Even if you’re short on space or funds, you can create a fun and inviting creativity corner for your child for hours of fun and exploring!
Growing up, I had an amazing space in my parents’ basement that was all mine, a place where I could fully unleash my creativity.
That space was often transformed in my imagination, from a museum one day full of my own unique art made from repurposed McDonald’s takeout containers, to a doctor’s office with a variety of magazines in the waiting room area the next.
My mom had set up a little table for me where I would have friends over to color, paint, and create beautiful masterpieces. From piles construction paper every color of the rainbow to kid-friendly oil pastels, supplies were always at my fingertips.
I want my own daughters to have a place like that, one where they can explore and create and experiment.
Related post: 5 easy things you can do to nurture your child’s creativity
However, unlike growing up in the suburbs, where my family had an entire house, my family lives in a 2+ bedroom, 1200 square-foot condo.
With urban living — particularly an expensive one like the Boston area — we just don’t have the luxury of that kind of space.
I’m fortunate that I have a dedicated space to do my own creative work. I also want my daughters to have a space that’s their own. One where they can tap into their creativity and explore the way I was able to as a child.
The challenge when you are short in space is giving your child the freedom to explore without feeling like your home is being taken over by toys.
I wanted to create a space for my daughters that would enable them to access different materials but still keep things clean and organized. (Or at least as much as I was willing to tidy it up because, hello, toddler!) I also didn’t want to spend a ton of money.
With a little bit of my own creativity and some frugalness, I was able to fashion a little art corner for my daughters in the corner of our living room for less than $40.
Plus, since much of what I used was recycled, it was more sustainable and eco-friendly.
Supplies to create your own art corner for kids:
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- Shelf (make sure to secure it safely to the wall if it’s tall)
- Kids table and chairs
- Dot paints
- Construction paper or recycled paper
- Kid-safe scissors
- Smock or an old adult t-shirt or button-down shirt to protect clothes
- Recycled objects such as bottles with lids, paper towel tubes, and food containers with kids
For added inspiration, check out 150+ Screen-Free Activities for Kids.
I found an IKEA EXPEDIT bookshelf on the street. It was black and scruffed up so I need to fix it up. I used the following to fix it up:
- White Primer Paint — A few coats of this and I was good to go!
- Blue chevron contact paper — Gave the shelves a decorative touch and shaved off some time from having to paint all of the interiors shelves
- Foam brush — $3 for set of three to paint the shelves
Want to make your own art corner for kids?
Here are a few tips to help you get started.
Get thrifty
Hit up your local Goodwill or Salvation Army store, check out the listings on Craigslist, put a post up on Freecycle, and see if there are any yard sales going on in the area.
I was really fortunate that I found the EXPEDIT shelf on the street for the taking. It was black (I wanted something white) and rather beat up, but I knew I could work with it. Plus it’s hard to beat free!
The little table we found out our local Goodwill (new it would have cost five times as much), the chairs I had purchased previously at a yard sale last spring and bought 5 of them for about the same price. The most expensive thing I purchased was the container of white primer, which I used to paint the bookcase and touch up the table.
Related posts: 8 ways to save money on things for your kids and How to easily save money online while shopping for your family
Think up instead of out
When you’re limited on space, consider vertical space. I’m not a fan of too much towering furniture, but this is the tallest piece we have our living room, and it gave us much more flexibility. Plus it has the advantage of allowing me to store items that I don’t want my daughters to access, such as the large containers of paint and glue.
Be sure to firmly secure tall pieces of furniture to the wall so that they don’t tip over onto your child should she try to scale it.
Keep those items you don’t want your kids reaching up high.
Channel your own creative thinking
After I found the bookshelf I turned to Pinterest for inspiration. While I found some fantastic IKEA hacks, I knew they wouldn’t work for our space. I also didn’t want to spend the money to replicate these designs.
I used what I had to work with our space and kept my eyes open for things that would work with the space. For a special touch, I lined each shelf with pretty contact paper to make it a little more interesting visually.
