Names: Anna, Natalie (preschooler) & Emily (toddler)
Location: Wisconsin
Room size:12' x 12'

It's a very common scenario for parents to give up a room or part of a room that they had formerly used for work or creative pursuits to accommodate children, but Anna shows us that a very happy compromise can be to share space for these activities with your children. Indeed, she shares this lovely space with her daughters where all occupants are free to pursue the things that make them happy be it coloring with crayons or sewing up pillows.

Anna fills us in below on not only some of the decorative decisions and elements of this terrific room, but on how her family uses it:

What was this room before it became a playroom/sewing studio?
The room was a guest bedroom/dressing room. Since our 1950's house was built with one closet in the whole house, yes, one, we have a wardrobe in the room as well.

What was the biggest challenge putting this space together?
I'd say the biggest challenge in putting our creative room together was figuring out what kinds of pieces of furniture would work in the room and would also be pieces that would easily transition if the room ever needed to be a bedroom again.

The two wall colors pair together beautifully - any advice for someone standing in front of paint chips trying to make their own harmonious pairing?
Thank you! I had a fun time pairing the paint colors together. As for advice, I would say to pick out a piece of artwork that you really love and would love in the space, then pull colors from there. I picked between three different color palettes and put samples on the wall, I ended up loving the green/blue combo and went for it!

What are your daughters' favorite things to do in this space?
Hmm, well I can say they LOVE to mess it up. Whether it be with markers or toys or books, they love just being able to spread things around. But really, I think we all enjoy being able to be creative and have fun and play in this sunny room.

Can you sew in here with your girls or do they disrupt you too much?
I wish I could say that I can sew a lot while the girls are awake, but most of the time I choose not to. I do try and photograph my tutorials during the day, so I often sew those pieces while they're playing together in the mornings. The rest of my projects I leave for after they go to bed. I just can't think and try and make accurate judgments while they're tugging at me for this or that. I hope to, in a year or so, set up a children's sewing machine in the room so my oldest can start sewing with me!

What kinds of things do you make here?
I make all kinds of sewing projects, usually whatever pops into my head that I think would be really useful or fun. I love projects with zippers and and anything for children.

What's your favorite thing in the room or about the room?
My favorite thing in the room would be my huge desk. I had deemed it my craft table long before I knew I would be sewing so much, but it sure does come in handy.

Any tips for other parents sharing a playspace with children?
I think it's important to make it pleasing to both the adults and the children. I love anything fun and colorful, so that part was exciting to me. And of course, having plenty of paints, paper, and markers around really makes it fun. But be sure to include lots of storage space for all those little bits and pieces.

Thanks Anna! Readers, visit Anna at Noodlehead where she is always writing about and photographing her adventures in sewing as well as her adventures with Natalie and Emily. She's also very generous about sharing tutorials which you can find in her sidebar.