When Caroline and Bo Hunt arrive home from school, they run to their castle for a little playtime. Considered as the prince and princess of the Hunt household, this brother and sister have the perfect enchanted castle playroom.
When building their new home, Dr. Seab and Karin Hunt wanted a playroom away from their children’s bedrooms.
“We wanted a separate space where they could play together, as well as with friends,” says Karin.
The ideal location was very important to Karin. She wanted the playroom near the kitchen where she spends a lot of time. Seab’s home office is located up the stairs near the playroom. Seab had the idea of adding a loft space within the playroom. The high ceilings allowed the Hunts to add a second story element into the original one-story playroom design plan. By adding the loft space within the playroom, a fun room design was born.
Wanting a gender-neutral theme, Karin decided a fairytale castle would suit both children’s personalities. The castle portion of the playroom is built out into the center of the room. To personalize the space, she enlisted Kimberly Sampson, a mural designer, to paint the castle.
“I love that the children’s initials are included in the hand painted crest on the front of the castle,” notes Karin.
The faux stones and greenery lend to an old world theme while shades of browns, creams, and yellows blend nicely with the buttery walls of the rest of the playroom. Karin chose blue and green and hints of raspberry for the fabrics and accents throughout the room.
The combination of whimsical and practical makes this playroom a happy place for boys and girls to let their imaginations wander.
“While designing the room, I wanted to include several areas for different activities including a place to read a book, a spot for Bo’s train table, an arts and crafts area, a place for Caroline’s play kitchen, and a space to curl up and watch a movie,” adds Karin.
The castle’s loft is a clever book nook and private getaway. The kids can crawl into a cozy chair and drift into never-never land. Below you will find the kitchen, dress up area, and arts and crafts table. Karin said it was important to have different flooring in this area so the kids could paint freely, creating messy crafts without worrying about the carpet. The bottom portion of the castle has large blue and green checkerboard linoleum flooring for easy clean-up while additional space opens up to a large carpeted play area fitting every other playtime need.
Each playroom area offers cute and functional storage, perfect for little hands to reach and easy for cleanup. Bo’s favorite trucks, trains, and tractors are housed just behind his train table in convenient white storage bins and large blue and green buckets. Caroline’s dress-up clothes are hung on a peg board rack, making wardrobe changes quick and easy. Art supplies are kept within easy-to-reach small buckets right on the art table for quick access when inspiration strikes. A large bulletin board holds recent masterpieces created by the young Hunt artists. Nearby bookshelves include the family’s favorite stories, as well as Legos and blocks in clear jars offering visible storage. And baskets with monogrammed liners are clearly marked with contents for easy access.
This playroom has everything a little prince and princess could dream about, with lots of room to invite other “young royalty” over for an afternoon of fun. Both parents and children’s needs are met in the Hunt’s playroom, making for one very happy kingdom.
