Calvin's Playroom Reveal

This project has been a dream come true.  Our house has a loft space upstairs that we had previously used as a catch-all for everything we didn't have space for in our downstairs living room.  After Calvin was born, we starting spending time up there in the mornings (it's right outside his room), and he just loved it.  At the beginning of the pandemic, I started taking screenshots of spaces I loved and collecting art/items for what I deemed my "functional gallery wall."

I've always loved keeping Calvin's toys organized (here's my post from his first year of toys and organization), but this is was needed quickly as he got bigger and his toys got bigger.  Below are a whole bunch of photos and at the bottom of this post, I've linked everything I can think of from each little space.  If I missed something and you want a link (nothing is affiliate or sponsored - just want to share what I love) - just email or leave a comment!

Here's the BEFORE:

And the AFTER:

One of my favorite spaces is this little book nook area.  I love switching out the bookshelves in Calvin's room every month, and now I have another space to share seasonal favorites.  Plus, a festive felt ball garland is now my monthly go-to.

Looking back to the other side of the room, you can see the "functional gallery wall" on the left and my absolutely NOT Montessori-style toy storage.  While it's not perfect, everything has a space (so I can clean up in 5 minutes or less), it allows Calvin to make his own choices about what to play with, and it's off in the corner, so he grabs what he wants and comes back to the middle of the room to play.  You'll also see the door to our upstairs porch next to the organization, and Calvin loves playing out there with his toys (and looking at the garbage trucks and buses in the mornings).

And lastly, a close-up look of that gallery wall.  I'm still looking to add more to it, but for now, it's perfect.  I'm so happy with how much Calvin loves his dollhouse, and even though I haven't found any dolls for him yet (IKEA only sells the furniture for it haha), he LOVES putting his lovey sloth to bed in the little bed and play with him in there.  It has given him so many ideas for pretend, open-ended play.

Here are all the product links (mostly from Amazon, Target, and IKEA):

Gallery wall:

Dinosaur letterboard ||| Clothespin photo frame ||| Dollhouse ||| Dollhouse furniture ||| Rainbow yarn & wood sign ||| Custom woven wall hanging ||| Clock ||| Basketball hoop ||| Calvin map made by a neighbor

Nugget in Atlantis

Fire truck pillow

Pom pom pillow from Target dollar section

Train table hand-me-down from a neighbor (similar)

Calvin bench

Book nook:

Bookshelves (are spice racks!) ||| Floating circle shelves ||| Rainbow inauguration print ||| Set of 3 mini photo frames ||| Pom pom garland ||| Stuffed animal storage bean bag - yes, that striped thing is filled with stuffies!

Toy organization: 

Large circle shelving ||| Toy organizer