OK, sounds like a traffic pattern room. Make a list of all the things you want the kids to do in there. Will they really keep their backpacks there or is it too far from their coats and shoe storage? I like the idea of the cubbies you see in PB and Company Store, but I think you can just use inexpensive shelving and baskets you can buy locally. Paint the shelves bright colors. Make fun labels for the baskets with the computer. What about a table for the center of the room if you want it to be a homework space? My kids like to do puzzles and models and we have tables in their bedrooms so they can leave a project up. A fun rug underneath with the roads all over is a favorite here. In our other house, I knew the carpet would be the pits after awhile in our playroom, so I got lots of colors of PERMANENT markers and we drew the neighborhood right on the rug. I used the local stores for the signs. I personally thought it was really cute. I'm a fan of laundry baskets for toy storage. I built a long shelf which was the depth of the baskets and we just slid the under the shelf. Then we had the top of the shelf for item which didn't fit well in the baskets. I'd tuck a comfortable chair or rocker into the corners, with baskets for magazines or quick toy storage. You might consider putting a swing up in one of the doorways. We had a beam and I put in they type of hooks used for porch swings and then hung a regular swingset swing there. It got a real workout. Don't forget to ask on the home decorating forum. They always have lots of ideas for use of space in rooms and working with doorways in inconvenient doorways. Just don't feel like you have to spend a ton of money. They kids won't care and the catalogs will just give you ideas. Gloria

Oh, good grief! Anything can be taken out of context and to the worst degree! I’ve purposely avoided this thread after I initially posted, as some posters made it sound like any parent who helped decorate this kid’s dorm room was crushing that child’s own creativity “Mommy-Dearest-like”. In retrospect, I’m sure there are parents like that. And, yes, some of those initially featured pics of rooms are so incredibly unpractical. BUT, there are so many more, like us, where daughters have grown up learning from mothers who are very good at decorating, and they are absorbing and enjoying it, too. They have their own likes and dislikes, which are encouraged and respected. BUT, they still need and want help with storage issues in those minuscule shared dorm rooms, lighting ideas, and a lot of other ideas to consider. It irritates the heck out out of me that some immediately paint the worst scenario when someone (Me) says, yes I did help my daughter decorate her dorm room. No, it was not some impractical designer room. No, it did not make her friends there hate her or her room. But, yes, it was overseen by DD and her roommate with the colors and art they wanted and chose. We mothers did, though, know what and where to find the storage and lighting that would facilitate the very best use of that minimal space. And, we did it at our daughters’ and with our daughters’ blessings. In closing, there are probably as many normal, happy mom-daughter collaborations as there are non/collaborations. Maybe I’m in the minority, having had a great, fun relationship with my own daughter her entire life. I consider it a blessing, but one that takes work. My own daughter has learned and absorbed so much interior design creativity from me over the years. She could easily make it her career if she chose. And, we love trading ideas still. But, even at age five, I allowed her to make the final design decisions with her own personal spaces. Not all decorator mothers are “Mommy Dearest monsters”.

that's exactly what I wanted to do! it is hard to do only because I need another eye. I am doing this all by myself which is fine, but I want to do it right. I have a lot of really good photos of the boys some I have taken and some professional. I really like the first idea you sent me and I like well all of them. I never liked canvas prints because I love the rich look of a frame and even better matted. I have expensive taste on a budget lol. I am going to homegoods tomorrow. I have 4 18 1/2 x22 1/2 light barn gray photo matted frames that fit an 11x14 photo. I love them, but thinking I need more and that's the only ones I found at home goods. maybe those can be used in the gallery or in my living room above my couch.

Unless you have an abundance of storage for stuff like lightbulbs, your iron, starch, cleaning and laundry products, and whatever else people stuff into their laundry room cupboards, I'd stay away from open cabinets like the plague. An added cleaning burden, plus, scooting the cabinets up means you cannot easily reach things. Remember it's just a laundry room, let it be the workhorse it should be. Don't fall prey to the notion that every square foot of your home needs to conform to the current dictates of the design world-no matter how cool they might be. The shiplap is a dusting nightmare too. But yes, scrape that popcorn off the ceiling. It makes rooms look smaller and dirtier. IMHO, paint the cabinets white and the walls a warm but clean gray. Or a lovely sea glass, the sky is the limit if you paint the cabinets white. I love the idea of a countertop above the W/D and a skinny shelf above that-so functional! Butcher block will swell with moisture-I'd go with Corian or another solid surface material that won't break the bank. I'd stay away from tile and use vinyl flooring because it's easy and waterproof and you will never need to clean the grout. There are some incredible luxury vinyl flooring options out there. Check out Amtico. Amtico stone and wood flooring is so real looking. Also, if there isn't a second story above the laundry room, I would recommend a solatube-type skylight to brighten things up. These little round skylights are an amazing source of natural light, but are only the size of a dinner plate in the room's ceiling. Who wouldn't love that? An airy, bright laundry room is everyone's dream. Paint is the best way to go. Skip the complicated cosmetic upgrades and save money for a place in your home where a those charming details will make a real impact. Create a laundry room that frees you from spending undue time in it. Now that's my kind of laundry room! I'm not a word art fan but I saw this last week at Bed Bath and Beyond and thought it funny: The Laundry Room: Loads of Fun.