Jul 01

The Benefits of Having a Kids Playroom

Are you tired of tripping over your child’s toys in every room of the house, or having to clear them off your child’s bed every time they go to sleep? Kids love playing with their toys, but getting them to keep them in one place can be a real problem. This is why many parents decide to make a kids playroom in their home.

If you have young children in your house, then having a playroom serves many benefits.

-          It keeps the toys in one area

-          It can help energetic tikes to sleep better if the toys are out of the bedroom and out of sight

-          It provides a safe environment for the children to play in

-          It keeps the noise level down in other parts of the house

-          It prevents precious toys going missing and the drama that usually follows such situations

-          It creates a fun, magical place in your home, where your children can develop and learn through their play

A playroom is often the only place where kids can freely play and be kids, without getting hurt or getting in other people’s way. A playroom doesn’t have to be fancy, or have all the latest gadgets; even the simplest of playrooms, with just the bare basics, will give children the feeling that they have a place to call their own.

You can set up a playroom with a fairly small budget, but you could also get pretty fancy and even have a theme to the room like ‘Fairy-princesses’ or ‘Pirates’. You can find all sorts of theme ideas on the web, as well as tips from other parents on how to decorate without spending too much.

The first thing you will want to do is to choose a color for your playroom. If your child is old enough, he or she will probably have a preference, and they might even like going to the hardware store to help you pick out paint or wallpaper. It’s amazing what a lick of paint can do to a room. It can turn a once very boring extra bedroom, into an exciting play place that perfectly suits your child’s fun personality.

Painting the room will completely change the environment and ‘feel’ of being in the room. And, what’s great about a child’s playroom is that you can be as creative as you want. You can paint each wall a different color, or have the top half of the wall painted a different color than the bottom half. You could even paint a few theme inspired murals on the wall if you are particularly artistic.

Once the walls are finished, you’ll have to think about what furniture you will use in the room. A few simple items, like a comfy chair for story time, bookshelf for kids’ books, and a toy box or toy organizer, will help to round out your playroom. You may also want to add a play mat for young children or babies. You can make the room as simple, or as elaborate as you and your child like. Adding wall art can complete the look of the room, and make it a magical place, that your children will fondly remember when they grow up.

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Posted in baby room decorating ideas, childrens furniture, decorating kids play room, Links, play room furniture, playroom organization

Jul 01

Designing Your Own Kids Playroom

As any parent with small kids will tell you, kids are messy; fun, – but messy. Keeping the mess contained is about all a parent can do to keep from going mad. The average parent of one or more 1 to 6 year olds will have their tender foot impaled on Optimus Prime’s pointy shoulder or some other beloved, yet annoyingly hard and pointy toy, several times a week and sometimes several times a day.

One way to keep all these toys in one area, and also provide a safe place for your children to play in, is to make a kids playroom in your home. You can turn just about any extra room in your house into a playroom; even unused garages and basements can be refurbished to be excellent play spaces.

Deciding to make an extra room in your house into a playroom is probably one of the best decisions you will make in your early-childhood-parenting career. It will give you peace of mind knowing that your children are having fun in a safe environment, and it will also keep the toys out from under your feet, between the couch cushions, in the oven etc. basically everywhere that toys ought not to be.

It will be easier to picture your completed playroom if you first decide on some sort of theme or color scheme for the room. If your child is still a baby or toddler, this will be mainly your decision, but if your kids are a bit older they will probably have their own opinions, which may be well worth paying attention to; it is going to be their play area, after all.

Your children may surprise you with how creative they are, and you might even want them to come along with you to the hardware to pick up the paint and other supplies, and to the department store to help chose furniture and decorations. The more they are involved with the decorating and planning of the room, the more excited they will be to play in the room when it is completed.

The more personalized you can make it, the better. Make sure to include pictures of you and your child, and other family and friends on the walls or tables. A cute sign on the door with the name of your child will make it even more special.

