Sensory Playroom Project - Ocean Oasis
We had a heartwarming experience designing this sensory playroom for the Guida family. Their story touched our hearts and we are so happy with the end result!
When we selected this family, we learned about L’s needs and wanted to ensure we incorporated a variety of elements into the design to support his growth and development. L has a little sister who will also use the room to develop a number of skills. Ultimately, the space will be a safe place to regulate their nervous systems, practice gross motor, fine motor, communication, hand-eye coordination, pretend play and creativity skills. Most importantly, a space to make memories together as a family.
We couldn’t be more thrilled with how seamless and smooth the project was from start to finish and the family was such a pleasure to work with. Here’s the video reveal, created by 5Gear Studios.
Christina @yogini_lewy assisted with the wallpaper installation and she always brings such a positive infectious energy to our projects.
Matt and Kevin from @drakeandcorenos assisted with the installation and as always, were such a pleasure to work with. Aside from being so personable, they always take their time and ensure everything is installed properly and are such a joy to work with.
Here’s some before and afters of the space.
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After
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The anticipation before the reveal is the hardest. The family was so patient while we worked with our videographer Nico from 5Gear Studios to complete our interviews and to capture the footage for our video reveal.
The following photos capture the family’s reaction as they entered the room for the first time. You can see and feel their excitement on their faces!
Sponsors & Fundraising
We fundraised for this project by selling weighted animals and crayon based party favors and donated the proceeds to the project. We were also grateful to receive support from 5 businesses who sponsored the project.
Below you’ll hear thoughts from some of the sponsors…
Dolores Trentadue and Sonya Torres from Trentadue Torres Group
Dr. Meagan Lynch and Dr. Brandy Pridham from Stouffville Natural Health Clinic
Steve Osztertag and Cheri McNeil from Seamless Health and Medical Aesthetics
We are so grateful for the support we received from our sponsors!
About the Design
After selecting the Guida family, we scheduled a call to get to know L’s preferences and learned about his interests. Ryan and Christina, L’ s parents were so easygoing and a pleasure to work with and trusted us with our recommendations. We were so excited to bring the vision for this project to life and shared the following Mood Board with them for feedback and approval.
Mood Board for L’s Sensory Room
Design Elements
We wanted to maximize the space and created zones to help L gain a variety of skills. The gross motor zone consisted of a climbing wall (Movement Rooms), ninja bars, a foam pit, a disc swing and balance beam (Kinderfeet). When we first connected with L’s mom, she mentioned that he loved the aquarium and ocean animals and we knew exactly where to find the wallpaper (Costa Cover) that became a beautiful focal point in the room. Christina did such a beautiful job with the wallpaper installation.
The light blue play couches from Epic Kidz helped bring out the ocean theme design and will provide protection under the gross motor play items. They also provide comfortable seating for the parents while their children play and can be moved around for imaginative/creative play.
The foam pit is a great way to provide proprioceptive input. As a parent of two autistic boys myself, I knew the foam pit would be a hit - not just for safety under the ninja bars, but also to provide that feeling of deep pressure that is sought by neurodiverse children.
The basketball net on the wall above the foam pit will be a fun way to build hand-eye coordination and increase turn taking skills. The disc swing at the centre of the room is a great way to slowly build upper body strength and agility. L is still young and not strong enough to pull his entire body around with the disc swing, so he will sit on the disc for the time-being and over time, will be able to stand and swing around as he gets stronger.
The sensory swing (Savoiz) in the corner surprised mom and dad at the reveal as L immediately gravitated towards it. It will be a great way to unwind and decompress after a busy day.
The beautiful abstract artwork was purchased from Shulli Official and was created by two young autistic artists - Ethan and Emma. It brings us so much joy to incorporate this beautiful piece in L’s room as it’s helping the Shulli family support Ethan and Emma’s ABA therapy costs.
The table and chairs by the sensory wall will be a great place for L and his little sister A to work on puzzles and other creative play. The “Let’s Play” neon sign gives an inviting feeling to the playroom as you come down the stairs and head into the gross motor zone.
The sensory wall will be a place to practice and enhance fine motor skills as there are a variety of choices (latches, locks with keys, zippers, etc.). The mirrors around the sensory panel were strategically placed so that L could see himself in the mirror. Our speech therapist used to use mirrors in the therapy sessions with my boys so that they could see themselves and make brain to body connections when they were repeating words after her. The mirrors also give ocean bubble vibes and tie nicely to the ocean/aquarium theme.
The table and chairs by the sensory wall will be a great place for L and his little sister A to work on puzzles and other creative play.
Lastly, the calming/quiet zone with the wall mounted tent canopy (Fresh Frenzy) beside the cloud book shelf with hangers (West Elm) for pretend play costumes was strategically separated from the gross motor area so that L could associate it with quiet time. A variety of different textures were placed in the canopy - A soft baby blue French linen play mat (Ourson), various decorative pillows (alphabet, star throw pillow, pompom pillow) a sweet doll (Cuddle & Kind) and a cozy bean bag chair lounger.
The project was completed on time, on scope and on budget and we are so grateful for Matt and Kevin from Drake and Co. Renos for their support with the installation.
We keep in touch with the families we donate sensory rooms to and look forward to hearing about L’s progress and development in the years to come.
If you’re interested in supporting our upcoming sensory room projects, please consider donating by visiting the Donate page. If you’re a business owner and are interested in becoming a sponsor, please feel free to contact us to learn about our sponsorship packages.
Lots of love,
Natalie Abkarian Cimini
President, For Little Monkeys Charity
Believe in a Spectrum of Possibilities
