Make your closet a place for play.
With a little creativity, your closet can be more than just a place to hang coats and stow rain boots. Instead of allowing this space to be a purely utilitarian one, transform your closet into a whimsical escape. With the addition of some decorations and furnishings, you can create a hideout that your children will eagerly put to use. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Brainstorm a closet theme. List things that your hideout users likes, such as her favorite movies or books. Select an item from your list to serve as the theme for your hideout space. For example, if your daughter loves tales of princesses, fill the space with pink and purple and paint the walls to resemble the gray brick walls of a castle tower. Allow your child to help you create this list to ensure that the resulting space reflects her interests.
2. Paint the walls in a manner that fits your selected theme. Create a mural or simply select a hue that speaks to the theme in question. For example, if you are trying to create a hideout that looks like it's dug into the side of a mountain, use faux-painting techniques to resemble hard packed dirt. For a more interactive option, try painting the walls with chalkboard paint.
3. Place small chairs and perhaps a table in the space. Select petite, child-sized chairs to ensure that they don't fill up your closet space too much.
4. Attach battery-powered lighting to the closet wall, if needed, using double sided tape. To make this lighting do more than just light up the space, but also add to the hideout feel of your closet play-place, select a light that is colored, such as blue or green. Use a light in your child's favorite color.
5. Add storage for toys and games. Place a storage system with containers fit for holding your child's toys. For a more creative option, try suspending a shoe organizer on one wall as storage space, or drill holes through metal pails and attach them to the wall to serve as toy cubbies.
6. Hang a sheet over the door opening, using nails or tacks. This separates the hideout from the world and blocks light, but allows the door to remain open. This can allow you to listen in on children playing in the hideout space without disrupting their fun.
Tags: your closet, your child, create hideout, create hideout that, ensure that, hideout space