Monday, February 23, 2009

Foresight......a forecast for fun!

I told you last week all about my dream of a family room, and I mentioned the Children's Craft Area- also known as the Children's Art Area. This area has been a dream of mine since the first time we looked at the house.
To get to the basement of our home, you go down some stairs and around a corner- no big surprise there. But there is. Around the corner at the bottom of the stairs is a large tiled laundry area. (to guess I think it is about 12'x6') As you can see, there is a very large window, it is south facing and lets in wonderful amounts of light. When I first saw this space I said "This is my Children's Art Area!"

The plan was always to get a table and chairs and have different types of art supplies available. I loved the fact that it was tile so that I wouldn't need to worry about liquid art supplies being poured onto carpet. You can also see my craft area there in the corner- so the kids and I can all work on our various projects together.

Now to the Foresight. We are lucky enough to live about 5 miles from Ikea, and so when we found out that we were pregnant I started to shop- well, pre-shop. I got online and found everything I would need to furnish our Childrens Art Area, I figured out the cost- including tax- and then decided how long I would give myself to save the money. It worked out to $5 per month, for 22 months. Ken and I have been very good at saving. I know myself and I would have spent that money if it had been electronic money- and so each month I ask Ken if he has any cash (he is my personal ATM afterall) and then I stash away said cash in a secret spot- somewhere no robber would ever think to look! We have decided that we will not stop at 22 months- the baby will only be 15 months old at the time and might not understand art yet, so we will continue to save $5 per month until christmas- and (don't tell the baby) give him these gifts plus art supplies to go with it.
The Easil ($20?)- one side is a blackboard, the otherside is a dryerase board, and you can also put a roll up paper in the middle and then drape it over the top. I Love It!



The Table($35?) and Chairs- I like the Square Table, we are also planning to get two round stools ($10 each) and two high back chairs($15 each).



OK, so this isn't actually part of the children's art area, but I think it is cute and will make a great quiet time area in the new family room as well as good sun shade should we ever go outside for a long period of time. As Such it also included in the purchase. It only cost $10!
Tomorrow I will show you the furniture I hope to buy for the Family Room.

2 comments:

AZ SMITHS said...

We have been taking some shopping trips to IKEA too!! IKEA is as fun, fun place! We're trying to get organized and have a place for everything. Wish us luck!

ShayLynn said...

Funny.. we have the Easel and the tent however a different table and chairs all from IKEA. We love them because our kids love them. Ty has them in what he calls his "science" center! Love Love Love having fun craft areas set up for kids!

Good Luck with you savings... well worth the investment!