Children's Nook

I hope I made you super curious to see what became of the little hole under the stairs...
(and just to add to your concept of the space, an adult has to bend over to get in.  It's small and cozy.  A nook).

My parents just finished their basement, and I told her to leave this little nook open so we could make a little storage area for her grandkids toys.  It obviously needed a more fun paint color, and she happened to have some left over from her orange laundry room (it was already orange when they moved in, and it's the ONLY room in the house that has color.  I guess the previous owner loved doing her laundry).

Anyway, South Bend has this awesome store called the ReStore--- a place where people take old doors, cabinets, lighting, any and everything that might've been taken out of an older home.  This was the first place I went, just looking for a small bookshelf or other inspiration.  And I found it (inspiration, that is)!
Old stair spindles for $1.50 each.  I knew instantly I wanted to slice them in half and stick them on the wall with trim to top it off.  THEN I found some awesome dentil trim and even though I didn't have enough for the entire space, I got it.  I also bought a bedrest pillow that added some fun color.
TJ Maxx came to the rescue with a perfect rug.
After scouring all the thrift and used furniture stores, I stumbled upon a new antique store (if that's not an oxymoron....).  Behold, I found the PERFECT small bookshelf.  It was already cream, but I added 2 coats of paint to match the trim in my parent's house.
Picked up some spray paint and got to work!
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are you ready to see it?!??!
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Ta Da!

And when you peek inside...

The actual toy basket sits just outside the nook...

(That basket was a $6 find at a garage sale drive by the day before I left!

And then a few days later, when looking through a Pottery Barn catalog, my mom saw these:

Score!

Now a few details:
Stair Spindles!  I requested the help of my parent's builder and had him use a table saw to slice them in half.  I then got to expand my own abilities: using an air compressor and nail gun to nail 'em in place.  Oh yes.  I like nail guns.
When I bought the spindles, they looked awesomely aged and worn, and the more I looked at them, I knew I wanted to keep them that way.  I think my parents were slightly grimacing at the thought of dirty old spindles hanging on their walls, but too bad, designer's call. hee hee.

Trim: I used my favorite Krylon green spray paint for the dentil trim, and capped it with basic trim used in the rest of the house.

Circle Wall Art: a woven piece given to my parents when we visited Africa to see where my dad grew up.  My grandparents were missionaries in Zimbabwe, and if I have my story straight, the little old woman who made this lived in a village close to where my grandparents served, and she remembered my grandparents fondly.  I doubt that it would have ever been hung anywhere else in the house, but in this space, it's actually fun!
See how I made the Nature Wall Art.  You can totally make this too.  And also see more about lining the Bookshelf with fabric!

I also spray painted the navy blue wicker basket on the bookshelf, and found that great green "tea" tin at Goodwill.
This was one of those projects that just fell into place.  I spent a few hours shopping and just happened to find things that were what I had in mind.  I loved it.  It was also fun to create without the normal limits and distractions.  I think getting out of my house and routine was helpful.

I only finished it the day before we left, so the kids didn't get too much time to use it.  But from the short time using it, they seemed to love it.

Thanks, Mom, for letting my ideas go wild!  If you miss the kids too badly, you can go sit in here and think of them.  But for now, it's all put away and tidy!...

What do you think?