DD's getting a new playroom!

[megs4413]

so i'm looking for playroom ideas.....what is in your playroom? what have you seen? best place to find a large area rug for the room (wood floor)? any creative ideas for a playroom? toy organization? hit me with what you got! TIA!

[DDowning]

Congrats on the playroom! I posted in another thread of what mine (err, I mean the kids' playroom looks like). http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=12&topic_id=67314&mesg_id=67319&page=

I love Pottery Barn Kids so most of what you see that isn't a toy is from there (bookcases, shelves, cubbies, couch, kitchen set, rug). You should check out the different ideas from them. Other places to check out include Land of Nod and Company Kids. I'll be the first to admit, doing something like this setup wasn't cheap (we turned in a lot of gc's and converted amex points to get a lot of this stuff). If you are resourceful, you could likely find many places that sell knock-offs for less money.

I think the key "skeletal" things for a playroom is storage, seating and a table for crafts/snacks (if you're letting them eat in there). What you put in there toy wise is up to you. We also threw in a tv/dvd player (and yes, we set them up with cable so that they can get Sprout, Disney Channel, etc.). Our playroom is 13x13 and the rug we have in there is about 8x10 in size. Another option is to do section rugs/design your own though I don't know if it would be very cost-effective for you: :http://www.landofnod.com/family.aspx?c=22&f=600&pc=13

For toy storage, a lot of people like the Expedit from Ikea. Do a search in this forum and you'll find tons of links and pictures of real use. I don't have the wall space to do something like that but love the concept! I know a lot of people like the cheapy toy bin stackers but the biggest complaint is that all of the contents usually wind up being dumped several times a day and its a free-for-all. With the Expedit or putting certain toys up high on shelf (I also have the candy jars for small stuff), the kids have to ask for something which usually allows for prompting to clean up what they were playing with first. It will also help with babyproofing later on down-the-line. With a taller bookcase, you can keep your DD's smaller stuff higher out of the reach of curious little hands.

If I could make one suggestion is to consider making the decor more gender neutral if you can so that it works for either once your baby is a toddler. It just extends the useful life of the space as they grow.

HTH! Have fun planning!!!

[kijip]

I agree with the previous poster's opinion to keep it gender neutral in fabrics, rugs etc.

I like racks with bins on them for open toy storage that encourages kids to pick up after their play. I find that a bin per type of thing leads him to put those things back together when he is done, which I like.

We are falling in line on the Expedit thing and getting some from IKEA. In our case they will go in the living room to be toy storage on the lower cubbies and books and big people cr*p on the higher shelves. The Expedit is pretty inexpensive and lasts pretty well from what I have seen. A large sized one is like $179.

IKEA has some solid colored inexpensive rugs that you won't have to sweat stains, crayons, markers etc on.

Good luck. Have fun.

[DAKnits]

Deidra, love your playroom!!!! I want to play in there! Do your kids play with their toys on the floor, or on their table? I am always struggling with balancing the need for floor space with the need for furniture to store the toys that takes up floor space....

BTW, where did you get that table and chairs? I really like that set!

[newnana]

For Christmas my older brother got our DD a wooden table and 4 chairs from Bed Bath and Beyond. He said that between it being on sale and the 20% off coupon he only spent $30 on it. It comes with 2 chairs and he bought a separate pack of 2 additional chairs. the legs are in primary colors. Our DD LOVES this and has sat at it every day since Christmas. At first I wasn't crazy about the table top because it has a laminate on it and the rest of everything is wood. Then she was coloring on it and I realized that I could wipe up the errant crayon with just my finger and I thank the parent who designed that.

I'm sure that she won't be able to use it past age 4, but for now it's perfect and the colors are very vivid. Love it.

A while back Wal-Mart of all places had this adorable white wooden bookcase that was wide and short and perfect for storing those solid fabric or wooden cubbies in for toy/book storage. It was non-tippy because so wide and with a cushion on top would be a nice bench. I can't find it on their website now and may be kicking myself for not having bought it when it was available. Worth looking for.


And I'm completely jealous of your playroom! Have fun,
Michelle

[DDowning]

Up until Christmas, we had the large Nilo train table. They played on it but mostly I found them on the floor building with blocks along the side. We decided to move that table up into the loft on the second floor. They love having all that extra space now and the last couple of days, I find that they are more into using the whole room, especially with their larger puzzle they put together. Having the open floor area, also gives them room to play with the tunnels & tents that I set up for them.

The table is made by KidKraft and its only 24x24 so its meant mostly for eating. I've had it since DS was about 1. If I could do it again, I would have preferred something just a bit bigger. I suppose that they could do crafts on it but because DD is still a bit young the only thing really that they've done so far is playdough or play with foam stickers. Anything bigger than that, I'll move it to the Nilo upstairs - or our kitchen table downstairs.

HTH