Beautiful + Functional: Kid's Learning Space

The space behind the couch was always a sort of 'what to do here' - we wanted to add something but we didn't want anything that just filled the space to fill it. We wanted functional! I thought about putting a desk for myself back there, but let's be real...I wouldn't use it.

I think now, more than ever, since we are spending more time at home and prepping for another little tiny chonky human to join us, our space is so important to us. It's important how we fill it and how we use it!

The kids are always around us, bless their little hearts and so this enables us to join together in the living room while they do schoolwork or projects. It truly is the perfect way for us to utilize that space we weren't sure what to do with.

I moved our old dining table over as a work desk - we had really just started to outgrow it and we wanted a larger table so that if we had guests over, we could actually eat in one place! Utilizing furniture you may think isn't functional is a life hack of mine - you can always try it out, and if it doesn't work then you look for something new! You will be shocked at how often moving things just from room to room will bring new life into a piece of furniture!

I wanted something to keep us organized as a fam. And really It's as simple as finding a couple gently loved chalkboards on Craigslist, a couple coats of paint we found in the garage and getting creative!
They had a few scratches, so I went over the chalkboard with some black chalkboard paint - super simple to work with and makes a difference - no scratches here!
Always good to tape off which space you don't want covered in any sort of black paint, just sayin'.
Afterwards I wanted to 'season' the board - which really is a fancy term for making it a little imperfect and look used. You know how you never want to be the first person to eat off a cheeseboard...who wants to be the first person to draw on a too perfect chalkboard? Am I right?

I went back and forth on whether I wanted to paint them black, paint them gold or go nuts! I went with the latter - and did...a 'plaid' pattern!
I used painters tape to tape off small 1 inch spaces on each board and I alternated them so when placed side by side, it looks like plaid! I LOVE it! It completely works with the decor of the rest of the house but also is comfortable for the kids as their own space!

And here we are! A fully functional space for the kids to learn, do crafts, build legos and just have their own area. We really try to have a home where our kids can be kids - we are all about focusing on the memories with each other and there are many to be had in this little corner!