One Room Challenge 2024: Intro to My Project + Inspiration!

This year may be my most unexpected and exciting One Room Challenge yet…because all of you will get to visit the finished product in person AND enjoy it! So let’s jump right into it- for the One Room Challenge 2024, (drumroll, please) I will be making over the mercantile space of the Amsden completely- not just the decor, but the entire concept!

Follow along with the other participants of the One Room Challenge here!

This is something I have been thinking on for a while as I’ve wanted to revamp the space for a couple years and do an entirely new and fresh concept- something completely unique to us and that no one else in the area is offering yet. After much thought and brainstorming, one day it finally hit me- this space should be my own version of a “play cafe”- combining my love of children’s spaces, crafts and art projects, and story times into one fun and amazing space parents and their littles can enjoy all the time while enjoying their coffee.

Alex and I sat down last week and went through all the details and things we needed to tackle to make this happen and set a very ambitious open date of the end of May…which just so happens to coincide with the One Room Challenge, so I said why not share this transformation as my One Room Challenge space this year?! I will continue to share more details as far as the structure we have planned as we get further along and should be launching our website soon where you will be able to go ahead and purchase play slots and memberships- you’ll get first dibs if you’re following along here! We will have both walk-in slots available as well as monthly and annual memberships which will have lots of extra perks, like drink and merchandise discounts, first access to story time sign ups, workshops, and camps, and more!

Even more exciting- this will also be a party space that will be available to rent on the weekends for your children’s parties! We will have various packages available and add-ons so you can make your parties perfectly themed just like our fun storytimes! I am so excited for this and just can’t wait to see all the fun celebrations that happen in this space!

As far as offerings and layout- I am still working on designing the space and planning how it will all look- but I did want to share some of my ideas and inspirations! You can expect a mix of tables and chairs and seating for adults in the space to sit and relax and work while watching their kids play. For the kid’s, this will be a space focused on creating, imagination, and playing. We will have rotating areas and stations with each month and season, so you always get a different experience and something new to look forward to! We will have a large reading/book area of course. We will also have a large portion dedicated to arts and crafts- all kinds of art supplies and creative materials, with different themed craft projects available for members to participate in weekly. Finally we will have a portion for toys and imaginative play- which will rotate seasonally and always be different- whether it be a pretend grocery shop, kitchen area, dress up and stage, farmer’s market, or more!

This will allow us to continue our storytimes as part of this space and make them more frequent! We also plan to add more events, kid’s art classes and workshops, and hopefully even some summer camps! We will also still have a small space dedicated to retail/shop in the front of the space, when you first enter from the coffee shop! This will be focused more on toys, books, party supplies, and children’s items, but really will be a fun mix of merchandise that will rotate seasonally.

I just am so excited for this space and I know that it is going to be such a fun project and something I have always dreamt of doing! We hope that if this is successful, we can eventually expand it to a larger space with outdoor areas and more! I can’t wait to take you all along on the journey as we transform the space and for you to actually be able to come see the finished product in person is extra exciting! Thank you as always for following along and please let me know your thoughts and ideas below in the comments- I need help picking a name!

xoxo

Emily