Remember when I teamed up with Jen of the infamous I Heart Organizing for that fabulous FLOR giveaway? And how she used her rug to complete her equally fabulous playroom? Well… I begged, pleaded and cajoled until finally she agreed to come back and spill all her organizational secrets with us today as part of Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life. Enjoy!
Our playroom is one of our favorite rooms in the house, because it is by far the most used and loved room. It has been set up and designed for all members of the family to enjoy, and it is the one room where we were able to go bold with color and pattern.
The kids primarily use the room to play, but it is also used for reading, watching movies, playing some Wii, doing puzzles, drawing and crafting, cuddling and playing games. That is a lot of activities for one room to manage. Here are some of the key components I was sure to consider when creating a successful multi-functional play space.
- A place to play! What I love most about our playroom, is that we were able to give ourselves loads of floor space for block building and train track designing. The play table is easy enough for the two younger boys to move, and they are left with a large area to do what they do best!
- Labels galore! The playroom gets messy, and fast! And I am OK with that; it is what the room is intended for after all. But I do expect my kids to be responsible for helping {or completely owning} pickup time. Since my youngest is still learning to read, picture labels on all of the baskets ensure he is able to quickly match up toys to their proper homes.
When picture labels aren’t an option, think about other ways your child can relate the toy to the bin. For our Legos, we used colored paper for the words, which again, makes it easy for quick identification.
- A place to be creative! I believe that a playroom should inspire and it is also where kids feel the most inspired and creative. So, I encourage them to also use it as a place to grab some crayons and markers, a notepad and craft. {If your kiddos are younger I encourage the crafts to be stored up higher or behind locking doors.}
The play table in the playroom is actually an old coffee table that was given new life with some spray painted legs and a top that was coated in chalkboard paint. The kids use the table to create chalk roads for their cars and cities for their Lego builds. They also use the table for writing and playing games.
- Display it! Not only do I try and encourage the kids to be creative in their play space, but I also love to display creative art created by them, photos of positive life moments and inspiring quotes that have special meaning to our family.
- A place to read. Although we do allow the kids to watch a little TV or play a quickie game on the Wii, we really encourage reading in our home first and foremost. We have spots to read in our living room and in each of the kid’s bedrooms, but I also wanted to ensure that they had a cozy nook to curl up with a good book within their happy playroom as well.
- A cozy place to sit! Instead of investing in one single couch for the playroom, I wanted to invest in seating that made more sense for the space. The benches are just two IKEA Expedit shelves with cushion toppers, however they are slim enough for lots of little bottoms {playdate anyone?}, while also allowing for the room to function for playing {since they are huge space savers!}. We also invested in a few small chairs and floor poofs, which are mobile and cozy. This allows the kids to pull up seating wherever they are playing or reading or crafting. They love being on the floor, so the floor cushions are really great options for us and the space.
- Versatile storage.Toys come in so many shapes and sizes. We use the baskets within the benches for majority of the toys {potato heads, matchbox cars, Duplo blocks and train tracks}, but for the larger toys and games, the painted Craigslist find of an entertainment center, really packed a lot of storage punch!
- A few more simple tips:
- Good flooring is something that should always be considered for a playroom. We went through a few different options before discovering the perfect solution. Some rugs were too rough, some were too thin and not easy to clean, we finally settled on FLOR carpet tiles since they are not only soft, but a single tile can be removed to clean or be replaced, without purchasing an entirely new rug. It is just important to consider something soft, durable, stain resistant and low pile so that it doesn’t eat the Legos and other itty bitty toy pieces.
- Puzzles work great stored in Ziploc bags. They are a huge space saver over all of the stacks of cardboard boxes.
- Indoor/Outdoor fabrics are fabulous! I used them for the DIY bins I created and for the bench cushions. They are designed to repel fluids and stains making them the perfect durable option for playroom upholstery projects.
- Limit the number of toys in the space. It may look like we have an endless supply of toys, and I will admit, our kids are fortunate. However, we have donated and purged many toys that have been gifted to the kids, to keep things as simple as possible. Most of the toys they do have belong to larger sets or can easily be categorized within an existing set. Letting friends and family members know the types of toys the kids already have and love, allow them to grow those specific collections vs. creating endless new ones. This ensures that we don’t have to continue to invest in expanding our current storage and doesn’t allow the boys to become overwhelmed with too many options.
- Have fun! Play with colors and patterns that you might not normally use, playrooms are the one space in the home that you can get away with just about anything. Although I created the space for our youngsters, I find myself wanting to spend just as much time in it as they do, since it just creates a warm and joyful feeling.
What other key components make up a successful play space in your home?
This post is part of MPMK’s “Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life”. You can read all about it here, check out all of our projects here, and join thousands of POYEL facebook group members here.
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