Basement Part 4: Justa' Swingin'

I'm down in the basement again to show you our seating area. This seating area needs no introduction because it is already famous. Okay, it is only famous among second and fourth graders at my kids' school because I am the only mom cool enough stupid enough to allow swings in the house. But still, I'll take it.

The first shot is taken from the dining area I featured here. In the second photo I am standing in the toy area, which I hope to clean-up and photograph tomorrow.

The chairs are from Ikea. I know I sound like a broken record. I don't have anything from Ikea in the main part of our house, but I love it as an affordable, stylish option in the basement. I love it so much that, when Ikea finally opens here in the Fall, I will definitely be spreading the Ikea love through the house. If you are wondering if it is a good idea to buy swings for inside, however, I would probably say, "no!" We have had definite damage to the wall and several swing-related injuries to play-date guests. My girls know the rules (one foot on the ground at all times), but it is hard for visitors. On the upside, I did get serious fun mom points by including them in our basement, and I do love to sit in the chairs myself!

My upstairs is decorated in a pretty safe, formal way. I loved playing with pattern here in the pillows, ottomans and the indoor/outdoor rug. I needed a BIG rug that was okay for kids to eat and drink on (its their space after all). This one from Overstock.com fit the bill beautifully.

The buttery-soft-oh-my-goodness-too-nice-for-the-basement-couch was a find at a high-end modern furniture store. They had hail damage and had to clear the showroom floor to fix their roof ASAP. I snapped it up for about 1/4 of its actual value. Its so comfortable and big enough to seat a ton of little tushies!

The girls and I made the "art" by stretching fabric over a canvas frame. The mirror is just a bunch of craft sticks glued to a small mirror and painted gray.

Finally, to keep it real, here are a few pictures with the kids "science cart" in place. They use it as their lab for all of their experiments, and I just roll it out of the way for company. I love that my girls love tech-y science stuff as much as their American Girls and Barbies:

My plan is to turn around and shoot the play area, our American Girl hide-out and toy storage for the next post. It may take some "styling" to be camera-ready ;)!