Child's Playroom

While there are other rooms in the house where your children hang out, watch TV, play on the computer, or play a board game with the rest of the family, nothing can be quite the same as having an actual room that is 100% dedicated to play. A child's playroom is like creating a little piece of heaven right there in your home for your child.

While you might feel that a play room is a waste of space, or that the bedroom can function as both a child's playroom and sleeping quarters, having a room dedicated solely to play is important. Every child should have a room set aside for fueling the imagination. Making a child's playroom is about giving your children the space and the equipment needed to inspire play, and spark their creativity. A child's playroom is like the key or permission to utilizing the imagination a child has, and who has more imagination than children? No one!

So, when you are designing and creating a child's playroom, it is important to find a balance between fun and functional. You also need to realize that not every child is going to be the same, so for families with more than one child, the playroom needs to meet the needs of all the children in the house. Design your playroom around the natural tendencies of your children. For example, what type of play does your child enjoy the most? Sports? Arts and crafts? Building forts? Acting? Playing Dress ups? Building blocks? Etc. You want to build a room, and design a room that will meet the current, and future, needs of the child when it comes to play. For example, if the child likes playing dress up, you could create a child's playroom that is near a staircase, and use the space under the stairs to create a castle. Then the child has a ready made place to play princess and dragon, etc.

Before designing the playroom, get input from the whole family. This is a great way to help figure out what future needs may be. Also, plan ahead by building things like adjustable shelving, and plenty of flat surfaces for future projects. Remember that a child at 5 years old plays very differently than a 10 year old. So, make spaces that will accommodate both. Create bins that can be filled with toys or all shapes and sizes so as the interests change the furniture doesn't have to. Also, have plenty of room for play, floor space is important, but so is room for sitting, reading, movies, and of course drawing, painting, and crafts. Have plenty of "desktop" or "table top" space.

Basically, to keep your child's playroom versatile, and something that can grow with the child, try to keep the permanent elements in the room like tables, chairs and wall units basic. This will mean that you capture the functionality, and spend a lot less money in the long run. Even though your child may love Strawberry Shortcake and Friends, buying a table that is painted like that, or like Nemo, etc. is not smart, unless you plan to buy a new table and chairs every time your child's interest or favorite movie changes. Instead, accent with their current favorites, and use basics and neutrals for the staples.

Use functional for the permanent fixtures, and have fun bringing the room together with decorative accessories like fashionable throws, wall decals, posters, and storage bins.

The following are ten fun tips for increasing the creativity and fun aspect of the room:
1. In the craft area paint the chairs in different colors, this adds flare.
2. Use multi-colored rubber puzzle pieces for a fun floor design.
3. Use a bulletin board for displaying artwork and posting special activity reminders, as this is a great way to change things out.
4. Use clear containers as storage boxes for small craft supplies, this adds color to the room, and allows you to see what is in the box without getting it down or out.
5. Create more storage space by painting an old table and covering the sides with fabric to hide roll out storage containers of craft supplies.
6. Use what you have, and simply revitalize it with a little spray paint, this adds color, and cuts cost.
7. Purchase unfinished shelves and paint them to match the room, this is not hard and saves money.
8. Make the room more user friendly, and protect little fingers from hard edges by padding the toy box, shelf edges, etc. with quilt batting and fabric that matches the rooms dcor.
9. Create handy little cubbies by installing a few wooden shelving boxes here and there.
10. Kids love to play in enclosures, so leave plenty of room and materials for fort building, or for easier cleanup, consider purchasing a lightweight nylon tent enclosure.

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