Related post: 9 real moms share how they make time for creativity in their busy days
Repurpose what you already have
Take a look around your home to see what you already have that you can utilize. Sure, matching storage containers look really cute, but if you already have a few unused one, save the money and use those. Your kids won’t care if you have a perfectly coordinated storage system.
Don’t trash it
Instead of throwing away things like birthday cards, tissue paper and gift wrapping, bubble wrap, and cardboard boxes, save them to add to your creativity corner. Your child won’t care if it’s brand new, it will help with her creative thinking, and it will save you money.
If you liked this post, you might also like:
- The zen of creativity
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Love what you did with this space and it ho early came out awesome!! ??
Thanks, Janine! I’m really happy with out it turned out 🙂
That corner is adorable! Your daughter looks like she’s really enjoying it! Great tips
Thanks, Brittany! She really likes playing there — well, almost as much as she likes play with her dolls!
What a dream for kids! Cassidy did something somewhat similar with Scarlet in three different spaces in our house. One to be creative in general, one to be creative with him (like toolshed type stuff) and one to play with her toys in a cardboard corner he created!
That sounds incredible, and not at all surprising given how creative and talented he is. If we had more space I would make Eve a cardboard house, there just isn’t enough room sadly. The one downside to city living!
Our kids would love this! What a special place to make one of a kind projects. Your suggestion to re-purpose what you have first is great. Your creativity corner came out beautifully!
Thank, Theresa! I’m really happy with how it turned out in the end.
I love this space. We have something similar for our little guy. It’s nice to have a space all for him.
That sounds great, Stephane! I bet he loves it 🙂
What a cool idea! That’s so neat how you made a new corner for your kids in a very thrifty way. My kids would love this.
Thank you, Theresa!
This is great and I love how thrifty you are. We have a playroom but it’s mostly a place for toy vomit and kid’s TV. I’ve been thinking of a creativity nook because one of my boys really loves art and drawing. You have inspired me, Bev!
If I had a playroom, I can pretty much guarantee it would look the same! Since we have such a small space we have to *try* to contain everything (easier said than done!).
I’m glad to have inspired you, Jill.
Omg love it!!!!!! I did something similar not too long ago but it was a tad bit ünder $100 since everything was new. I wish we had cool thrift shops around here. Unfortunately the only one locally ughhh…. Never any cool :-/
I’m definitely lucky that we have a fantastic array of thrift shops near us…and that people frequently put some great stuff out on the street for free!
I love this! If and when we move, we’re planning on having a family room, and maybe a creativity corner would be a great addition! Sounds really fun, and yours looks so inviting!
Ooh, that would be nice! So many possibilities when you move to a new place 🙂
Oh Bev, this is just SO wonderful!! I love that you so beautifully created this space for Eve! It looks absolutely perfect.
Thank you, Chris! I think she likes it 😀
This is awesome! We have something kind of similar, but it needs to move… it’s next to my art desk and functionally – their stuff gets all over mine. So I’m working on that. It’s so fun to see what you did though!
Thankfully we have part of a wall separating Eve’s area from my studio/office space…but it’s nice that they’re essentially next to each other. I’m hoping as she gets older that we can work near each other on our respective creative projects 🙂
Hi Bev, what a great idea! My house is also 1200 sq ft and you have me thinking. I have just the corner also. Thanks!!
That’s perfect, then, since our homes are essentially the same size!
I love this! My kids and I have made our dinning area our space, we also have a closet up stairs full of art supplies, puzzles, and board games. It’s so important to me that kids have creative time. I’m so happy you make it a priority in your sweet baby girl’s life. 🙂 I think I missed my calling, I should’ve been an art teacher.
XOXO
Oh, you would have been an amazing art teacher! And it’s never too late 😀
I desperately need to make a toddler friendly area in my house.
I’ll admit, it helps only to a degree. She still manages to pilfer all types of items from around our home that are definitely not toys!
Such a great idea! My son has an area of his own right off the kitchen in our house – he loves it and I’m so happy he can have a place to play. There are still toys, lego, markers, papers etc all over our house but that’s just part of having a kid I guess 😉
Nicole | The Professional Mom Project