Little Man's Playroom Reveal!

***THE WORKBENCH IS COMPLETED!!!  CHECK OUT THE FINAL REVIEW HERE!!***

Did you see my silly attempt to take over little man's work space in his playroom?  We originally had a home office planned for that room, but The Mr. thought it would be a better use of space as a playroom instead.  I totally agreed and went with it, and had lots of fun designing it.  Here's my design board for this playroom (source list at bottom):

Bit by bit, we had added pieces to the playroom to achieve the design I had in mind.  I've shared on Instagram the gallery wall that the Mr. so painstakingly put up.  When I posted the photo, what I had planned under the frames has not been built.  

Much like any other rooms in our house, little man's playroom is still a work in progress.  But The Mr. has made some major improvements a little while ago that has made this playroom a little more enjoyable for little man.  

Toys have been scattered on the floor of the playroom, and it was just driving me nuts.  Not that I'm a particular person, but the playroom isn't large in the first place!  With toys on the floor, we can hardly walk in.  Not to mention the hazards of stepping on his Lego pieces.

Naturally, toy storage became a priority after The Mr. has completed our DIY closet/ dressing room.  The Mr. took a short break after finishing our closet and quickly whipped up a storage unit/ work bench for the little man. 

This work bench is actually part of a storage unit that I designed, and the Mr. still needs to find time to complete it.  Until then, little man has been quite happy to have a building bench to build and display his Lego collections.  That pouf is actually at a perfect height for him to sit at the bench!

I wanted to draw attention to the height of this room, and the best way is with a gallery wall.  I've previously talked about how I approached the designing of a gallery wall here.  Taking those essential elements into consideration, I came up with this simple design.  I didn't want to hang too many items in a tiny room, but just enough to create a visual interest.  

I found all of the art prints' jpeg and pdf files on Etsy for several dollars, and sent them to print at a local print shop on light card stock.  I don't see a point in spending too much on gallery wall prints, as I expect little man to change his preference of characters quite often.  Kids...!!

I chose these IKEA frames for a monochromatic look and also for their acrylic fronts.  I can't risk to have shattered glass in the playroom, you know, in case a toy bullet/ missile hits its target!

We got this railway ticket print during our Disney World vacation several years ago, and never hung it up.  What's a better place than the playroom for it!  The giraffe taxidermy and the marquee letter add a touch of whimsy to this gallery wall.

Knowing there can never be enough storage in the playroom, I included this acrylic box shelf from CB2 as part of the gallery wall.  It's something unexpected and yet so useful for his smaller collections.  I had it installed at a height where little man can change out his display as frequent as his highness wishes. 

I ended up not going with the open geometric light fixture from RH Baby & Child.  But I think this light from Structube is more suitable and even more fun!  It goes quite well with this modern industrial playroom, and can't beat the price since it was on sale!

On the right side of the wall, there's a set of corner windows that we had previously left uncovered.  To give little man some privacy while he's working at the desk, I made some tissue garland to also add some accent colors to this set of additional windows.

The most recent additions to the playroom were the chalkboard art and the display frame on the right wall of the room.

I designed the chalk board art several years ago and printed it as a poster, which was wrinkled during our move.  I guess something's just not meant to be!  Well, it turned out this custom printed canvas in matte finish gave me the exact look I was hoping for!!!  It's from Canvas N' Decor and I couldn't be more happy with the quality!!  It looks just like a chalkboard until you walk up close to it!

*** I've partnered with Canvas N' Decor for a lucky winner to win a canvas of your choice!  See details on bottom of this post!

The art display frame was something I had always wanted to DIY but never had time for.  I finally had the chance to get around to it, and it was such an easy project!  I'll post the tutorial soon!

The fun part in designing this playroom was to incorporate this modern/ industrial style that's totally different from the rest of the house.  I love a fun casual space for a kid to just be a kid.  In this space, he basically has no restrictions and is free to dream up any creations, be it with buildings blocks or on paper.  

So, are those all the toys in the playroom?  NO.  Is the playroom done?  NO.  Because...  we still need to make the storage units for these:

Once the storage is built, then these toys will be inside...  and out of sight!  ...  and I'll provide an update when that's done!

