Please Describe Your Play Room

[Anonymous]

We recently turned our dining room into a playroom.

Medium size IKEA kallax. Bottom openings have bins in them that hold cars, legos, blocks. Top openings I have a couple of books displayed. One opening has extra books just shelved like a normal bookcase. I try to rotate what’s on display. One opening has Korean language toys. A couple of other openings have puzzles, games, manipulatives. Big truck parked beside.

Two large plastic bins. One holds finished art. The other holds craft supplies like cardboard, special papers, toilet paper rolls. At 5 years old we recently added a roll top desk where he keeps his sketch pad, markers, glue, pencils, spirograph, and literacy workbooks and coloring/connect the dot books. I particularly like the roll top because I can pull it down to minimize dust or just to avoid looking at stuff.

Couch in the corner. Armchair for dad. Big rug.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We recently turned our dining room into a playroom.

Medium size IKEA kallax. Bottom openings have bins in them that hold cars, legos, blocks. Top openings I have a couple of books displayed. One opening has extra books just shelved like a normal bookcase. I try to rotate what’s on display. One opening has Korean language toys. A couple of other openings have puzzles, games, manipulatives. Big truck parked beside.

Two large plastic bins. One holds finished art. The other holds craft supplies like cardboard, special papers, toilet paper rolls. At 5 years old we recently added a roll top desk where he keeps his sketch pad, markers, glue, pencils, spirograph, and literacy workbooks and coloring/connect the dot books. I particularly like the roll top because I can pull it down to minimize dust or just to avoid looking at stuff.

Couch in the corner. Armchair for dad. Big rug.

I don’t have kid furniture because I think it’s a waste of money. He did have a random table I picked up curbside for free that I paired with an $11 plastic kids chair for art before we upgraded to the roll top.

He plays with all of it, but the desk really has encouraged him to write more and work longer on his art.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is your play room like for a 3/4 year old? I'm wondering what your storage system is like, if you have any kids' furniture, and what toys actually get played with (and which ones just sit there). TIA

Nanny here.

This varies wildly between families. Some don't have playrooms, some do. Some have kids who like sedentary activities (puzzles, dolls, construction toys), others prefer mild activity (crawling around a mat with cars, barbies going on trips through the house), while others need almost constant vigorous activity (indoor bounce, indoor playset, exercise ball rolled in toddler/preschool dodgeball).

You know your child's temperament. You know their preferences and needs for physical activity. Decide what works best for your child, playroom and household.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ours is in a first floor bedroom. In terms of furniture we have a couch, large bookcase filled with childrens books, puzzles, and some art supplies. Pop up castle tent. One of those toy organizers that has metal bars and plastic bins of various shapes that slot in. We have a side table that has a couple of shelves for us to fit a couple more toys. A child size table and chairs. We have two closets—one holds an easel and pop up tunnels. The other has trucks/cars, art supplies, play dog/sensory sand, and some other lesser used toys. I also have made two art walls to display their art.

Kids are 3 and 5. I do a clean and donate every 6 months. They only have toys in that one room (none in bedroom for example, and none live in living room but they can bring them out and play there). With the couch, we hang out quite a bit in the playroom with them. It’s one of our most used rooms.

Ours is a repurposed room. Has a fireplace and window. We put the couch in front of the fireplace for safety. At the pre-K age, little picnic/craft table, higher storage from Container Store, diagonal shelf of bins, TV and learning posters (you'd find in a classroom). We did the same with cleaning. We have evolved in ES, so now it's a gaming system, small table they use to play restaurant and a small one piece play kitchen that the 9yo is probably too big for. I clean up/donate about three times per year. No closet! That's what I'm missing, just realized it from PP.

[Anonymous]

When my kids were younger (toddler and preschool age), we turned our breakfast room (right off the kitchen) into a play room. Small dining table that was used for crafts, puzzles, play dough. Two small PB kids chairs (the pillow armchair type) and some big ground pillows. Easel. Book shelf turned into storage space for bins of small toys and craft supplies. Toy kitchen pieces.

Now that they are older, we use a spare room upstairs as a kid hang space. Same small dining table - now used for crafts, legos, homework. Big bookshelf with books. Same PB kids chairs plus an old loveseat for reading. Lots of bins for craft supplies and legos. Closet holds dress-up clothes, old stuffed animals, sewing supplies.

[Anonymous]

The things that I would definitely do again:

Chalk wall
Low shelves (for bins and playing on top, can also store large/tall toys on top)
Cushy rug pad
More open floor space than you think
Large baskets so you can clear it quickly as needed
Adult-only storage (a closet with a lock or high shelves) to rotate toys and control art supplies

Things I might skip:
Wall decals (can be pulled down and once they start, it’s over)

[Anonymous]

Our sunroom is the playroom. It’s a sitting room with the kid items integrated in. The kid furniture is a small table with two chairs and a Crate & Kids fabric playhouse that matches our decor. We have two tall wicker baskets for books, a storage ottoman for toys, and a sideboard / cabinet with drawers and hidden shelving for games and toys. It’s all neatly organized and easily hidden away when company comes over.

Separately, in our laundry room off of the kitchen, I keep art supplies since we only use those at the kitchen counter. And DD has toys in her room. Otherwise, the rest of the house is toy free. Having toys in every single room is part of toddler hood I was eager to leave behind and my now four year old is pretty tidy and adheres to it well.

[Anonymous]

I recommend storage furniture that kids can easily open/close themselves; for example, I have a toy cabinet with magnetic doors--easy for my toddler to open himself and less risk of closing on fingers