Deb has the cheapest Decor on a Dime yet - designing a great playroom for some little boys.

(Looking for Chris' Cut Light? Click here!)

Dorin has two little boys and wanted a special space for them in the basement. I started off doing a little de-cluttering and getting rid of a few things that didn't work for the kid's area.

Chalkboard - do this on the wall if your kids are old enough to learn the difference between wall and chalkboard. You could also easily add a moulding/small trim around it to distinguish the space for your kids. But I liked it without the trim, because when the blackboard is clean, it actually is a decorative, dramatic, bold stripe on the wall. And keep it mind chalkboard paints comes in many colours these days, so you could really colour coordinate to the decor in your room. You can paint the chalkboard at any height on the wall, use painters masking tape to outline the area you want to make the chalkboard and paint away.

Painted tables - Dorin had two unpainted wooden tables. I cut down the legs to make them kid size and also painted them a colourful, bright, glossy red. These are now really functional for kids to use. They are great for working at the table, can fit lots of kids at around the table, can even be used for extra seating if you need a "kids dinner table" or a birthday party. Another good tip with this is to buy 4 new regular height table legs to go with the table top. As your kids grow older replace the shorter table legs with the regular height, or keep the lower tables as red coffee tables.

Then I added a $5.99 towel bar to one end of the table and put a roll of paper on it. The kids can pull out the paper as they need it for drawing, painting, colouring, eating etc. This is really great for arts and crafts and it also very functional.

I also made cute stools made from milk crates, all around the table and they are a good kid size seat. I also made them into storage units too and stuffed all the kid's toys into them. By adding a wooden top, a foam square and a fabric slipcover over top it is a great functional little seat and storage. Also really inexpensive and easy to make.

Then under the tables I wanted to put something down to protect the floors. I got thinking I really wanted to find something cheap, so you don't care if it gets ruined, large enough to cover a big area and I decided a drop cloth would be just the thing. At the hardware store you can get different drop cloths that are waterproof or not waterproof. The one I got for the floor is the waterproof one, so if kids are using it and paint or juice gets spilled, no worries. This one came in a 4'x 20' size, so I cut it in two to make an 8' x 10' area rug - I put it together with carpet tape down the middle seam. I added a fringe to the drop cloth, that gave it more of an "area rug" feel, the fringe was just .59/yard, so I needed a lot of it, but it still only cost me $11.80 for 20 yards of it (which covers 60 feet). I attached the fringe around the edges with a hot glue gun.

My last little creation was the tee pee, I have seen these around at kids specialty stores and they are expensive to buy. I decided to try and make one. I used a canvas drop cloth from the hardware store, which was $20 and bought 3 eight foot bamboo poles for $2.99 each. If you can't find the bamboo, you could also use any length of doweling from the hardware store. I tied the poles together with twine, put the fabric around it and tied that with twine around the top of the attached poles. I finished it off with the same fringe as the rug, which gave it a nice complete look.

Expenses:

Paint for chalk board $21.49
Paint for red tables $10.00

Fabric for stool slipcovers $29.97 (3 yds @ 9.99)
Foam for stools $22.58
Wood for tops of stools $13.48
milkcrates x 6 Free

Drop cloth for "rug" $19.98
Fringe for rug and tee pee $11.80 (20 yds@ 0.59 - 60 feet)
Canvas dropcloth for tee pee $20.00
Bamboo poles $2.99 x 3 $8.97 3 @ 2.99

Paper on roll $5.00
Towel bar for paper $5.99

Total:
$169.26

Resources:
Chalkboard Paint
Red Gloss Paint
Canvas Drop Cloth
Leak Proof Drop Cloth
From The Home Depot
Locations Across Canada
www.homedepot.ca

Navy Blue Fabric
Blue Fringe Trim
From Designer Fabric Outlet
Toronto, ON
www.designerfabrics.ca

Bamboo Poles
From B&J Trading
Toronto, ON
416.586.9655

Craft Paper Roll
Towel Bar
From Ikea
Locations Across Canada
www.ikea.ca

Milk Crates
Mason Jars
Free Finds!

Tables
Toys
Art Supplies
From Homeowners Own Items

Deborah Nelson's hairstyling by Sugar n' Spice.