The evolution of our bar/playroom

 No room has changed more than the little room in our basement.  It started out as the place where all the old furniture goes to die.  Literally, anytime there was a piece of furniture that we didn't know what to do with, it was shoved in there.  We had visions of turning this into our bar area.   This plan was spurred even more when all of our grooms men gave us a bar sign for our wedding!

So Nate and I took on our first large furniture building project....

To net out with a log bar that had room for storage, a chair, and of course, what every bar needs, a place to hold all your alcohol. 

It also held a nice loveseat/chair, and some Iowa art that I made. 

It was not a perfect bar, but we liked it.  We had grand plans of adding a little TV, or maybe sending a beer tap from the laundry room (which is behind the left wall) into this bar area.  

Then we got pregnant. And 22 months after the kids were born, this is what the room looks like:

The built ins are nice to hide some toys, both ones that they are not quite old enough for (with small parts) or ones that they can not use without supervision (like paint and play-dough) and to rotate other toys.  I have found that as soon as we pull out a toy (or even move it from one side of the room to the other) they play twice as much with it as they did previously.

Truth; the alcohol and the mini fridge is still in the built ins.  Oops.  The doors are very child proof for their age right now, but it is something that we will have to deal with in the near feature.

Other truth:  The kids have way to many toys.  Grandparents like to spoil, and I cant avoid a good garage sale.  Goal for 2014:  cut back!