One of the things I receive the most messages and emails about is people wondering how we have set up the kids play spaces in our home.
I admit our kids are very lucky with what they have space-wise in this house. They are lucky enough have two areas that are dedicated to playing and creating.
If you have been a reader for a while you will know I like to change our house around a lot. We have recently done a whole switcheroo {again} and I think we’re pretty settled now with how things are laid out. This first area was originally designed to be a ‘games room’ as per the house plans and is part of our main open plan living area in our home. For a short time this was our dining room but we have since changed it back to a space for the kids.
As this area is open plan, I can see and talk to the kids from the kitchen, our dining table or from our living room couch.
In here we have a small table and chairs and the kids writing workshop in one area. In another area we have their kitchen and various kitchen themed toys. Just beneath where I am taking the photo we have a bench seat and next to that is a modified version of the school corner I did up at the beginning of the school year.
This small table is where the kids usually do their crafting and creating. I try to keep the dining table clear of everything except Noah’s homework, making getting ready for meal-times a little easier if we haven’t had time to pack up or if we have wanted to come back to things later.
The table and chairs were from Officeworks but they are no longer stocked which is a shame because they are a great size for growing kids!
The writing workshop is used multiple times a day and is one of the best things I have ever done for my kids. They love it and I love that they have access to paper, pencils, crayons, stickers etc so they can write and draw or create when they like.
The play kitchen used to be in the playroom but I found the kitchen stuff was what was consistently coming out into the main part of the house. Chloe loves to play in her kitchen and set up tea parties and picnics and bring us breakfast in bed and so it made sense to bring it out into the main part of the house and it works much much better out here than it did in the playroom.
The kids playroom contains a desk for playing on {see our IKEA hack here}, a place to display their art, a place to read, heaps of storage and a large home made magnetic chalkboard for drawing and learning.
It is just off the main area of the house {again we can see into it from the dining table} but as it used to be a bedroom it is separated. I do love that there is a door and I can close it if it has been left messy and I don’t want to look at it!
We also keep the door closed after dinner {toys are usually packed away before dinner} so that we can do the dinner/bed/bath routine without playroom temptation. In the mornings the door is also closed and this serves as an incentive for getting ready for school on time – the kids know once they’ve done chores after breakfast and are all dressed ready to go that they can go into the playroom to play but before then it’s closed.
Our playroom hasn’t changed too much since we did it up for the kids a couple of years ago. You can read that post here. The layout is the same with just a few changes mostly to storage. We added in two trofast units that used to be in Noah’s wardrobe as the large trofast tubs are great for storing some of our more bulky toys. We also moved the reading nook out when we moved the kitchen and use the wardrobe for storage.
I am also often asked how I organise the toys in here. Basically each kind of toy has it’s own tub/basket/box making them easy to find and easy to put away. I will share more on organising our kids spaces soon so let me know if you have any specific questions :o}
So I know my kids are very lucky to have all of this space, it wasn’t always like this and in our old house they had a small corner of our living room for most toys and the rest was kept in their bedrooms. Here we have the opposite and the kids have books and soft toys in their rooms and the rest is in here.
I feel it’s really important to make use of what you have and try different solutions until it works for you – not every household is the same and I think it’s great to get a variety of ideas and inspiration from all over to help create something individual and workable for your family.
Growing up, myself and 3 brothers spent most of our time without a playroom and we just used each others rooms for playing and this worked well for us. Kids certainly don’t need lots of space to play and create, but I am super happy with our current arrangement and think it works well in our current home and for how our kids play at this stage.
What have you found works well for you and your family when it comes to kids play spaces?
Bianca it all looks beautiful. We have a playroom/toyroom but I am finding it cluttered. The kids have almost no toys in their rooms so everything is in the toyroom. Do your kids have much stuff in their rooms? Your toyroom looks so minimilast I’m wondering where all the stuff is!!?? We have an 5 x 5 IKEA expedit but half of the cubes have books in them – where are all your books (we have way too many I know)WE don’t have an excess of toys but it is increasing with my big boy branching out into lego kits and new things (TMNT, Spiderman etc) and just turning 5 so we’ve been kind of inundated. xxxx
We are lucky enough to have a large space to use a play area as well, I only keep “special toys” in little Mister room – for me bedrooms are for resting/ recharging & quiet time. I love Ikea cube units to keep ours tidy but easy to get to. lots of my family & friends think I have OCD with tiding up at the end of each day – but I think its getting little Mister into a great routine!
