When little M became mobile, we realized that our sweet, simple little play mat set up just wouldn’t be enough to keep her entertained and help her develop, all while staying safe.  I knew I wasn’t a fan of playpens, and our open floor plan just doesn’t lend itself well to creating a separate space for her, so we needed to get creative! We had the whole downstairs of our house baby-proofed, so that M could crawl around to her heart’s content, without my hovering over her all the time, and then we set out to create a safe play space for her that was functional and non-toxic, while still blending in with our modern and minimal decor (no small feat, if you’re familiar with the options out there!).