Creative play is an important part of a child's development. Setting aside a room for play can be a great way to encourage play. Learn what you need to know to plan for and create a playroom that will be both fun and functional.
Difficulty: Average
Time Required: Several hours for planning and a couple of days to create
Here's How:
- Pick a theme. Successful playrooms are built around one or more themes. The theme will depend on your child's (or children's) likes and dislikes. Some playrooms have a princess theme. Or you can theme the room around favorite characters like Winnie the Pooh or Spongebob Squarepants. Or you may want to stay with a more neutral theme. When our kids were young, we built a playroom with a Raggedy Ann and Andy theme--wallpaper, colors, pillows, and more. Whatever you pick, it should be chosen with input from the kids.
- Determine areas of focus. Good playrooms have different areas for different activities. Based on the size and the layout of the room, you may want to include areas for reading, arts and crafts, active play, building and construction, a kitchen set, dressing up, or for playing with action figures. Having multiple areas of focus will make the room more versatile. But if you don't have a lot of space, you can create some flexible areas that can serve more than one purpose, depending on what toy bin or bag is out for play.
- Choose a storage strategy. Playrooms tend to have a need to store lots of toys and supplies. You will need to pick a storage strategy to meet that need. Shelves and bins are very popular in playrooms because you can group toys and supplies into different bins. One bin for building blocks, one for tinkertoys, one for action figures, one for markers and crayons...you get the idea. Some playrooms use wall pegs with colored, drawstring bags to categorize toys and supplies. Some have storage benches that serve a double purpose. But decide early since storage will be a big part of the design.
- Determine furniture needs. For the most part, a child-sized table and chairs will be the most important furniture needs. Many playrooms also include bean bag chairs, rocking chairs, a white board and a puppet theater. An easel for artwork may be a welcome addition, as well as some corkboard on the walls for displaying finished projects. Make sure that you have something that will be comfortable for adults, like a rocking chair or a love seat, so when you visit or watch a play or puppet show, you can enjoy the time you spend there with the kids.
- Set decor standards. Some dads suggest painting all walls a neutral color and that posters, pillows, wall decals, and such be used to customize the room. After all, kids grow and mature and what worked for a five year old may not work for an eleven year old. Others like to paint scenes on the walls like ground and sky, castles, race cars, and such on the walls are fun, but they require some artistic skill and may need to be painted over later.
- Choose a flooring material. Just plain carpet or hardwood floors will work in a playroom, but, depending on your theme, you may want to look at a cushioned, interlocking material that will be a little softer and more resilient. Make sure the flooring is easy to clean up and safe for children.
Tips:
- Keep safety at the top of the list. Make sure that anything you put along or on a wall is secure so that it can't tip over. If there are sharp corners on shelves, consider rounding them off.
- Consider using storage bins with lids for longer term storage. As children's interests change, so may their toy preferences. Putting current toys in see through, smaller bins low on the shelves, and putting other toys in opaque, larger bins on higher shelves will keep the room more functional.
- Set some cleanup rules. Some dads I know have set rules around cleanup, like that every toy should be picked up before dinner, or that only two bins can be out at any one time. Keeping a little bit of order will make the room at lot more usable for parents and children.
What You Need:
- Graph paper to plan out the playroom layout
- Shelves cut to the right size
- Wall mounting brackets and hardware
- Power tools and hand tools
- Paint, brushes and rollers, tarps and other paint supplies
- Lots of clear, see-through bins
- Some larger, opaque bins for long term storage
