If you are fortunate enough to have some space for a playroom, this can be a wonderful addition to any home. Consider turning a spare room, formal living or dining room, or basement into a playroom for your children. It will help keep toys out of your main living areas and provides the children their own special place. Some parents even have their children share bedrooms and turn an extra room into the playroom. Other parents have sectioned off a part of the great room for a play space. Use your creativity and what works best for your home. I’ve put a few tips below to help you in your design process.

• Some aspects of the toy room such as paint and flooring are permanent, but you might like the variety of changing toys and decorations. Keep this in mind when choosing items for your playroom.
• Children love bright colors in their playroom. Have them help you pick out the paint or choose cheery colors you enjoy. Don’t be afraid to use two different colors perhaps a different color on each wall or a wall divided by a crown molding strip or border with one paint color on top and another at the bottom.
• Consider getting some chalkboard paint and putting this on one wall or some section of a wall. It will serve as an instant chalkboard and you can use erasers or a dry wet rag to keep it clean.
• Murals can be fun and easy. If you are not the most artistically inclined person, keep it simple. Any of us can do trees, flowers, rainbows, balloons, moons, stars, clouds, etc. If you have a more artistic friend or family member you might enlist their help.
• You might want to keep one wall free that you can use to display your child’s art and craft work. Children love to have their works displayed. When it gets full, you can take it down and replace it with new work.
• You might also want to have one area of the wall devoted to framed pictures of your child with their friends and family celebrating special or fun times. Just as adults are comforted by pictures of their loved ones, so are children.
• Hard surface flooring is ideal because it cleans up easier than carpet. However, you might consider putting down a fun rug or area carpet to protect whatever flooring you have in the space.
• A playroom does not need a theme, other than just an inviting sense of play. However, there are many theme ideas if you choose to go this route. You might decide to keep a room with a more education theme with alphabet, numbers, pictures of presidents, or the states. Other ideas are having a playroom with a seasonal theme (one wall could be winter, one spring, etc.), outdoors (trees, flowers, etc.), a theme based on a more specific concept like trains or safari also works. One thing to consider if you have more than one child or plan to expand your family you may want to purposely keep the room gender neutral, etc.
• Make a point to keep your playroom childproofed and safe. Cover all outlets, make sure any furniture or organizers have rounded or padded corners; they don’t smash little fingers, etc. Keep in mind the age ranges of your children. If a baby will be sharing the space with a preschooler, you might not want small toys like marbles in this area. A playroom should be safe and inviting. It should be a retreat for both you and your child, not a place of stress.
• Have a place in your playroom where music can be enjoyed. You might want to have a tape recorder or CD player with a variety of children’s music available. You can also try different types of children’s music by checking out CDs from your local library. I personally don’t feel a television set should be part of a playroom. Most children watch too much and a playroom should be a place they want to be and hopefully get away from the TV.
• When sitting up your toys, you will want to consider two types of toys. You want some toys easily accessible and always available. These are generally toys that require little to no supervision. However, some toys should not be kept out and may want to be stored away on a high shelf or closet for special (and often supervised times). My son can’t be trusted with games with little pieces (he’ll loose them) or art supplies like paints without my close supervision. Yet, I can put out trains, blocks, and balls to him anytime. Decide what works best for you.
• Use organizers and storage areas for toys in your room. For toys you want tucked away, use covered storage units and place these in a nearby closet. For toys you want accessible consider shelving units with storage buckets your child can easily get out. These types of units work really well for toys with many pieces such as blocks, little balls, Tinker Toys, Lincoln Logs, Little Peoples, etc. You might want to double duty storage by using spaces under train tables or on higher shelves for storing toys. You want everything to have a place. The room should be tranquil and organized at the end of the day, not cluttered.
• Work with the windows in your playroom if you have some. You might consider hanging a bird or squirrel feeder on the outside of a window. If possible, you might have a window box of flowers or herbs growing outside. Window crayons are another interesting idea that is becoming more readily available. These simply wipe away with an eraser.
• You may decide to design your playroom around one large central focus toy-often an imagination toy, such as a train table, dollhouse, play kitchen or workshop.
• Provide an area in the playroom, such as corner for snuggling and reading. Kids love beanbag cushions or large pillows. Have their books nearby. You might decide to use a book shelf, large bin or basket piled with books. If possible, try to find (or build) a book storage unit that is like a magazine racks where children can easily see the books and select the ones they want to read. You can rotate books so that some are in the bedroom or family room and some are kept in the playroom.
• Another idea for the playroom is to have an art area such as an easel, art desk, or table and chairs (which can be very versatile). If you child can be trusted, keep art supplies down and easily accessible. Even if your child is older, some art supplies such as glue or glitter is better kept out of reach unless you can supervise.
• Another interesting aspect of a playroom is to have a little special private area for your child. Tents, homemade forts, or ball pits work really well for this.