Little House on the Prairie: A Rustic Arts and Crafts Nook for Kids

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"Ma untied the handkerchief and exclaimed at what she found.  The beads were even prettier than they had been in the Indian camp. . . . She poured Mary's beads into Mary's hands and Laura's beads into Laura's hands, and she said she would give them a thread to string them on. . . . Each wet her end of the thread in her mouth and twisted it tightly.  Then Mary put her end of the thread through the small hole in each of the beads, and Laura put her end through her beads, one by one."  

~ Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House on the Prairie

As promised earlier, I thought I would share another one of my favorite Parade of Homes spaces:  

an unexpected little arts and crafts nook for children.  

{Interior Design by Maryann Mathison}

This nook is happily situated in a basement underneath the staircase---a great way to use the space, especially seeing as I use mine as a mating ground for spiders and dust bunnies.  

The little nook is anchored by this fun, distressed desk.  Its sheet metal top is not only user-friendly (can you say "finger paint"?), but it is also the perfect compliment to the rustic drawers.

My heart swoons over this adorable, rustic apothecary-style shelf.  

It reminds me of everything I love about old school houses and mercantile stores.

I get a huge case of "container love" every time I look at this picture.

These practical baskets help keep books and paper organized and off of the floor.  I'm thinking these just might be the answer to the LONG list of library fines we have around here for books that no one can seem to find.  (Then again, I haven't looked for them under the stairs.  The spiders and dust bunnies just might be using their pages for intellectual betterment.)

Cute cork board spotlighted by an even cuter sconce.

These simple buckets take on a whole new life with the stenciled numbers on the front.  

Such a small thing with such a big impact.

These cracker jars are the perfect size for displaying and storing colorful crayons and pencils.  As a bonus, the see-through glass allows kids to find the right color of utensil WITHOUT having to dump the entire container on the counter. (Please refer to my current kitchen countertop.)

Three cheers for kids, creativity, and beautiful spaces that bring the two together!

Sharing with . . .

Saturday Night Special at Funky Junk Interiors
Weekend Wrap-Up Party at Tatertots and Jello 
Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now 
Tuesday's Treasures at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia