KarenWhat could be more fun than designing a playroom for your child? While your little one’s nursery or bedroom is no doubt a haven of quiet and calm, a playroom becomes a dedicated space for toys and fun – a place where characters and creativity run riot. Wherever space will allow, it’s important to introduce a separate playroom, or a corner in which toys, playfulness and craft supplies can exist in their own frenetic world. Not only will this enable children to differentiate between work, rest and play, but such a space also becomes handy when it’s time to wind down and tidy up. A playroom project is a fantastic creative outlet for parents, and provides a nurturing, fun environment for children who might be growing up a little too quickly for your liking.
When it comes to designing a dedicated playroom for your child, or children, it might be worth thinking about the following.
Planning your playroom
Think very carefully about how your new playroom will be used. Will it continue its role as a spare bedroom whenever you have guests, or will it be used solely as a play space? Will you need to undergo an afternoon of decluttering and reorganising prior to moving everything in? Your answer to such questions will enable you to plan your décor and furniture accordingly. If your children are old enough, ask them to contribute colour and theme ideas; this new playroom is likely to be born out of such compromise, after all.
Playful colours and textures
Playrooms are supposed to be fun; exercise your right to an imagination as you consider décor, furnishings and colour schemes. Bold, primary and secondary colours work particularly well in playroom environments. Meanwhile, varying textures, such as soft rugs placed onto floor tiles or wood, will provide a sensory experience that’s enriching and exciting for little hands and feet. Your new playroom should be enticing, a room where adults and children alike will want to spend their time. How could you make it more homely?
Clever storage and space
Have you ever noticed just how much stuff children tend to accumulate? The chances are that you’ve got enough craft supplies, toys, games pieces and books to repopulate a large department store several times over. Where is it all going to fit? Clever storage is your best friend; think fun toy boxes, hanging baskets for teddies, floating shelves and canvas book racks, with plenty of height-appropriate storage so that your children can help themselves to the items they’re allowed at any given time.
A safer space in which to play
If your child is going to spend any time at all unsupervised in their new playroom, you must be on the lookout for hazards. Have you fastened bookcases, storage units and shelves to the wall appropriately, and wrapped all cables and wires away out of sight? Are sharp edges and plug sockets covered? One hazard that you’ve perhaps overlooked is that of the curtains, which are likely to be secured with fabric ties or controlled by string pulleys. Made-to-measure shutters are a fantastic alternative to curtains; the mechanisms are often hidden, and they’re great at controlling the flow of heat and light into the home, ensuring that your playroom is never too hot or cold, light or dark.
Room to grow and flourish
In a dream world, we’d all have the space and budget to accommodate bigger and better playrooms as our children grow and develop. The reality is that many of us are lumped with what we’ve got. A playroom must be able to adapt to new interests and welcome widening social circles and changing personalities; create a blank canvas that will grow with your family. The best playrooms are those that use the space flexibly, including workstations that later become homework hubs, and removable decals and borders so that you won’t have to start from scratch each time a colour or character falls out of favour. Imagine how much fun you’ll have designing a new playroom time after time.
Whether you’ve chosen a quiet corner with a reading nook beneath the stairs, or you’ve converted a spare bedroom or utility room into the playroom of your dreams, this project is likely to involve, and excite, the whole family. After all, what could be more fun than designing, furnishing and using a room that’s dedicated to favourite toys and games, crafting activities, and the nurturing of childhood playfulness? By all means choose, and enforce a few ground rules for your new playroom or space. Well, we can only take so much chaos as parents. However, be prepared to take a step back and allow your children to relax and unwind as they see fit. Your little ones are developing personalities and taking their first steps into the world as we speak; this new playroom will become an essential part of this voyage of discovery.
*partnered post
