Design my Dream Playroom

[medawyn]

We're finishing some attic space in our house and gaining about 400 sq feet of.  The space is L-shaped with dormer windows on one side and skylights on the other.  The walls are about 6 feet tall where they meet the ceiling, but the ceiling height in the middle of the room is... high.  The only plan I have is one (long!) wall of book shelves.  What would you put in your dream playroom space?  My kids are currently ages 1-6, but we're obviously planning this as a long-term flexible space.

[Chris in VA]

Lots and lots of blocks, esp from Right-brained Mom. An easel and good easy care flooring. Outlets for a light table and overhead projector for light play. Lots of plants. A low moveable platform to use as a place for building, or a stage. Baically a Reggio-looking space using soft, nature inspired colors w minimal plastic--baskets for storage, place for playdough/clay/messy art, a soft cozy corner, books turned w covers out on gutter shelving....

[Jaybee]

Eventually, a craft closet and a good table for handling those crafts. (A sink nearby is helpful if you go this route.) Open-ended supplies of construction paper, markers, glue, craft sticks, pipe cleaners, googly eyes, pompoms, safety scissors, tape, drawing and painting supplies, etc. Then add some drawing books plus books with paper craft ideas. Our kids spent hours on projects they found in our supply of idea books.

[rebcoola]

Comfy sitting that moves, lots of storage, flat surface or two for building or art projects.

[prairiewindmomma]

I would like a work area (flat table)....maybe against the end.... like this: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/395050198577090444/  It allows older kids to work at puzzles, sew, or do other table-based activities.

I like the comfortable seating in this playroom: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/49328558405503984/  Having a comfy couch to curl up with a book is nice, especially if you have to be on hand to supervise play at times.

I'm all about closed storage for toys. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/758434393479935812/  Open bin storage tends to get dumped, and it can be clutter.  I love the idea of lockable low cabinets.

[Miss Tick]

Maybe you have space for one or two swinging chairs?

[katilac]

Mostly shelves, lots and lots of shelves. Make them sturdy and go up high. You can make some of the higher ones that won't be in daily use big enough to store some bigger Rubbermaid bins and use it for toy rotation and to store toys they don't play with but aren't ready to give away, memorabilia, etc.  

It would be a great place to have a good-sized toy kitchen. That's something that gets long-term use in most groups of kids (and it's fairly adaptable to other imaginary purposes). 

I wouldn't get spendy on furniture. Maybe look for second hand coffee tables that can be used or converted to train/car tables, building spaces, and puzzle surfaces. A nice low table is awesome for jigsaw puzzles when they get to more complicated ones, and so nice to be able to leave it out but not on the dining room table. I'd rather go on the cheap side even if it's not 'cute' furniture, bc you won't know what really gets used until you live with the space a while. When you do find things that really work, you can always start looking for a nicer version. Honestly, though, I'd probably just buy some paint if you want color and let the kids have at it, lol. 

A small playhouse or fort of some type, either purchased or made, maybe scrounge up a stack of old sheets and blankets to leave up there (not sheets, see my post below). Some old laundry baskets, too, for nesting and 'driving.' 

Easy care, water resistant floors. No carpet, they can use the old blankets. 

I'm the opposite of prairiewindmomma, I like open storage. It makes pick up so much easier, and having to remove a lid never kept my kids from dumping the bin, lol. We had open bins that went on the shelves, each bin was either a particular toy or a particular category. So all the Rescue Heroes lived together, likewise Polly Pockets, bouncing balls, blocks, and so on. If the Rescue Heroes outgrew their designated bin, they needed to purge either them or another type of toy, so they'd have a place to live. (I perfected the art of saying, All toys need a home to be happy, with a perfectly straight face). And even if they dumped tons of stuff out, I could guide them from a very young age: look for all the Rescue Heroes and put them in this bin. Great, now all the blocks . . . 

Disclaimer: our toy room never looked anything like any of those Pins. 

Edited November 21, 2019 by katilac

[katilac]

Do budget for lots of furniture straps to secure all the shelves and anything like dressers, TVs, or whatever you might put up there! 

And I withdraw my suggestion for old sheets, because I just remembered the tragedy several years back when a girl in the homeschooling community died when she accidentally strangled herself playing with a sheet. She was making an indoor hammock out of it if I recall correctly. I may have the details wrong but sheets and lots of children - yeah, please ignore that suggestion. I think blankets are probably pretty safe, like thicker ones they can't tie in knots. 

Now I'm remembering when my heart stopped because I looked outside to see my dd about to jump off the top of the swing set with a jump rope slung around her neck. A webcam or two, that's what I'd put up there, lol. 

[prairiewindmomma]

My recommendation for lockable toy storage is a safety thing, fwiw. If you are sending only littles upstairs, the “big kid” toys and supplies can be locked up. Your kids are all still little but this will be more of an issue in a few years, IME. 

You might also look for an anchor spot in the beams as you are doing construction. You could add a pod swing now (when everyone is supervised) and switch it out for a sky chair when your kids are older.

[Katy]

I'd have lots of outlets, as high as possible on the wall so little kids can't reach them but 10 year olds can.

While you might want a wall of lockable cabinets for art supplies, dangerous or messy things I like the idea of lightweight, low modular open cabinets or cubes in the rest of the room instead.  Enough to line all the open walls.  These can be used as toys too - you can pull them out and have a play house, or a play store, or a bank, or a set for an imaginary cooking show.  The cheapest way to do this is building them yourself with plans from Ana White's website.

For the taller, dangerous cabinets you can use simple nylon webbing from the ribbon & trim section of a fabric or craft store to anchor them to the wall, or screw right through the back of them.  You don't need to budget for an elaborate system.  $10 of nylon webbing & screws is enough.

I'd also put several anchors in beams in the ceiling so you can hang swings or a yoga silk or anything, like ribbons or lengths of fabric for tents from the ceiling (once you can trust them not to strangle themselves with the fabric).

[Beth S]

It would be nice to have built-in storage along the knee-walls.

I'd love to figure out how to incorporate these Attic Truss Shelves:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005IXKX2Y/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=sl1&tag=hss101site-20&linkId=e85dbfb3ea046629c5303e17f804dc53

 

[Meriwether]

Lots of shelving, comfy seating near windows, a couple of tables, and really good lighting. Flat, smooth flooring for building with various toys, but also at least one area with a comfortable floor rug. For the tables, I'd get a low one for the younger kids and a taller one for the older kids. If layout allows, I'd possibly put a gate across one part of the L so the big kids could have things that would be dangerous for the little ones. My older kids kept Playmobil and Lego on a pool table and played up there when I had toddlers. I'd use natural, peaceful colors and open-ended toys. I'd love to say no plastic toys, but as you can see my kids played with plastic toys a lot. I'd also put hooks on part of one wall for dress-up clothes.