As much as we love getting out to play, sometimes play at home is just as necessary! It helps to create a space that fosters independent play, is visually appealing to both adults and children and is easy to clean! Here are some ways to do just that!
The Toys
The dress up crown pictured below was handmade by a mother in the Rochester area! We love the handmade toys and dress up items from Bubbaloo Handmade.
Our other highly played with (and gifted) toys/accessories are:
- Hot wheels Tracks
- Legos and Duplos
- Dress up clothes
- Areaware Cubebots
- We do love the nugget now that we have space for it!
- Mural by the Studios of Stacey Kirby to create a warm and welcoming environment (more on that to come!)
- Wooden train tracks
- Toy Kitchen
- Baby dolls
You can find an Amazon list of some suggested toys HERE.
And if local to Rochester, don’t forget about the Toy Library to try before you buy!
Have other toys to add to the list? Let us know in the comments!
The Toy Storage
The way toys are stored can make or break the accessibility, efficiency and flow of the space.
Here are some tips we found useful regardless of play space size and location.
- Minimize! Less is more!
- We love focusing on toys that you can continuously add on to (kitchens, dolls, hot wheels, Legos, marble towers, etc). This way we can choose extensions for gifts rather than having to constantly create more space for new toys. These “extension toys” have their own bin or spot in the playroom.
- Think multifunctional furniture! (Our curtains double as a world map and the couch is a futon with storage drawers!)
- Search Dollar Tree during the back to school season for the ultimate Lego storage bins! (Having an “in progress” bin is key!)
The Mural
A playroom simply is not complete without fun additions to the wall. A quick google search will show you the importance of color and artwork immersed in a child’s environment. Stacey Kirby came to the rescue here and not only added color and art to our room, but even incorporated the children’s artwork!
The first image below are special drawings to us that I sent over to Stacey. The second image are those drawings painted by Stacey on our playroom wall. The “sheets of paper,” butterfly, tacks, tree frog and renditions of the children’s artwork were all skillfully created by Stacey in a trompe l’oeil painting.
The images truly look three dimensional as if they are stuck to the wall with tacks! But instead they are adhered and will last for years to come. Aside from recreating the children’s artwork, Stacey added her own details including the butterfly and tree frog which hold special meaning to our family.
Mural Installation
The process of the artwork installation was seamless. Stacey provided a listening ear and quality feedback to determine the right piece for our space. She sent sketches for approval and provided timely updates. When the time came, Stacey arrived at our home with the painting which she adhered to our wall and added more detail work on site. The on site process for this project was around just 1 hour. With this way of adhering the mural to the wall, the art can be removed if needed by applying hot water to the glue.
Other Works by Stacey Kirby
If you are looking to add a special touch to the nursery or spruce up a playroom, look no further than the Studios of Stacey Kirby. Stacey’s profile is expansive and her work is spreading throughout Rochester and beyond!
One of her favorite public murals can be found in the Hoag Library in Albion. It features Orleans County from the canal to the lake.
Down the road, on Main Street in Albion, is the Charles Howard Santa mural. This one (like the one at Hoag Library) was painted from drone photographs! It’s an accurate depiction of downtown Albion with lots of recognizable landmarks. But it’s a night time scene, of course.
The following links are all pins to other murals that the public can visit:
Three Phases of the Canal Henpeck Park, Greece, located under Elmgrove Rd bridge.
Clyde Hardware, Clyde, NY
Expanding the Canal in Brockport, DPW Building, Brockport
Welcome to Brockport, Railroad Bridge over Main Street, Brockport
A Day on the Erie Canal, Liftbridge Bookshop, Brockport, NY (I repainted the old mural this past year)
Here’s a mapped out route with most of Stacey’s public murals.
Of course, you can also visit her website for more and to get in touch!
