Playroom Color Palette

My current palette was a butter cream ~ very pale pale yellow/cream with pine furniture accents and red / navy decor accents .... which I loved however we are renovating the playroom and putting in a new floor which is much lighter now and well it just seems very 'washed out' down there as the renovations are coming along ~ since we have had to tear down all the walls to properly insulate the playroom now I am thinking of changing the palette up a bit ~ cause well I have lived with this one for 5 years day in and day out ;)

Here is the new flooring ~ this is not MINE but the sample cause it is a mess down there still for photos ;)

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n...wake/Floor.jpg

This is our fireplace coloring .... it is hiding behind all the book nook pillows so the kids do not bang on the stone ....

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n.../Sept13026.jpg

I am thinking of the Harbor Mist from this paint chip on the walls in place of the butter cream currently on there ...

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n...aintpalete.jpg

It should look something like this on the walls ...

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n...wake/Walls.jpg

We are thinking of replacing the current pine storage shelves with new storage for the toys from IKEA which would run along the one long wall by the fireplace and staircase wall in an L shape to give me lots of storage ~ I can put the baskets in to 'hide' the toys in still which will be awesome ~ plus I can buy the 'door' inserts to close stuff I do not want them having free access to which would be nice cause I can just tease them 'closed door means closed toys'.

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n...ke/shelves.jpg

So do you think that color scheme will make my space look 'smaller' cause it is already a small space down there about 10 feet x 22 feet so 'narrow' but long room ... I really love the look of blue with the darker brown but my space down there is 'small' and I just wanting others opinions of if the 'dark wood' of the shelving will make it 'shrink' down there?

The Expidt shelves also come in Birch and White ~ i do not care for the white product cause it 'gets dirty' quick but the Birch looks nice too just not as 'rich' as the dark?

Thanks for your feedback :)

I'm no interior decorator but I believe the lighter color makes the room look bigger so that blue will look really nice and I too like the darker shelves for exactly the same reason as you ... The richness!!! As you know I too have doors on my toy cupboards. I like being able to use that as toy rotation. So I think is you have light colors accents ... Pillows, throw rugs ect it won't make the room look too small. That's my nickel ; )

Reggio, I love your colour palette! The blue you have picked out is what I am planning on using for the main floor of my house when we repaint (whjch is soon, I hope). I don't think the shelving will make your room feel smaller, especially if you use lighter colour baskets. Good luck on the rest of your renos. Hopefully you will let us see the end product!

I love the palette and especially like the blue. Very fresh looking and it is a calm tranquil colour. I too have ikea book shelves with baskets. The kids learn very quickly what goes in each basket so I don't have to mark on the front. We too have a gas fire place downstairs. My husband built a plain plywood cover to put in front t:)o protect the kids and the fireplace. I had each of my kids over the years put their hand prints on it with their name and now it is our memory board and prospective clients love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Continued good luck with your reno

You guys are awesome! Really. I have been trying to work up the courage to learn how to paint a wall for 6 years.. I am still working on it!

I have a number of different sizes of the Ikea expedit shelves in the darker brown, and I love them! I have them in my scrapbooking retreat centre because they hold 12x12 albums and the baskets with 12x12 paper, and plan to use them in my daycare as well with the bins to hold toys. I'm going to have my hubby close in the back of one of them so I can use it to block access to the front stairs which cannot be gated. The bottom 3 stairs don't have a second wall beside them, hard to explain. So I need to put a piece of furniture in front.

Thanks ladies ~ I am so excited to get this finished it has been one nightmare after another with this basement reno so we are really behind schedule and now I am having to look for a professional to come in and help finish cause my spouse is burning out working 8 hours and coming home and working 5 hours on the basement for the past two weeks and well we take one step forward and two back!

Treeholm I hear ya on the scrapbooking storage ~ I am looking to upgrade mine to the Expidit shelves as well because you can see my craft area from the 'daycare space' and it is currently a Frankenstein room of mismatched storage ~ I want it to be 'pretty' too!

I love the idea of the plywood with the kids handprints to cover the fireplace...I've been struggling with my fireplace and how to protect it and the kids...hmmm...may have to get hubby on that ;)

Reggio, I love your colours...I love brown and blue together, so the brown floors with the blue walls should look great :)

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Originally Posted by mimi

I love the palette and especially like the blue. Very fresh looking and it is a calm tranquil colour. I too have ikea book shelves with baskets. The kids learn very quickly what goes in each basket so I don't have to mark on the front. We too have a gas fire place downstairs. My husband built a plain plywood cover to put in front t:)o protect the kids and the fireplace. I had each of my kids over the years put their hand prints on it with their name and now it is our memory board and prospective clients love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Continued good luck with your reno

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Originally Posted by treeholm

I have a number of different sizes of the Ikea expedit shelves in the darker brown, and I love them! I have them in my scrapbooking retreat centre because they hold 12x12 albums and the baskets with 12x12 paper.

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Oh so happy you posted this! I was searching for a storage solution for all of my Scrapbooking supplies (I'm new to it & have recently acquired a whole bunch of 'hand-me-downs").

Where are you located Dreamalittledream? I have a scrapbooking studio attached to my home, and I run weekend retreats for up to 8 women. Just in case you need a getaway. www.treeholmstudio.com
And yes, I've been scrapbooking and teaching scrapbooking for years, and haven't found anything better than expedit for storage.
Diane

The colour scheme looks great. I have those Ikea shelves and I love them however mine are the 4 X 4 in the birch colour for the playroom. I do have the dark brown colour elsewhere and I would recommend against it. Any damage that happens to the shelves (nicks, scrapes, bumps etc) shows up like crazy as it's particle board underneath that colour. The birch is the same colour almost as particle board so if any damage happens it is not nearly as noticeable.

That's a good point, Toregone. I did have a scratch on mine, but I have a brown copic (alcohol ink) marker that matched exactly, so I coloured it in. You would never know it was scratched. But you are right, it's particle board underneath, which is why I can afford them LOL

LOL! The reason I can afford them is it's particle board too! For a playroom I would so recommend against the dark colour. Kids beat stuff up no matter how well behaved they are. I would rather the same piece in a colur not likely to show just how beaten up it is. :)

Thanks Toregone ~ this is good to know ~ I have seen the wear and tear on the 'white' ... but the birch and black/brown just seemed 'better quality' ... my crew is pretty 'calm/gentle' but even then stuff happens for sure!

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Originally Posted by treeholm

.... I did have a scratch on mine, but I have a brown copic (alcohol ink) marker that matched exactly, so I coloured it in....

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LOL ~ which number so I can see if I have it ;)