Turning Our Storage Closet Under the Stairs Into A Play Closet

If you have been here a while, you'll know that we added a closet under the stairs in our house a few years ago. For some reason the builder didn't and it was a total waste of space. It has been my tool closet since we built it and has worked well. However, I don't need it as my tool closet anymore because I have workbenches now. It has unfortunately become a dumping ground. I haven't even able to go into because it's so full of random stuff! It's time to clean it out and make it a much more functional space in time for baby to get here.

Turning Our Storage Closet Under the Stairs Into A Play Closet | Clean Out and Prep

The first thing I had to do was clean everything out so I could see what I was working with. When I said there was a lot of stuff in there, I wasn't kidding! There were random extension cords, leftover small tools that hadn't been moved yet, paint, things my daughter doesn't use anymore and so much more. After clearing everything out, I removed all of the shelving and pegboards except the large wall of pegboard that holds all of our bike and outdoor things because those will stay here.

I patched all of the holes on the walls and notches in the walls and then sanded everything. This took a little bit of time because there were a lot of holes. Then I painted all of the places I'd patched. I decided not to just paint all of the walls again. I just did little patches and I started hanging the new shelves. I tried to put them in studs as much as possible, and when I couldn't, I used drywall anchors.

Then I started tackling the floor tiles. They're normally pretty easy to get up but it took a little bit of effort since I did this at 34 weeks pregnant. After I removed them, I started putting new ones on. With these tiles all you have to do is take the sticker off of the back and stick them where you want them. They adhere directly to the subfloor and are perfect for this kind of closet because they are wipeable, super easy to clean/vacuum and are affordable. I was able to replace all of these tiles with extras I had leftover from when I originally did the closet.

Turning Our Storage Closet Under the Stairs Into A Play Closet | Adding Decor

Next up, the fun part: decor and organization! I hung up fairy lights, because I thought it would be an easy way to have lights in here without having to add electrical for lighting. I ended up using about a hundred feet of fairy lights. Then, I added a rug and these cute pillows from Jack and J. Jackie added even more pillows later because it was not cozy enough for her. Then I started filling all of the drawers and shelves. I have a lot of space left over, and I didn't need as many drawers as I thought!

Lastly, as a finishing touch, I hung Jackie's artwork. She added our little letter board, the dry erase board and a bunch of toys. This is mostly her space and she loves it. She spends a ton of time in here decompressing in her cozy nook. As an added bonus, we have extra space to add baby toys and baby stuff later on down the line when we need to. We may change things up in the future, but for now this space works perfectly for us. You can shop everything I used below.

Turning Our Storage Closet Under the Stairs Into A Play Closet | Shop

Turning Our Storage Closet Under the Stairs Into A Play Closet | Shop