One more vote to explore raising the ceiling instead of lowering the floor. In addition to lowering your home's value and making it a "definite no" to a lot of future buyers, you would make your house more dangerous to young children, older visitors and completely off-limits to anyone with accessibility issues. I live with brain injury I sustained at age 32 caused by tripping. It didn't seem like a big deal at the time, but it ended my career, as well as any potential to do anything else. It wouldn't take much for a guest to trip and crack their head. Would you be able to live with that if they sustained the damage I did? Could you afford the lawsuit that might be leveled against you? The increase in your homeowner's insurance if they knew you had that danger in your house? PLEASE don't do this. I apologize for the strong response. I just can't stand the thought of someone living with the headaches, vertigo, nausea, blurry vision, memory loss, etc. etc. I face every day. Especially if it can so easily be avoided.

Good question. First lets address the issue of the Cat5e. This is a data wire. I am not 100% sure as to whether cat5e will in fact be able to distribute the video signal and power to the camera. You will have to check with any equipment manufacture that sells cameras. The ones I use work with an RG59 for video and 18/2 for power. Now, about the distribution to your TV's. THis is easily done. You just place an FM modulator in line on your cable feed before in splits to the televisions. The FM modulator allows you to set a certain channel such as channel 100 so you can access the camera video on any TV. For example you would need a single FM modulator to run only to the kitchen TV. You would need a multichannel FM modulator to run to every TV including the kitchen TV. It is a decision you would have to make based on price difference. Some FM modulators get pricey. A word to the wise.....Cheap FM modulators will go bad very often. It is worth the money to buy quality.

First question - Which wall do you think would work best for the built-ins? The wall opposite the window or opposite the door? Toy storage -- whatever y'all decide to go with -- would work best (at least for me!) opposite the window. Largely because then the immediate dumping-toys-out-so-I-can-see-what-I-want-in-here mess is out of sight from the main entrance of the room/adjacent spaces. Second - how would you layout the space - ie where would art table go? There needs to be open space too as kids tend to stretch out on the floor to play. I would also, as others have mentioned, place the table under the window. It's nice to play under a window. :-) Our playroom table is also taller than a standard kiddie table, allowing the youngest children to sit/play/hide underneath it. 3- flooring? Carpet most comfy, but laminate easier to clean up. Would it look weird to do a combination of both? I like the idea of the hard flooring with carpet-like Flor tiles, since y'all combine playroom with art. (We do all of our art stuff at the dining table because of the mess, lol.) 4- fun ideas especially for the little kids nook? I was going to see if my builder can make the outside look like a little house... any other cool ideas you’ve done or seen? I’m purposely leaving our chalkboard wall because I don’t want to clean all the dust it leaves behind I'm going to be more fun and less practical than previous posters, lol -- I would definitely do something fun for the nook. A little house (with a Dutch door), painted in gender neutral colors with a magnetic-paint wall, would be awesome. Or, string up some hammocks in that space, with some silk foliage/leafy garland hung from the doorway (use several, so that it operates like a bead curtain), and glow-in-the-dark star stickers on the ceiling. Or maybe a little "restaurant" set up, with a small table, 2 chairs, and a room divider/half wall for the waiter/waitress to disappear behind and prepare the customers' orders. What are your kiddos interested in? Anything glow-in-the-dark or magnetic is a total win. :-)

While we continue to contemplate flooring, we are moving on to the paint. We have decided to paint the back wall (below the two windows) black, the shelving will be white, topped with a stained board to pull everything together. (See inspiration picture from Bless ‘er House below) We’re going with Sherwin Williams Caviar black. Will paint that same black on the banister. Anyone have a coordinating white color recommendation to make for the walls and the spindles of the banister? I was thinking high reflective white - will that be too white for the walls? Painter due to come on Tuesday. Any input is appreciated!