Do you have a "kid house"?

[wellyes]

Our house is definitely, undeniably a toddler house. Every room has at least some kid furniture in it. Reading chair; rocking chair; learning tower; play kitchen in the kitchen; bookshelf bottom half now devoted to toys; coloring table; high chair; Trofast system in living room; art easel; etc. We also haven't replaced all of our college / hand-me-down furniture figuring we'd get investment pieces after this stage of kidhood.

Some friends of ours have very different setups: maybe a highchair in the dining room, a stepstool in the bathroom and a toybox in the main family area, but they have generally lovely grown-up oriented homes. Most of the toys, kid furniture, etc is in a playroom or the kids' bedrooms.

Just curious what the proportion is here :)

[Meatball Mommie]

Definitely a kid house here...we haven't replaced any of our hand-me-down furniture with "real" stuff yet, lol. While we do have a playroom, toys are still in every room and it's pretty darn obvious we have kids...

The only room that's "grown up" is our bedroom...although there are still hints of kids there too ;)

[hillview]

More kid than not. The living room was to be more adult but large toys and books have arrived.
/hillary

[egoldber]

Ours is very much a kid house, but I would not say that we are the norm in our neighborhood.

[JTsMom]

I'd say ours is somewhere in the middle. I like for a lot of the kid stuff to be able to be hidden, but it's still in most of the rooms, and on a normal day, it's not so hidden. I think it's easier to do that as the kids get older though- with baby gear, it's just going to be out and glaringly obvious- I don't see any way around that.

I do hang up DS's artwork, decorate with projects we do for holidays, etc though, and I don't have a problem with toys that are being played with being out and visible.

When we had less space, things were a lot more mingled though.

[smilequeen]

Somewhere in between. We have nice furniture and I like to decorate, so I think it looks pretty nice. But there is definitely kid stuff in every room, and I try to make everything safe and accessible.

[mecawa]

When I just had DD1, we had all the toys, kid stuff basically in the playroom, then DD2 came along, and I most definitely have a kid house now. My girls are 5 yrs. apart, so the playroom is more DD1's (barbies, legos, art supplies, puzzles, etc) the Living Room and Dining room are more DD2's (pack n play, learning table, rocker, learning house, toddler toys) They also both have some stuff upstairs in their bedrooms, but I like having them downstairs (mostly DD2) where I can see and hear everything.

[ThreeofUs]

Definitely a kid house. Every room is a play room - but we live in every room and so how else should it look?

[lchang25000]

Not really. We try not to have too many of DS's "things" all over the house. Everything is mainly in his room and the family room downstairs.

[belovedgandp]

Yes, but no. We have a kid friendly house for our family and we (mostly I during the day) have lots of kids and their moms through here. So I feel like it is a kid friendly house because of the things we do in it.

But no, I'm freakishly organized and like to have my adult spaces. Besides a pack-n-play when we had a newborn, I've never had any baby/kid stuff in our bedroom. The master bathroom has some stuff that gets put away under the sink every day. I have nice furniture and no kid stuff permanently stored in my formal living and dining room. BUT, I will set up craft tables for projects in there when we have kids over and for periods of time DS1 takes over the dining room table with K'Nex or Legos.

Otherwise, I'm not a big gear person. Never owned a high chair, only a booster. My kitchen has kid accessible dishes and a small table and chair set, but never toys. Play food in my real kitchen skeeves me out as my one pet peeve. The toys are in family room, basement playroom and shared boys room.

[kayte]

Ours is very much a kid house, but I would not say that we are the norm in our neighborhood.

:yeahthat:

[smiles33]

Um, the huge wooden indoor play structure that we have set up in what was the formal living room/front entry probably gives it away that we have a "kid house." :) Still, we try to limit toys to this room, the family room, and her room. No kids stuff in our bedroom or the other bedrooms. The only kid thing in the kitchen is her Learning Tower.

We did buy some nice furniture before kids as an upgrade from the decades old inherited stuff, but we chose them in kid-friendly fabrics (e.g., "stain-resistant" microfiber sectional).

[Laurel]

Not a "kid house", I have white linen slipcovers on the furniture!

I have kid areas- bedrooms and a dedicated playroom. The main living area, I refuse to turn into another playroom, although there are a few toys stashed in a cabinet. My kids know not to mess with my areas, and I let them have toy/craft clutter in theirs.

[newg]

we have a kid house.........DD just had her birthday party yesterday and there are toys everywhere..........but we don't have a playroom, or finished basement.......so her main play area is the family room/kitchen/dinningroom area.................and we don't mind. we have grownup furniture, the house is decorated........but it is kid friendly and safe.........one day when we finish the basement there will be less toys upstairs, but for now our house (minus the guest room and the study) are for DD to play in (she doesn't keep any toys in our room, but she is welcome in it while I am upstairs with her.)

[deborah_r]

Ours is part kid house, part zoo. 17 year old cat, 3 aquariums, and a puppy. Two days ago I found the puppy chewing on a crab that had crawled out of the aquarium (Didn't know the crabs could crawl out when I suggested we should get some - I'm totally creeped out by this now.)

But yes, we have toys in all rooms. We try to keep them in little bins and such, but it all sprawls.

[KrisM]

Completely a kid house.

I am hopeful that once DS2 is 3 or so, he can have access to the playroom and we can move his stuff out of our family room. But, for now, the older kids have the playroom and we shut the door. They have marble runs, Lego, etc in there. So, DS2 has all his stuff in the family room instead.