Absolutely stunning Bianca! I love it 🙂 Can I ask, it seems as though there aren’t a LOT of toys?? I’m just wondering if you cull regularly, or prefer the kiddos to have fewer toys, etc?? I only ask because I think my boys have TOO many toys & they tend to not play with them. Wondering if it’s coz it’s a bit overwhelming?? Though, they’re organised, there is a lot. Hope that makes sense!!
where did you buy the kitchen & fruit & veg stand? what age did you find this appropriate? do you have plastic tablecloth on the craft table? clever idea. Any tips for a set up for a 1+ yr old girl? thanks
Hey! I got a wooden fruit set for my baby just searching through ebay. They have velcro to make them stick together and then you can “cut” them apart. lots of fun!
I also LOVE that fruit and veg stand, would love to get 1 for my daughters for Xmas, Can you let us know where you got it from please Bianca 🙂 The room looks great!
Looks fantastic Bianca – your kids are v lucky! A question – where / how do you store the larger items that tend to multiply at night (Duplo, lego, train sets etc etc)!??? Oh and where did you buy those adorable blue fabric boxes in the expedit?
I love your Kids playroom, I have just ordered the fruit stand to go with the ikea kitchen, Can I ask where you go your writing workshop shelf/bookcase from?
Hi Kristie!
It was a second hand bookshelf off gumtree! Just a fluke find really but ended up being perfect! It’s branding on the back though is from Treehouse 🙂
The fruit stand / market stall is so much fun! My kids still LOVE this big time. 🙂 x
Bianca it all looks beautiful. We have a playroom/toyroom but I am finding it cluttered. The kids have almost no toys in their rooms so everything is in the toyroom. Do your kids have much stuff in their rooms? Your toyroom looks so minimilast I’m wondering where all the stuff is!!?? We have an 5 x 5 IKEA expedit but half of the cubes have books in them – where are all your books (we have way too many I know)WE don’t have an excess of toys but it is increasing with my big boy branching out into lego kits and new things (TMNT, Spiderman etc) and just turning 5 so we’ve been kind of inundated. xxxx
We are lucky enough to have a large space to use a play area as well, I only keep “special toys” in little Mister room – for me bedrooms are for resting/ recharging & quiet time. I love Ikea cube units to keep ours tidy but easy to get to. lots of my family & friends think I have OCD with tiding up at the end of each day – but I think its getting little Mister into a great routine!
Absolutely stunning Bianca! I love it 🙂 Can I ask, it seems as though there aren’t a LOT of toys?? I’m just wondering if you cull regularly, or prefer the kiddos to have fewer toys, etc?? I only ask because I think my boys have TOO many toys & they tend to not play with them. Wondering if it’s coz it’s a bit overwhelming?? Though, they’re organised, there is a lot. Hope that makes sense!!
where did you buy the kitchen & fruit & veg stand? what age did you find this appropriate? do you have plastic tablecloth on the craft table? clever idea. Any tips for a set up for a 1+ yr old girl? thanks
Hey! I got a wooden fruit set for my baby just searching through ebay. They have velcro to make them stick together and then you can “cut” them apart. lots of fun!
I also LOVE that fruit and veg stand, would love to get 1 for my daughters for Xmas, Can you let us know where you got it from please Bianca 🙂
The room looks great!
where did ypu get the art display wire from?
Looks fantastic Bianca – your kids are v lucky! A question – where / how do you store the larger items that tend to multiply at night (Duplo, lego, train sets etc etc)!??? Oh and where did you buy those adorable blue fabric boxes in the expedit?
I love your Kids playroom, I have just ordered the fruit stand to go with the ikea kitchen, Can I ask where you go your writing workshop shelf/bookcase from?
Hi Kristie!
It was a second hand bookshelf off gumtree! Just a fluke find really but ended up being perfect! It’s branding on the back though is from Treehouse 🙂
The fruit stand / market stall is so much fun! My kids still LOVE this big time. 🙂 x