And create a fun, functional, and beautiful space to capture life’s most precious moments

When Olivia was born, I was one of those super enthusiastic mamas who couldn’t make a short diaper run to Target without bringing home a cart full of over-priced, neon-colored, battery-operated plastic toys. I mean, I wanted my little girl to have all sorts of things to stimulate her senses, stoke her curiosity, and just plain entertain her. I wasn’t wrong for feeling that way, but I quickly learned that my enthusiasm had gotten the best of me. It wasn’t long before Jacob and I were left feeling like we’d taken up residence in a music-blaring, lights flashing, obnoxious plastic jungle! Seriously, I think I may have thrown a few of those toys across the room more than once, just to get them to shut the heck up (not one of my finest moments).

Then it occurred to me … I spend a lot of time and energy trying to simplify our life in other areas … our home, our food, my style choices, etc.  Why the heck wasn’t I taking the same approach with Olivia? As I said above, I was just excited … I was a new mom … those of you who are already mothers totally get it, right? But, then the novelty wore off, and I looked around and realized, I wasn’t only setting a bad example for Olivia, I was turning our entire living environment into a brightly colored carnival.  And so began the purging process.

I took a quick survey of all the toys and anything that Olivia didn’t love (and play with daily) was donated or sent to the trash heap. The same went for Olivia’s clothes (yes, I had a little too much fun in that area too). Next, I started thinking about the types of toys that would be most beneficial to Olivia, and the ones that would blend seamlessly into our lives. I replaced plastic with hand-carved wood, bright neons with pastels and softly muted colors. I also tried to find unique, non-commercial brands, that create high-quality, toys that are not only functional, but beautiful. I have no problem having these types of toys on display in our home … in fact, they make darn cute décor!

And now, I can proudly say, when Emme arrived, I didn’t make the same mistake twice. We have a pretty, organized little play area, with a vintage kitchen, pots & pans, engraved wooden blocks, wooden rattles, beautifully illustrated books and puzzles. It’s truly Pinterest-worthy, and that’s no easy feat!

Now, just to be clear … our play area is by no means perfect, there are still some holdover toys that Olivia just loved too much for me to let go, and Emme was all too happy to inherit.  We also routinely receive our share of gifts from family (and, shockingly, they don’t always adhere to my aesthetic!). These toys have their place, nicely stored away in our clean, neutral toy chest. When the girls want to play with them, they’re there … and then they easily find their way back to the toy chest, unseen. I’ve never been more at peace with an area of the house that by all accounts should drive me mad … but a little planning and some strategic choices made all the difference.

So, are you overwhelmed with your child’s play area? Are you an expectant mama who wants to have a fun, welcoming play area but aren’t sure how to go about it without going overboard? Well, here’s a few tips.

First, for those of you currently overwhelmed by a plastic jungle … do the purge. Use the same standard I set out above for my own purging process … does your child love it, or play with it almost daily? If not, donate it, or toss it (if it’s unusable or missing key components).

Once you’ve cleared out the toys you don’t want, or if you’re a new mama starting from scratch … think about what color scheme you want for your play area, and what’s your style? Choose a mix of soft elements (stuffed animals, blankets, pillows) and functional, learning elements (puzzles, blocks, games, etc.). Once you have a list of items you’d like, take the time to peruse Instagram and fall in love with some small shop brands … you need to get comfortable looking outside the four walls of Target.

Not all commercial brands are off the table – Uncle Goose and Melissa & Doug make some nice, high quality stuff. In fact, Olivia’s Uncle Goose wooden blocks may be one of her favorite things. They come in all sorts of combinations … ABCs, numbers, animals, foods, foreign languages, history/geography, etc., and they’re solid wood with intricate carving.

Some of my favorite small shop brands can be found at the following Instagram handles: @scandiborn, @liewood_design, @appleparkkids, @cuddleandkind, @fawndesign (they make mini bags too!), @thelittledesignco (Olivia adores her tiny traveler backpack from this brand), @adelisaandco, @melissaanddoug, @unclegoose, @littlesaplingtoys, @olliella

And one final point to consider when designing your child’s play area and toy inventory … when your child’s play area is beautiful, the moments you capture on film or video will be that much more so. Now, I’m a blogger … I’m always on the lookout for inspiring, aesthetically pleasing moments for my Instagram and blog audience, so I probably think about visual appearance more so than other mamas. However, I can’t tell you how many gorgeous images of my girls that I’ve captured for Instagram or the blog that end up on the wall in our home, and that document moments I’ll cherish forever. These moments are much easier to come by when your child’s play environment matches your style and design aesthetic. While it’s true there are countless photo editing apps that allow you to remove objects or crop them out, this can be onerous, and oftentimes, particularly if you have bulky, brightly colored toys everywhere, it just isn’t possible. Creating a beautiful space for your children to play creates more opportunity to capture these precious moments, clutter free!

Enjoy building this space mama, it’ll be one of your littles’ favorite places to be … and if they love it, you’ll love it too.