A love of storytime inspired this simply decorated playroom where homeowner Perienne Sadler’s two girls can curl up with a good book – or three.

Perienne was happy to sacrifice a would-be office for a playroom because she needed to remove the toys from five-year-old Simone’s bedroom: “The little monkey was sneaking out of bed and playing during the night.” Plus, Perienne prefers all the adult spaces to be toy-free. “But I also felt it was important to have an area where the girls could really blossom creatively on their own,” she explains. Books were the design inspiration for the playroom, since Simone and her sister, Emmerson, 3, love storytime.

Perienne kept it practical and budget friendly by incorporating very little furniture – two wicker chairs are the only seating. “I figured the girls are young – they need space to move around, and half the time they sit on the carpet anyway,” she says. But the most sensible design element is the wall-to-wall picture ledges. “Simone and Emmerson are too young to read book spines, so displaying the covers allows them to choose exactly the ones they want.”

Perienne adorned the inside of the canvas teepee with fun toss cushions, a sheepskin rug and tiny white lights so the girls can comfortably read in it, too.