Basement Ideas

Hi S.,
My girlfriend replaced one entire wall with a full size chalk board. It is always loads of fun for my daughter when she visits.
Good luck
P.

What about a wall mural with different textures on it? A friend of ours did something like this for their son it was a barnyard theme and the horses has string type tails, the mud was a rough surface like sand paper etc. Good luck

Agree with other posters that if you have enough room, you should do 1/2 tile and 1/2 carpet. On the tile, the kids can do art projects, drive cars, have snacks, etc. This way you keep the carpeted area clean for when they want to lay around and read or roll around and wrestle. I have a friend who did part of her wall in chalkboard paint and another part in magnetic paint. It seemed like a great idea but I must say that the kids weren't nearly as excited as the adults! Good luck.

We got a cheap berber carpet for our basement (don't go too cheap to the point that it scratches though). That way, our kids could still ride on their ride on toys, but it was still comfortably soft if one of them fell. Plus, carpet and the padding insulates more than epoxy flooring.

One of my friends did a couple cool things for the kids. In one area they have a mirrored wall and a ballet bar. They also used the area under the stairs as a play area with an entry (no door, but a curtain) and have an opening for the kids to do plays with puppets.

S.,

I've always wanted to paint a wall (or an area of the wall) with the black "chalkboard" paint so that our son could go to town with chalk on the wall. I admit, I'm not sure if that would encourage writing on the walls or not, but if you finish the basement with a "toy room" and designate that area for the kids it may be ok. We haven't had a chance to do it yet, but I hope to.

Also, some built in shelves for cubes for toy storage may be a good idea. We just put some up in our house and it really makes the room look much more organized.

T.

We did our basement and one wall was completely covered with that paint that turns into a chalk board. You can buy it at any hardware store. My kids loved it.

I like a tile or epoxy floor so that riding toys/bikes can be down there to be played with on rainy days/winter days. And then an area rug for a little carpeted area. Can get carpet remnants with finished edges at Menards for pretty cheap to use as an area rug.