'Cool vibes' - a versatile space for kids & guests

This sophisticated kids' playroom also doubles as a guest room, making it perfect for young and old alike.

 Art direction + Styling: Vanessa Nouwens

Photography: Wendy Fenwick

Playing is essential for a child’s healthy brain development, and it’s a bonus if they have a dedicated space where imaginations can run totally free. Creating a play room to store toys, crafts and all the other treasures that your little ones collect is great if your home allows. And when it gets messy you can simply close the door and forget it exists. 

Hudson Kids Round Table painted in Resene Parchment, $89.99 and Kids Stools – Set of 2 painted in Resene Cabbage Point, $69.99, both from mocka.co.nz. Rattan cabinet painted in Resene Cabbage Point with Resene Aquaclear on the Rattan. Storage box on rattan cabinet, pencil holder and round wall hook all painted in Resene Sunrise. 'Be Kind' artwork frame painted in Resene Green Spring, cardboard letters in Resene Cabbage Point Cool, resene.co.nz/colorshops. 9 Piece Felt Vegetables Set (in cotton bag), $12, kmart.co.nz; Q Toys Leaf Puzzle (on table), $59, and Tender Leaf Counting Carrots Toy (on rattan cabinet), $54, both from littlewhimsy.co.nz. Coloured pencils and faux plants, stylist own. 

For many families, the extra room can work double duty as a guest room (with a sofa bed) when visitors come to stay, or maybe even an office space. With this in mind, picking the right colour for a dual-purpose space is important. In this playroom we have chosen Resene Paddock with Resene Parchment on the floors. The painted striped feature wall with 20 cm stripes in Resene Paddock and Resene Parchment adds some fun without overpowering the room. We’ve been careful not to make this space too childlike, so that adults will enjoy using it also.

Storage is key in any space but probably more so with a playroom. If you like to hide the toys away on occasion, then having a cabinet where items can be packed away out of sight is key (especially when the space doubles as a guest room). We have used a rattan cabinet for storage in our space and painted it in Resene Cabbage Point. To keep your rattan dust-free consider giving it a coat of Resene Aquaclear as this will make cleaning the cabinet easier. If your room is a dedicated playroom space, a large cube unit or bookshelf with baskets for toys is always a great choice. The crate display on the wall is another great storage solution that uses the vertical space in the room. The crates not only can hold loved treasures, toys, and books but are also a great option for displaying decorative elements such as potted plants too.

Background in Resene Paddock and Resene Quarter Parchment. Plant pot in Resene Sunrise. Round wall hook in Resene Sunrise. Stacked Rainbow toy in Resene Cabbage Point, Resene Paddock, Resene Quarter Parchment, Resene Green Spring & Resene Sunrise. Toy stacker in Resene Cabbage Point, Resene Paddock, Resene Sunrise and Resene Green. Spring drawcards in Resene Sunrise, Resene Paddock, Resene Cabbage Point, Resene Green Spring, Resene Parchment, Resene Quarter Parchment, resene.co.nz/colorshops. Sabo Vegetable Salad Set, $86, littlewhimsy.co.nz. Vegetable print stylist’s own. 

Kids often play on the floor so if you have wooden or painted floors then make sure you have a nice big rug for activities. Having a kids' table and chairs or stools is another good idea for doing arts and crafts and puzzles on. The sofa in this space is a pull out sofa bed from Nood and is great for a dual space like a guest room or second lounge/TV room. Artwork can be pricey for your kids room, especially if you want a few pieces, so why not save some money and create your own? Not only can you get your little ones involved, you can personalise to suit your space and room theme. Resene testpots are great for small projects like this and one little tub of paint goes a long way.

 Charlotte Wool braided rug in natural marle, $599, mocka.co.nz; Sabo Vegetable Salad Set, $86, littlewhimsy.co.nz.

BE KIND ARTWORK

We took an old picture frame and gave it a coat of Resene Quick Dry primer. We then applied two coats of Resene Green Spring in Lystacryl to the frame. To create the letters we painted a piece of A4 cardboard in Resene Cabbage Point. We then drew the letters ‘BE KIND’ onto the painted card, cut it out with scissors and glued the letters to the backing card in the frame.

COOL VIBES ARTWORK

We took a round wooden hanging art board from Kmart and painted it Resene Parchment. We then took some craft wooden letters from Look Sharp and painted those in Resene Cabbage Point and glued them to the board. This project is inexpensive, quick to make and can be personalised.

DISPLAY BOARD

To create this simple display board you will need an art canvas (any size that suits your space), some string, wooden pegs and a staple gun. Firstly, paint your art canvas (ours was painted in Resene Cabbage Point), then staple gun some string or twine to your board securing at the back, clip on some wooden pegs and hang your child’s masterpieces – art prints, colouring, photos and certificates.

Top image: Back and side wall in Resene Paddock. Flooring in Resene Parchment. Striped wall in Resene Paddock with Quarter Parchment Stripes. Large round coffee table in Resene Cabbage Point and small round coffee table in Resene Green spring. Crates on wall in Resene Parchment and Quarter Parchment. Stacked Rainbow toy in Resene Cabbage Point, Resene Paddock, Resene Quarter Parchment, Resene Green Spring & Resene Sunrise. Toy stacker in Resene Cabbage Point, Resene Paddock, Resene Sunrise and Resene Green, resene.co.nz/colorshops. Benji Sofa bed in natural, $3999, and Florie Ottoman in olive green, $319, both from nood.co.nz; Cushion covers on sofa, $7.99 – $34.99, hm.com; Charlotte Braided Wool Rug in nautral marle, $599.99, mocka.co.nz; 30 Piece Wooden Market Stall, $79, and Vegetables Cutting Set, $12, kmart.co.nz; Wooden Pull Along Toy: Mr Crocodile, $24.50, Liewood Selma Wooden Phone in faun green, $82, Books (on large coffee table): Kind Crocodile, $19.99, and That’s My Carrot!, $38, Meri Meri Triceratops Small Toy (in crate on wall), $119, and Grimms stacking house in natural (in crate on wall), $69, all from littlewhimsy.co.nz. Crocodile soft toy, faux plants, and other books, all stylist's own.