Be sure to check in again for the DIY art display frame tutorial!  Better yet, just subscribe to the newsletter!

Canvas giveaway details:

I've teamed up with Canvas N' Decor to give one lucky winner a free canvas art print of your choice. (A wide range of sizes will be available to choose from.)
It's very simple to enter:
1. Follow me @classyglamliving and @canvasndecor on Instagram
2. In the comment section of this photo, tag one friend (or as many as you like)

Each name you enter gives yourself an entry into this contest.
You have until Friday, August 19th @ 9pm to post. The 2 winners will be announced on Sunday August 21st. 

Contest is open to USA and Canada residents (where UPS ground service is available).
Contest is not affiliated with Instagram in anyway.

Source List:

• Wall paint: Benjamin Moore Gray Owl @ 50% tint

• Stain on DIY work bench: Minwax Classic Gray

• Gallery wall frames: IKEA

• Gallery wall art prints: Etsy

• Giraffe taxidermy: Zulily

• Marquee letter: Joss & Main

• Acrylic frame shelf: CB2

• Pouf: Homesense

• Union Jack Rug: Lowes

• Ceiling light fixture: Structube

• Campaign desk: Target Threshold

• Acrylic ghost chair: Structube

• Desk lamp: IKEA

• Chalk board art canvas: Canvas n Decor

• Frame for art display: IKEA

DIY Custom Closet Dressing Room + Video

Sometimes a DIY project can be so huge that it consumes much of your "me" time and every ounce of patience.  Even the best of DIY'er, no matter how much s/he enjoys the project, would want to get it done and move on to the next project.  I can see a bunch of you DIY'ers nodding your head in agreement.  I feel for you, and the Mr. can relate.  

Our DIY closet/ dressing room was one such monstrous build.  The Mr. worked on our closet tirelessly, after work and on weekends.  In between the miscellaneous projects I threw at him (my bad) and other commitments, (did I mention he was also the coach of our son's hockey team?), he managed to stay afloat.  Although it took longer than he expected, the build is now complete, AND the chandelier installed.  WOO-HOO!

To mark this special occasion, we've put together a video that documents the blood and sweat that went into the building of this closet.  It's funny how this closet required so much detailed planning, that the Mr. was amazed he had done it all while watching the video.  

How we turned a HIS and HER closet space to one beautiful custom closet / dressing room. For details on the cabinet doors installation, check out our video tutorial: https://youtu.be/TSiq34SMtJA. Our blog www.classyglamliving.com has more DIY, design and decor ideas. Go check it out!

(Please scroll to the bottom of this post for a source guide.)

After he came back from his much-deserved amazing guys' trip last month, I again had a bunch of "stuff" lined up for him. Putting up this chandelier was one of them.  It's the cherry on top; what the closet/ dressing room needed to feel complete.  The sparkles from the chandelier compliment the sparkly glass pulls on the doors, and bring out the gold tone in the drawer hardware.

If you've only started to follow our blog, allow me to backtrack a bit.  This closet came to be when we made a request to the builder of this new house to delete the wall that separates the "his and her" closets, so that we can create this dressing room.

The closet's design went through several iterations and changes, and we ultimately ended with our current design.  We were very into the boutique style closet for a long time, and even researched the DIY possibilities.  However, we leaned towards a closet of closed storage, so that I can hide my mess!  

So we blended these two sources of closet inspiration:

Image via Atlanta Homes

... any Sex and the City fan would recognize Carrie Bradshaw's dreamy dressing room from the movie:

Image via Marks & Frantz, set designer

... and we created our own version:

Now, this is a dressing room fit for a princess; one who demands that there's a spot for all her specific storage needs.  (Did I just describe myself?  ;-P )

While making the DIY start-to-finish video above, I witnessed once again the Mr.'s persistence to complete this project.  I never doubted his ability to build this closet, and like I mentioned in the previous update, the closet turned out to be even more beautiful and elegant than I had imagined.  I hope he knows that I am immensely proud of this monstrous undertaking.

