the space will work for them. I’ve decided to start a series of blog posts called, How Would I Use That Space?

I first talked about how I’d use the Flex Space in our Langley Model and the next post talked about I used the “Living Room” space in my own home. Today, I’ve asked Sarah to tell you about how she used the “Living Room” in her home. I think you’re going to love what she did with the space!

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I’ve never been one for formality. I didn’t register for china when I got married. I hate dressing up. And, much to my husband’s chagrin, I have no problem ordering pizza and serving guests off of Chinet.

So when our new NDI house came with a Living Room, I thought, what will I do with that room?! With three young children and a dog, we don’t do much (or any!) formal living. I don’t have any fancy furniture, and I didn’t want to get any. Did anyone grow up in a house with a “fancy room?” That’s what we called my Grandma’s formal Living Room. The “fancy room.” And we weren’t allowed in.

I wanted every room in our home to be functional, and I didn’t want any “fancy rooms” that I had to keep the kids and dog out of. During one of our walks with NDI, I kept going back to our Living Room and thinking, what am I going to do in here? I noticed it was a good-sized room and had nice natural light. I started imagining it as Play Room (a.k.a. a place to stash toys).

But then I wasn’t sure. I wasn’t always going to have young kids. And what about re-sale?

When I expressed my quandary to Jen, she suggested we put on French Doors. The doors added a touch of elegance and sophistication; maybe one day we’d use this room as some sort of more formal living area (or it could even be a nice office!). And the doors gave us the option to close the toys (and kids!) in or keep the dog out.

So that’s exactly what we did. We turned it into a cute and functional Play Room that can grow with our family. We purchased a long desk from IKEA with a matching set of drawers. I keep arts and crafts supplies and homework supplies like pens and pencils in those drawers. I use the bulletin board to display school art work. And that cube houses small toys like cars, musical instruments, and stacking toys.

Now, I can’t say my kids play nicely in there all the time. But they do some of the time. And, most importantly, it keeps the toys and artwork out of the main living space. I might not be a fancy person. But I am decidedly a clutter-hating person.

Dream Big. Build Smart.