spaces for channing

before i had channing, and while i was pregnant, i was adamant about not allowing our house to look like had been taken over by kiddo stuff.  well, as most of you moms know, that was a pretty naive thought.  we sure have accumulated a lot of toys and books...and i love that she can feel free to be in all parts of our house and not be restricted to certain areas.  our house is also pretty contemporary and full of color so her colorful toys fit in and add some fun to the spaces they are in.  but, i also maintain the idea that every room shouldn't be completely overrun by her things... there needs to be some order and a way for her to learn where things belong and how to put her toys away after hurricane channing has hit during a day of playing.  we put everything away every night before bed and she's become a great helper!  i've found it really fun to find ways to carve out special spaces for her and her things, without spending a lot of money or having to renovate any areas in our house (even though i have some ideas for a few changes that might occur as she gets a little older!)

we have an oddly design space, behind the fireplace, in our living room.  this is also where our coat closet was located.  instead of keep both spaces empty and unused, we decided to take the closet doors off and turn the whole little area in to the bird's main space for her toys.  she has metal book ledges (from westelm.com), toy storage bins (from target) lots of space to house her "stuff".  she loves playing back there and it keeps our living cleaner.  once she's done playing, everything can be put away back there and it can barely be seen from the living.  it's a nice tucked away are.  eventually, i plan on painting the back wall of the fireplace with a magnetic paint.  i'll keep you posted on that little to-do item.

our teeny-tiny deck has been our favorite hang out this summer.  it isn't even big enough for  a small bistro table and chairs so we weren't using it at all.  the flooring is a metal grate so i covered it with an outdoor rug (from world market) to protect the bird's toes (and add some fun color), strapped a beach umbrella to the railing (from world market), laid out some outdoor pillow and added the bird's water table (amazon.com).  she loves it out here and we spend the better part of our days in this little space.

i keep our favorite wood toys and books out (these are on the shelves of our kitchen island) to add fun color and form around the house.

we have a family room on our third level, this is also where our bedroom and channing's bedroom are located.  right outside of her room, i've set up a table and chairs (westelm.com) and more of the metal book ledges (westelm.com).  the chairs are currently being used to create a fort (see the photo below) that she and luc have been spending lots of time in.  eventually, i plan on using this area for schooling and learning.

our family is currently being taken over by some pretty fun fort building...and i don't mind one bit!