It was such a pleasure when Justin and I got to bring our work home with us – quite literally – to create an incredible playroom for our oldest son, Brooks, who you’ve probably met at one of our stores!
Brooks celebrates his birthday on December 20th, so five days before Christmas, it’s extremely difficult to give him something special and make it feel different from a typical Christmas gift. While he had mentioned several times that he’d love to have his own mini refrigerator in his playroom, it didn’t dawn on me until a week before his eighth birthday that we should do a full-on playroom makeover for him – yes, including a candy and snack bar, mini fridge and, of course, a must-have extra large Lego area
Fortunately, I was able to get my favorite carpenter out to the house on short notice to create a full built-in situation, and I also had a painter able to come over quickly. We stayed up all night one night organizing and getting ready for the grand surprise reveal, and it was worth every minute of lost sleep!
Since you’re probably wondering how we pulled this off in our own home, we posted a note on the door all week that said “Off Limits to Brooks Until His Birthday!” After the amazing reveal, he was so excited and came up and gave me a huge hug. Then, he said we were the best family ever!
This personal project also really spoke to a dream of mine at a young age. When I was little, I always wanted to decorate my own room and playroom, but sometimes, my parents put limits on what I could actually do. So, as a mom – even though I didn’t necessarily love those gamer neon signs or some of the slightly cheesy Minecraft accessories – I really wanted it to be special for him and not just an aesthetically pleasing designer space.
We feel it’s so important for kids to have their own spaces that are truly unique to them. It allows them to inspire their own creativity! And, Brooks couldn’t be happier in his personal space – after all, he does love his Legos and popcorn machine and all the things!