A children’s playroom can be a source of endless joy and amusement, but it can also be an eye sore. The room can easily become overwhelmed with toys and the inevitable “stuff” that seems to accumulate with having kids. But a playroom doesn’t have to be a mountain of clutter, filled with pieces of crayons, missing Barbie shoes and endless Legos to trip over (ouch!). It can instead be a purposeful extension of your home that functions as a haven for your littles to play and imagine in.
If you’re ready to clean out the clutter and create a beautiful and whimsical space to capture your child’s imagination, we’ve got you covered with 7 tips for designing the ultimate playroom.
Pick a Color Scheme
First step in designing a playroom is to decide what you want the room to look and feel like. To do this, pick a color scheme or theme for the space that will serve as your guide throughout the design process.
The key to a good color scheme is balance. If a rainbow is your design inspiration, that does not mean that everything has to be rainbow colored. A rainbow patterned rug and artwork, along with a few purposefully chosen toys or décor pieces can bring your theme to life when properly balanced by a fresh neutral paint color. All things in moderation is the key to creating a balanced playroom.
Create Different Play Zones
To create a functional playroom and get a handle on storage, divide the room into different areas, or zones, depending on their intended use. Consider what purpose you want the room to have during your initial playroom planning stage, and get specific!
Do you want the kids to have a lounging area for relaxing and watching TV? What about a reading nook? Have a crafty kid? Add in a craft station. Need open space for boisterous play sessions? What about a pretend play area for sparking those little imaginations? Whatever areas you decide on, they should be specific to your family to create a functional playroom.
Leave Open Space
Kids rooms, and playrooms in particular, tend to become cluttered with “stuff” very quickly and this can lead to them becoming visually overwhelming. To combat this sneaky problem, leave some open space throughout the room. This will help both you and your children to get some much need visual and mental rest, and help your littles from becoming overstimulated.
Get Creative With Storage
A room has both horizontal space and vertical space, don’t forget to use it! To open up more floorspace, make use of vertical shelving systems, wall hooks, wall-mounted cubbies and cabinets, as well as chalkboard and magnetic wall boards. Seating areas can also double as storage by incorporating benches and ottomans that open to hide toys and other items. And, if your house has more stuffed animals that a carnival, try creating a cozy lounge area with stuffed animal bean bag covers.
Safety First
As parents, keeping our kids safe is always a top priority and they should always be safe in their own home. So when designing your playroom, you may have to make décor decisions that cater to child safety. Remember to always anchor your furniture to the wall, use child-proof cabinets or store small toy pieces out of reach of small children and babies, consider wall-mounting a TV, install child-friendly window treatments, and use child-friendly lighting in addition to normal child safety measures, like covering outlets.
Add Something Unexpected
A playroom is the perfect space for experimenting with design elements that you may be a little nervous about adding to other spaces in your home, So take this opportunity to get creative and incorporate a fun texture, playful artwork, or an accent wall to keep it interesting.
Keep It Playful
Lastly, when designing a playroom it is okay to have a more mature or minimal design aesthetic for the space, but it is still a playroom and it should feel like one. Add a little joy to the space by incorporating a few pieces that spark that playful, whimsical side of childhood and create a little wonder for your child.
