Talley Sue those parties sounds great! And I definitely think they'll remember them & even more so b/c you involve them in the planning stage. I don't know why people think their kids won't remember all those experiences. Annellis~ While those material things are not necessities I don't think there is anything wrong with wanting or being able to to give your children as much as you can. And there is nothing wrong with wanting or having the best you can AFFORD. Since when was that a bad thing? There is an odd assumption that if you can provide these things then something else must be sacrificing, such as savings. While we are not wealthy & yes none of these things are easy to come by I do believe that you can have those things without sacrificin things that are a priority to me. For example, we wait for certain things in our home so we can do them exactly the way we want & withoutinucring debt & we do have savings (sure we could have more) & have saved more than most people for her future/college by her age, but I like giving my daughter everything I can now. Life is too short & this is the way we choose to enjoy it. I also find it hard to believe that so many people have created this politically correct home environment they'd like to let others believe they have - doing only what studies suggest, i.e eating properly, little tv watciing, lot sof physical activity, not ever overindulging, children with perfect manners & values, a large savings account..... If we're going to believe studies it's hard to believe that just abotu everyone on this forum is leading that sort of life b/c US studies say that most people live paycheck to paycheck, don't eat properly, haven't saved enough for retirement or college, are overweight, lack physical activity, childen do't have stable family life or enough parental involvement.... It's easy to be so perfect "in writing". I also believe that many people who can't do what I do for my child are big on taking a stand against my type of lifestyle beause they can't & not so much b/c they wouldn't. Everyone wants more for their kids than they had - I had lots of toys, tons of clothes, HUGE Xmases, wonderful family vacations, & nice home based bdy parties BUT I lived in a tiny apt where my sister & I shared a 6x9 ft bedroom & we didn't do much in terms of outside activities. In turn I give my daughter what I had plus she started her education early, is involved in several ouside activities & our parties for the most part are a step above what I had. Hopefully my daughter will be able to give her children more than she had when it's her turn. I don't think the STUFF should or does take the place of teaching values or a quality family life. That would mean all rich people who have lots of fancy things are all evil & lead terrible family lives & don't have any values? I doubt it. Materialism really has nothing to do with how you lead your life in terms of being a good person or what you teach you kids in terms of values or how you treat others. You can be a very contributing person to society & your family. All this though can give her something to work towards. If she wants to live the lifestyle she was accustomed to growing up in or better then she'll know she has to get a good education, work hard, save & get those things that are important to her little by little (things didn't come quickly to us). If she wants less & is happy that's fine too. That's what I wish for my daughter. Michie

PP offered some great tips! Your girls are going to love the room. I had a couple suggestions I haven't seen mentioned yet. For wall art: I love etsy.com for handmade art or budget-friendly photos. I have some great prints for my 2 girls' rooms. They also have vinyl adhesive quotes or you can order your girls' names. They can be pricey, so I ended just hand painting a two-tone pink cherry blossom tree. Not as fancy as this, but decent enough considering it only cost me a few quarts of paint. This decal from easy is $86. For your windows: I agree with the PP worried about window safety. With those windows, I would invest in plantation shutters (too heavy for a 2 or 3 year old to unlock and swing open) or buy a metal window gate to ensure your kids can't open the window. Then you can buy some pretty sheers to soften the look of plantation shutters. I got some from Pottery Barn Kids that are embroidered with pink and green butterflies to cover my daughter's shutters. It offers a light whimsical look. They're both sleeping now so I can't take photos. I can't copy the image here, but I see one on eBay now with lavender butterflies for $35 per 84" panel. Post photos when you finish the playroom!

Our home has rough-sawn cedar siding. Cedar can certainly be painted, but it's a bit of work because of the texture and nature of the material. The most important step is to use a primer that will prevent the tannins in the wood from bleeding through. The best ones are oil based, but I believe there are some water based ones that will work without the odor of oil—a good paint store can guide you. After the primer is dry (you might need 2 coats) you can use any top coat you want.

Paint it a lighter more neutral color and paint the ceiling white. That dual colored ceiling does not allow the ceiling to "float" above. It delineates the ceiling too starkly, IMHO. I am guessing that there is no closet in that room. Some tall free standing wall cabinets/shelves might be something to consider. It is often nice to keep kids toys with pieces together and/or displayed. A puzzle with a piece missing is just a piece of junk. A puzzle on a shelf in an inviting box is enticing. One good toy with all the pieces intact is much more valuable than that box of jumbled junk in the corner. I would offer you to consider a nice small table with a couple of chairs ( not a kids table) for doing things such as play doh and holiday cookies, crafts, puzzles, board games, school projects and other such stuff. You need somewhere to sit in there and maybe a nice lamp. Perhaps a magnetic dry erase board on the wall might be in the future, and maybe some where to display the kids art. Perhaps you could create a reading/sitting area by putting in a window seat along the window. It does not have to be built in. It could be quite simple in design. You could put a comfy cushion on it and have storage under the bench. It sounds as if you may have decided not to use it as a dining room for a good long time, if ever. My advice would be to let that happen and go ahead and add pieces to the room that suit your needs. Yet I would advise you to not choose pieces that are strictly juvenile. Instead, choose pieces that will translate in the coming years. You can add juvenile elements with the cushion fabric and maybe a nice little valence on the window. Add that element with the things that are easily replaced or removed as time goes on. You might want to consider taking out that ceiling fixture in there and replacing it with something much less dining room looking. Remember, the kids are only little for a few short years. Before you know it, that teddy bear will have waddled out the door, Thomas and his friends will have chugged on down the track, and those primary colors plastic shelfs and pastel shaded canvas boxes will be too babyish. Instead of a building things with a tower of soft blocks, they will be curled up on a cushion with their ipads watching Peppa Pig and the unboxing of an endless array of toys on YouTubeKids, until about the early teens, when they will hide behind their closed bedroom doors. Tall shelving Seating A table Neutral, non juvenile pieces That is my advice for your nice room And, this grandmother might add another word of advice. That would be to try to value quality over quantity. Our children are so overwhelmed with too much stuff, most of which has no real redeeming quality or value to it. I would advise you to seek quality in time and experiences with each other rather than the latest plastic licensed character toy. No Paw Patrol toy is ever going to replace that time spent together, or time spent with friends just imagining. I watched a couple of little boys outside in the cul de sac yesterday, playing. It is not as common as it once was to see kids actually outside riding bikes and playing. These little guys are about eight years old. They were pretending that they wiped out on their bikes and had to come and rescue each other. Had I not been watching them and knew that they were playing, I would have panicked to see the one laying in the middle of the road with his bike to the side. The only super heros in sight for them were each other as they came to each others aid. I am a baby boomer grandmother now and this is about the only way we played when I was young. We had no room full of toys or 24 hour media. My kids had not much growing up, either. Today kids just are over whelmed with stuff. Your room is nice. But, try to fill it with experiences, not an endless array of plastic junk. That tide of plastic junk will come rolling in the front door and out the back on it's way to a landfill. There is so much plastic junk being thrown out into the garbage because most of it is not recyclable. Mostly all it leaves behind for the child is a forgettable experience of opening the brightly printed box and taking it all out.