When you are designing the room, it is extremely important to prioritize the safety of the child. Keep the age of the child in mind, and childproof the room accordingly. Do not double up and use the room for another purpose as well. People often think they can go halfs and also use the room as a study or power room. This is a big mistake. In fact, one of my friends at playgroup did just this and used the room to store all her beauty products e.g. her no no hair removal kit, her makeup, her epilators and foot spa etc… To cut a long story short, her 3 year old got into the draw where all of these were kept and cut himself with the epilator. Lesson learnt…

Older children may really benefit from having a bookshelf in the room, but toddlers might try to climb on it and it could fall on top of them. Toy boxes that look like treasure chests are extremely charming, but heavy wooden lids could slam down hard on tender little fingers, so having some safeguard in place is a must.

No matter how you decorate your playroom, just keep in mind the child’s safety, and have fun. A playroom should be a fun place where you and your children can play and grow, and decorating it should be fun too.

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Posted in decorating ideas for playrooms, decorating kids play room, Links, play room furniture, play room storage

Jul 01

Kids Playroom Theme Ideas

Anyone who was lucky enough to grow up with a kids’ playroom in their house can tell you how much fun it was. Many of these now grown up ‘kids’ remember their playrooms as being magical places, where they could play without bothering any of the ‘grown-ups’ and just be kids.

Playrooms are wonderful places for little kids. They can be made even more special if they are designed with some special theme in mind. The room can have anything from an outer space theme, with planets and stars on the ceiling, to a motorcycle theme, with a motor speedway painted right onto the walls; there really is no limit.

Some themes are easier to design a room around. For instance, if you want a sports themed room, whether you and your child are into football, tennis, or basketball, there are loads of ready made decorations and accessories that are usually pretty easy to find in your local department stores.

A cartoon character themed room is also easy to decorate, as most kid’s cartoons have loads of merchandise. A Ben10 themed room, for example, can be decorated with a swipe of green paint and a few Ben10 posters. There are even some digital photo shops that will put your kid’s face on the body of his or her favorite super hero, which can be a great piece of art to have on a kids’ playroom wall.

With some themes, you’ll have to be a bit more creative. A jungle themed playroom can be a bit more challenging, but so much fun! You can get plastic plants and vines in most department stores, and a stuffed snake hanging off of a papier-mâché tree branch will make your children feel like they are deep in the rainforest whenever they enter the room.

You can liven up any outdoor sport themed room by using artificial turf on the floor instead of carpet. This really gives it an outdoor feeling, and since it is made for playing sports on, it won’t wear out no matter how many times little knees and feet shuffle across it.

You can make a circus themed playroom by hanging the ceiling and walls with fabric to make it look like the inside of a circus tent. Stuffed elephant toys and a ‘circus ring’ consisting of a plastic kids’ pool filled with plastic balls or doubling as a toy box are great touches. You can even have a trapeze act by hanging wooden dowels from the ceiling and sitting acrobat monkeys with Velcro hands on them.

Cowboy (or Cowgirl) themes are lots of fun. You can have a ‘corral’ for loose toys, or even a ‘jail’. Items for this theme are relatively easy to find, and you may even be able to find authentic western style furniture and decorations in thrift stores.

Whatever theme you choose, the most important thing is that you and your children have fun. Sometimes, doing something as simple as painting your child’s playroom his or her favorite color, will make the child feel special and excited to play in their new playroom. Playrooms are always fun places for young kids, but a little planning and thought, when it comes to decorating them, can make them truly magical.

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Posted in childrens furniture, decorating ideas for playrooms, kids murals, kids playroom design, Links, playroom organization

Jul 01

Things to Consider When Planning a Kids Playroom

Creating a kids playroom is a great idea for any family with young children. A devoted playroom allows children to be creative and imaginative without getting in the adults hair. It also helps to contain the clutter of toys and project materials.

If you have a room or area in your home that you are planning on making into a playroom, you should really try to plan it out beforehand as much as possible, as this will help you to maximize the space and make it fun and enjoyable for the whole family.

All playrooms should have certain basic features. Safety is always the priority, and furniture and decorations should be picked out with this in mind. Choose furniture that has rounded edges, to avoid serious accidents when play time gets rowdy.

Good lighting is another must. Natural lighting is always the best, so, if possible, choose a room that has bright windows to let the daylight in. Even a playroom with optimum daylight lighting will need good lighting when the sun goes down. The single light fixture on the ceiling of most standard rooms is usually not good enough to illuminate the whole room properly. So, invest in other lighting fixtures, like lamps, but make sure that they are safe, and that there is no way that the light could tip over or break if something is tossed at it.