Well, that's precisely one of the reasons why I started this blog, so that I would be reminded again and again of the Mr.'s dedication to making our house a beautiful home.  For this home, this custom closet/ dressing room is the first step to making this home a classy and glamorous one.

Understandably, building from scratch isn't for the faint of heart. But we've also done an easier dressing room in our previous home with IKEA PAX wardrobes. All you need are some mouldings. Check it out here! 

(Scroll down for source guide)

We hope we haven't kept you waiting for too long for this final reveal of our DIY custom closet/ dressing room!  Here are the previous updates of this DIY project:

Update #1

Update #2

Update #3

Update #4 - lots of detailed shots in this post

Source Guide

• The closet frames and drawers were constructed from maple wood for sturdiness.

• Paint color - Benjamin Moore's Sidewalk Gray @ 50% tint

• Hardware - Glass door pulls from House of Antique Hardware; vanity glass knobs from Lee Valley Tools; brass drawer pulls from Gingers Bath.

• Marble adhesive - Amazon (affiliated link)

• Acrylic mirrors - Plas-Tech Inc.

Mirrors - The Luxe Factor in a Kitchen

SEE OUR MOST RECENT KITCHEN UPDATE!

Mirrors, mirrors, and more mirrors!  Seems like these recent blog updates are all about mirror installations.  Can't help it, they're the easiest way to give the illusion of added square footage and improve brightness in a small space.  

Installing the mirrors at the back of the kitchen glass cabinets was one of our to-do items on the list, found here.  When we placed the order of acrylic mirrors for our DIY closet doors, we also included an order for the kitchen glass cabinets.  We could've gone to our local home improvement store for a sheet of acrylic mirror and cut them to size ourselves, but we figured we would let the professionals at the plastic company handle the custom-sized cuts.   The cost difference in terms of time and effort would work out to be the same.

The Mr. handled the easy installation process, which was the same as for the DIY closet doors. He test fitted the mirror against the cabinet's back before the installation.  He used the thinnest double sided tape to avoid the wavy reflections.  See?  Doesn't get any easier than double sided tape!

Here's a glance at the quick process:

The "before" shot, taken after we changed out the builder's knobs and pulls.

And this is the "after" of the mirror backs installation:  (The above photo was taken on a gloomy day.  This one below was taken on a sunny day...  what a huge difference especially with the mirrors!)

The mirrors add brightness to the otherwise dull cabinet backs.  Not only did the mirrors multiply the brightness and give an illusion of depth, but they seem to have doubled our inventory of stemware as well!

Here's the view of the kitchen from the dining room.  The mirrors are reflecting the light from the patio doors and large windows from this space.

The brightest time of the day in the kitchen is a bit past noon.  On a bright sunny day like when this set of photos was taken, I usually don't bother switching on the lights in the kitchen.  With the lights on, the mirrors catch and reflect the light right back.

The simple addition of the mirrors livens up the little cabinet space, while making the kitchen more welcoming. Now that I'm spending more time at home, nothing makes me happier and more relaxed than a clean and bright kitchen. 

The designs we've integrated into this builder's kitchen allowed for ample counter space, which was a priority for this utilitarian kitchen.  We've added our personal touches to make it more luxe and less utilitarian.  

The kitchen is very close to completion.  It's got most of the large items down, and it looks and functions amazing as is.  Here is a list of what's left to tackle:

• Install mirror backsplash

• Build more drawers in lower cabinets

• Install glass shelves for the glass cabinets

• Install LED rope lighting for under the upper cabinet

• Install valence

• and I forgot to mention to the Mr. that I want the builder's dinky trim at the bulkhead replaced with a thicker one ;-)

To see how this kitchen design came about, check out our previous posts:

• NEW HOUSE - RANGE HOOD AND MINIMALIST KITCHEN DESIGN

• OUR MARBLE ALTERNATIVE KITCHEN COUNTERTOP REVEALED!

• NEW KITCHEN UPDATE - INTEGRATED HOOD + UPPER CABINETS

• GIVING A BUILDER'S KITCHEN A PERSONAL TOUCH - CABINET HARDWARE