Designing a Playroom

A playroom is first and foremost about fun. The key is to capture your child’s imagination and create a room where your children will love spending time.

Ideally, a great playroom will have lots of space with areas for physical, creative and pretend play as well as quiet time for reading. It should be a place to call their own, a reflection of their personalities and interests.

If you’re lucky enough to have a designated playroom then here’s some ideas for creating a multi purpose, fun and easy to tidy space.

Start by thinking about what and how much stuff your Children have got? Storage should be smart enough to fulfil today’s and next year’s needs. Children want to be able to find what they need, when they need it, all by themselves.
Decide which toys you want to be easily accessible without supervision. These can be kept in floor baskets, totes, tubs and toy chests. Higher storage such as shelving will probably be needed for art/craft materials, CDs, DVDs, playdoh, glues, games with small pieces and possibly jigsaws. Otherwise you’ll end up with toy soup all over the floor.
If you’d like them to have a TV, then a wall mounted screen is ideal away from sticky fingers and annoying little brothers playing with the on/off switch.
Consider easy to clean hard and durable flooring. Your best efforts to keep food out of the playroom will be foiled. You can add comfort with washable rugs, cushions and beanbags.
Don’t keep a bin in the playroom, toddlers will be fascinated by it and do their best to get into it.
Group toys together e.g. play shopping, dollies, transport, dressing up or building.
Keep it fresh and fun. Why not transform a blank wall into a blackboard or corkboard. String up a wire with pegs to display their artwork.
If your child has a hobby such as ballet, why not fit a ballet bar against one wall with a big mirror.
Small children’s furniture is ideal for a playroom, small armchairs, tables and chairs, bean bags etc can make a room feel special for little people.
Remember that children are much shorter than you, design the space with their height in mind. Lots of interest at floor and lower wall level particularly for crawling babies and toddlers.
String lights and soft rugs can make a room feel cosy and magical.
Hang fun interesting hooks for bags, aprons and jackets.
A memory wall is a great idea for a playroom, create displays of fun pictures of friends and family to encourage happy memories and a feeling of security.
Leave some open space for physical play if you have room.
Keep safety the top priority. Anchor any high units or shelves to the wall, ensure trailing leads are secure, use socket protectors and ensure toys are suitable and safe.