Homefront: Making a Preschool Playroom for the Boys

I talked about kids room inspirations yesterday, so today, let me introduce you to what I am working with. I thought it best to have my blogging/computer station in the midst of the room, so that is where everything is centered around.

These are my cheap finds: $100~ish Craigslist hutch, two Walmart $25 bookcases, $10 garage sale chair, $10 garage sale student desk, $5 garage sale bookcase (we painted ivory), and a $5 goodwill toy chest. These black bookcases  are already scratched up and marred as soon as we got them out of the box, but I figured, they would be marked up quickly here anyways, and since they are black, nothing tragic should happen that a sharpie couldn't color over.

I was going to paint this hutch a shabby grayish white before I did the whole black bookcase flanking thing, so now I am thinking, paint it black to look like a wall unit. Or I could leave it natural... what would you do?

I still have some bulletin boards and artwork to set up on this big empty wall, maybe some pegs for superhero capes and such underneath those and then the train table to set up again. I'm still trying to decide about a playmat or area rug, for this large space that will be easy on the boys to play and learn.

Caleb even found the reading corner and got right at home fairly quickly.

This little den area meets with the breakfast nook and kitchen in an interesting way... like a triangle of roominess. That doorway leads to the 'formal dining room' that we won't use and the living room. Across from the dining table is the laundry room and hallway to the front door.

 An old Kick-n-vent vintage hood... anyone know anything about these? This home was built in the 60's

 More about that dresser piece, kitchen and table here... I hope you like our pipe cleaner fan extension pulls! Just one more thing on the to do list, get fan pulls. *post included in Censational Girl's Where Do You Blog Party.