Playroom - who is it for?

I've always wanted a great playroom for our kids.  When we were house shopping this time around, that was numero uno on my "must have" list.  

((That, and.. laundry ROOM (ya know, with a real door.. not a closet), fireplace... and so on.))

In fact, when we started dragging out the paint buckets, the playroom was the first room to get a new color on the walls.  I wanted the kids to have somewhere to go crazy while we were busy fixing up the kitchen prior to move in.

We took this room...

and turned it into this room.

Improvement, yeah... but it isn't really working for us the way I'd like it to.

These were taken on a semi-clean day, almost a year ago, haha.  I'll post some updated photos soon.

I've been thinking about what I want in a playroom.

Toy Storage.

Somewhere for the kids to watch movies.

Somewhere for the kids to camp out and have slumber parties on the weekend.

Book storage.

Somewhere to color/put together puzzles.

I also thought about adding a homework space, but we have a great area just outside of the playroom that would make a great homework station.

So, in normal DIYer fashion, I started browsing through playroom photos online, looking for some inspiration.

I came across two types of photos.  Those obviously designed with a parent's wants in mind, and those designed completely for the kids.  A kiddy wonderland of sorts.

These photos were taken from Restoration Hardware, and while they are beautiful rooms, I think they were designed for adults.  Does my 4 year old really want a chalkboard map?  Probably not, even though I think it is pretty cool.  Does he want chalkboards on the wall where he can't even reach them?  The trucks as bookends are pretty cool, until he actually goes to play with them.. and the books fall over.

This one is a bit better because who doesn't love a Teepee?  However, the room overall is kind of blah.  Plus, I'm not sure high storage is really all that practical for a kid based room.   I may not be there every time they want to access that lovely basket on the top shelf.

I want their play space to be efficient, but I also want it to be a room that THEY want to spend time in.

Over the next few weeks I'll be working on turning their space into something that is truly THEIRS.. not something mommy designed for her to look at.   I'm not going to worry about keeping it neutral, or that they might outgrow it.  After all, we have another boy who will grow into it before we know it.

I hope you join me and add your input along each step. 
:)  Courtney