HAVING a lovely home and having children often doesn't feel compatible.
The house is likely to get overrun with toys and games and goodness knows the tiny terrors aren't good at picking up after themselves.
For those lucky enough to have space for a playroom it becomes a graveyard of discarded toys and a mucky room that it seems silly to decorate as the kids will just mess it up.
But one mum-of-three took on the challenge to transform her drab playroom into a stunning space for her little ones.
Carrie Kline, 32, from Minnesota, USA, told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: "I’m a mom to three little boys so we spend a lot of time playing down in the basement playroom.
"I didn’t like how our basement felt dull and cold – it wasn’t a space I enjoyed being in.
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"The room had an awkward nook built into the wall that had always felt like such wasted space.
"I decided to build shelves directly into that space to store many of the kids' toys so they weren't always on the floor at once.
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"Something that initially stumped me about the room was the electrical control panel on the wall.
"I never liked how it looked but wasn’t sure what I could do to hide it.
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"I’ve seen lots of people place large art pieces over electrical panels before to 'hide' them but the positioning of my panel on the wall made it an awkward place to hang something so I knew that idea was out.
"The idea to paint it came suddenly. I had literally JUST finished building the built-in storage shelves and was looking at the whole space and had a light bulb moment.
"I decided I would try to disguise the panel with paint! Spoiler alert: it worked!
"My boys love to play with toy cars – so about a year ago when we first moved in, I turned a second-hand coffee table into a car table.
"I painted it full of roads, car parks, and dirt piles for them to drive their toy cars on.
"Since then, this has probably been their favourite thing to play with in the playroom – so when I was brainstorming ways to cover up the electrical panel on the wall, I decided to paint a little 'building mural'to not only cover it – but to also look so cute paired with the car table – almost like it was a teeny little city.
"On another wall, I painted a mural that was based on my 2 and 4- year-olds’ art. I took some of my favourite art pieces that they’ve created and repainted them on the wall to make an abstract design.
"It adds such a playful vibe to the room and they were SO PROUD to see their designs on the wall.
"Most of what I’ve done in the playroom was done using only paint. It's incredible the changes you can make to a space using only paint!
"I shop primarily at Home Depot and something I always do is check the 'Oops Paint' section.
"This is paint that they made by accident or that someone else forgot to pick up and they sell it at very discounted prices.
"I can get sample-size paints (220ml) for only 40p!
"Often, these sample sizes are more than enough to paint a fun mural – I painted both the 'abstract' wall and the 'building' wall using only sample-size paints!
"Other supplies I needed were painters tape (around £8 for a whole roll), good-quality paint brushes (I swear by the Zibra brand brushes, available in the UK for around £10 per brush) and rollers (I just buy the generic version at whichever store I’m at).
"All of these supplies I already had on hand from previous projects so I didn’t need to purchase them for this project!"
Carrie also picked up £60 worth of plywood and £15 of common pine for her built in shelves.
She said: "I also used silicone caulk to give the final product a seamless look – I had this on hand – and I made the pegs out of a three-quarter inch wood dowel which cost £4.
"The total amount that I spent on the built-in shelves was around £78. Had I hired someone to build this for me it would have easily cost me hundreds!"
Carrie said: "For me, the biggest challenge is always finding the time to work on my projects. I am a stay-at-home mum to three little boys aged 1, 2 and 4.
"I choose to only work on projects while they are taking a nap or after they are in bed so I can give them my full attention when they are awake.
"I never regret this decision, I value my time with my children more than anything – but it can still be a challenge when you’re in the middle of a project and everyone starts waking up so you have to stop.
"There's also the fact that I have to be okay with my home often looking like a total disaster because I’m almost always in the middle of some kind of project! It's worth it! It's a passion!"
She added: "Now that I have discovered my passion in DIY and home design – I hope to one day make a career out of that when my children are a little older.
"In the meantime, I started an Instagram and TikTok account to share my projects and inspire others."
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Tom Church, Co-Founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, said: "I love how creative this project is – the room looked ordinary before and now it’s got a truly unique feel.
"Carrie is clearly very artistic and it’s a great idea to use inspiration from your children’s artwork. Her sons will be proud of this room for years to come."
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