If you have the space in your home, creating a playroom is great for the kids it can also make life around the house easier for grown-ups. Having an area where the bulk of toys are located means less clutter throughout the house. It also means that children can have a place designed purely for kids to be kids.
When tossing around playroom design and decorating ideas, remember to think of safety. As children get older and can be left unsupervised in the playroom, you want to be comfortable that it truly is a safe place to play. These tips can help you decide how to decorate a playroom with creativity and safety in mind.
Playroom Design Ideas
When designing your playroom, think about the space available and plan for things to skirt the room’s perimeter, leaving the center free and clear for play. Then, spend some time in the area with a paper and pen; sketching out different layouts provides a helpful visual aid for space optimization.
Think about your child/children and what their interests are. For example, if it is arts and crafts they enjoy most, be sure to include a small table and create a space where crafts can be proudly displayed if acting and role play, a stage, puppet theater, or dress-up station will be a hit.
If there is a closet or space near the playroom that can be cleared out, this is advantageous for rotating toys and keeping the area less cluttered, so there is always plenty of room for play.
Be sure to include toy storage units accessible to the child, ones they can see inside, reach, take out, and put away on their own.
Also, include lots of durable toy bins for quick clean-up. Again, plastic buckets are the best for this; they come in all colors, vary in size, and are virtually indestructible.
If you have the space, include a place for grown-ups to sit. Chances are, you will be spending a lot of time in there, so you may as well be comfortable.
Playroom Decorating Ideas
This is a personal preference, but when decorating with an obvious theme, remember that a child’s interests change as they grow. Decorating your playroom in a way that can change with them, rather than doing a complete decorating overhaul when their interests change, makes things easier for you.
When it comes to decorating the walls, there are more options than just paint color. Wall decals are a fantastic way to provide that decorating pizazz. Good-quality decals can be moved/removed without damaging the walls and quickly switched out to suit the child’s changing interests. You can even purchase decal clocks where everything but the middle mechanism and hands are decals.
Avoid things that can be knocked off the walls, especially frames with glass. Instead, use your child’s craft creations to decorate walls in ways that the artwork can easily be switched out for seasonal decorating. DIY open-back art display frames and craft lines are great ways to proudly display the many crafts children will bring home once they are in school.
Playroom Safety Tips
- Make sure there are no sharp edges or glass in the room.
- Use safe light fixtures that have cages over the glass to make them shatterproof.
- Make sure all electrical outlets have child-safety plugs installed.
- Avoid shelves. They are tempting as they can keep things out of their reach, but once they figure it out, they will by piling things up to reach them.
- Make sure all large pieces of furniture or toy storage units are secured to the wall.
These easy tips on how to decorate a playroom can help you create a fun, creative, and safe environment where kids can enjoy being kids.