You will also need to think about what type of flooring you want in the room. If the room is big enough to divide up into separate areas for reading, arts and crafts, and toy play, then you might also want to vary the floor coverings in each of these areas. Vinyl flooring is great for art areas, as it can easily be wiped clean of things like paint and play dough. A warm throw rug is perfect for lounging around and reading on, and if you have small children, a foam mat is ideal for the toy area. There is a wide selection to choose from when it comes to flooring, so research your options and chose what you like best.

Storage is another thing you should think about when planning your playroom. Good storage will help keep the room more organized and clutter free. You have a lot of different styles of storage that you can choose from; from full wall shelves and dividers to laundry basket toy bins. For most parents, a mix between sturdy storage units, like drawers and shelves, and more handy and portable bins for the ‘scoopable’ toys, like Lego blocks and plastic dinosaurs, does the trick.

Furniture for the room should be carefully selected. You should try to keep it simple and do your best not to fill the room with large pieces, because, at least for small children, floor space is the most important thing. Invest in a table with a fairly large working area, so that your kids can work on their projects and play with their toys. Bean bags are really fun for kids, and for a child that is learning to read on his own, they can be so comfy. Remember that you will also be spending a lot of time in the room, so plan in a comfy chair that you can relax on and where you can read stories to little ones.

Creating a playroom can be a fun and exciting task for both you and your child. As much as possible, get input from your children on things like what colors they like best. Getting their opinion and working on the room together can help your child to feel like the room is a special place just for him, where he can relax and play and just be a kid.

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Posted in baby room decorating ideas, decorating kids play room, kids murals, Links, play room furniture, play room storage

Jul 01

Cool Things to Add to a Kids Playroom

Many parents decide to designate a room in the house as a kids playroom. This is a great idea, as it keeps all the toys and clutter in one area, provides a safe place for children to play, and helps them to be creative and imaginative.

If you feel that your playroom is missing that extra special ‘something’ maybe you should try one of the following ideas:

-          Make a dressing up closet! Or box, depending on what you have available in the room. Dress up closets can hold all sorts of awesome costumes and dress-up accessories. Dress-up closets are so much fun, and can lead to all sorts of role acting activities. A well stocked dress up closet may include hats, dresses, coats, belts, costume jewelry, and the like. This type of activity can entertain your child for hours. Just make sure that all the items in the closet are safe for your child to use, and if you want them to be able to do all the dressing up independently, the clothing should be easy to put on and take off.

-          Make a ‘sand’ box! You can do this by filling a plastic kiddie-pool with things like plastic balls (like the ones in the McDonald’s play areas) or other suitable substrate. Some parents like to fill it with aquarium gravel, but this should only be used with older children who know not to swallow the little pebbles. You can also use two boards nailed together at a 90 degree angle and placed in a corner of the room to form a square for the box. Clean up is easy, as you’ll just need to toss the balls back into the box (a fun game in itself!) or sweep up any stray pebbles.

-          Go camping in the room! You can either set up a temporary tent (a blanket draped over two chairs has always been a favorite with young kids!) or make your tent a semi-permanent structure. Many stores sell kids’ tents that just ‘pop-up’ when unfolded. These can be left ‘pitched’ in the room, and your child can hide in it whenever he or she wants to. Another great idea is to make a tepee in the room! This idea is perfect for western themed rooms and you and your child can learn something about Native American culture while you build your tent.

-          Get artistic! Many parents devote a part of the playroom to arts and crafts. A great idea to add a working art surface to a room is to paint a wall, or part of it, with special chalkboard paint. This gives your child a free pass to draw all over the wall, a big no-no in other parts of the house, which can make being able to just go to work on a wall hold a lot of attraction. Your little artist can ‘re-decorate’ just as often as he or she likes, without getting mommy and daddy upset.

Adding something new to your playroom can renew your child’s interest in playing in the room and may open up a whole new wave of imaginative play. Trying one of the ideas above, or looking online for other great ideas, is a great way to liven up the playroom and make it even more fun.

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Posted in baby room decorating ideas, childrens furniture, decorating ideas for playrooms, decorating kids play room, Links, playroom organization