The Cape Cod Playroom

When we bought this house, the only way into the basement was a staircase off the garage and a long walk under the house, so no one used it. We added a staircase from the living room, and the forgotten rec room became the room the kids run down to first.

This room was built for imagination, play, and creating, with a Lego loft, monkey bars, and a little playhouse. The Lego loft is the heart of it: stairs up, monkey bars overhead, and enough room for a twin mattress someday, but for now it belongs to the Legos, so every brick stays up there and off the floor. I painted the front of the loft as a little house and left a window open, and the kids decide what it is each day: a shop, a ticket booth, a lookout. Even the old fireplace got a new job. A projector screen pulls down in front of it, and movie night starts. For creating, a pegboard wall keeps every marker and paintbrush within reach of the craft table.