[baymom]

Absolutely! Every room of our home has been taken over by kids stuff--including our master bedroom--bookcase of kids books in the den, some books and toys in the master for when they wake up "too early" on the weekends, a IKEA Expedit full of art supplies in the family room, an easel in the dinning room, the toy filled living room and of course, their own bedrooms... It is in bins and such, so pretty organized and doesn't necessarily look bad, but it's still there! Everywhere. Even though we gripe about sometimes, we can't imagine it any other way, anymore.

[KpbS]

Yes, although we have a playroom (which I love having) we have a lot of kid arts and crafts in the kitchen and random toys throughout the house thanks to DS2 (still in that stage scattering toys). And the books are everywhere, but I really don't mind ;)

[maestramommy]

Yes. I think every room in the house has at least one piece of baby gear or even a stray toy that wandered in. Most of the kid stuff is confined to either the family room or the girls' room. But there's the bouncer in our room that's currently Laurel's towel rack, her gymni mat in the office that I still think she might use, and her bouncer/rocker that moves back and forth between the kitchen and the breakfast room. Even the formal living room has alphabet tiles and the swing that really needs to be put away! The only room that is off limits to the kids is the formal dining room, because of the rower, so it's gated off.

[bubbaray]

Total kid house here. With crappy furniture b/c I loathe decorating. I still have Ikea crap from my university days.

I hate all our furniture, as does DH, but neither of us know what to do. A friend is a decorator and tried to help, but gave up.

[g-mama]

Not anymore.

About six months ago, dh and I decided our kids were old enough that we wanted to "take back" our house and got all toys out out of the main floor. My older two boys share a room so we had an extra room which we converted into a playroom with the Ikea Expedit on one wall, a long desk along the other wall where they can write, draw and do homework, and beanbags to sit on. Besides that, we have a basement playroom, where larger toys are kept.

I have to admit, I feel really good having my house look pretty again. It took 9 years but we felt it was reasonable and it has worked out great. I've been doing some decorating, repainted the kitchen, installed a backsplash, and we've been focusing on getting the kids to help with taking their toys back upstairs or downstairs each evening and keeping our family room clutter-free. It makes me feel so much less stressed.

[kijip]

Yes and no.

Yes: The kids toys are not confined to a single, play dedicated room. They play in the living room and their bedroom mostly. We have a Space Saver High Chair in our dining room. Leap Frog letters on the fridge. A Skip Hop foam mat to protect the tot head from the wood floors.

No: The kid toys do not usually take over the living spaces and T is expected to put all of his and F's toys and games away that don't live in their room in a single cabinet (so there really are not that many relative to what I have seen elsewhere). While not expensively decorated, you can tell adults live here. The kid table is gone (under the notion that it was too small for T and too big for F.)

I feel like the space works for more than just kid needs and I don't feel trapped in a sea of toys. When I go to my brother's house, there are toys EVERYWHERE and the playroom/family room (all one huge room) is literally carpeted in a sea of toys. Different strokes and all that, but that is just not going to work for me.

[Pebbles]

Very Very kid friendly house. We have a piece or four in every room with a sprinkle of toys through out.

[jent]

Totally a kid house. We have a very small house, so it's not like there's anywhere else for it to go. And DD is too young to play by herself upstairs in her room yet, so the majority of her toys are down here. Our living room is a mix, but her toys generally migrate here during the day since she ends up wanting to be near me/DH while we do chores and cook (the LR is partly open to our eat-in kitchen.) We also have a downstairs room that's a combo playroom, dining room and study for me. Before DD, it was a mish-mashy room that wasn't anything and I didn't know what to do with (it's technically a bedroom, since the house was a former Cape with an unfinished upstairs, but then a previous owner added bedrooms upstairs without changing the downstairs rooms into something more practical, like a formal dining room.) It actually looks better now that I got an Expedit and some other shelving units and made it into a playroom (for us, IKEA was a step up!)

I'm also generally terrible at decorating and wish our house looked more put-together. But I don't _mind_ the kid stuff... in fact my dream home would have those spaces that blends kid and grownup stuff in the same living space. Like in the Pottery Barn Kids or Land of Nod catalogs.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Without a doubt. We do have some nicer furniture, like our dining room set which we use all the time (every meal, every day). But, things are set so the house, as much as possible, is a "yes" meaning I don't have to constantly redirect or worry about things being misused.

I try and keep my room and the living room kid free zones in terms of toys, books and gear and I am successful most of the time.



Beth

[deborah_r]

About six months ago, dh and I decided our kids were old enough that we wanted to "take back" our house and got all toys out out of the main floor. My older two boys share a room so we had an extra room which we converted into a playroom with the Ikea Expedit on one wall, a long desk along the other wall where they can write, draw and do homework, and beanbags to sit on. Besides that, we have a basement playroom, where larger toys are kept.

This sounds great! I wish we had an extra room. As it is, the boys share a small bedroom and I have as many toys jammed in there as I can, but there isn't any room for a desk or table in there. Hopefully we'll get a bigger space someday.

[elephantmeg]

absolutely. Even our room and our bathroom get toys carried and left in them. And well I guess purposeful items too. The pack n play is in our room (DD naps there) and their toothbrushes are in our bathroom (but their toys, stepstool etc are in the main b-room) Right now I have a huge cardboard house in the kitchen (DS insists that that is where it belongs-not their room. Geotrax and lego set on the table (DS b-day was yesterday), toys all over the living room and books too (everything from dollhouse to ball roller to cars/trucks/doll crib) and toys all through their room and the upstairs too.

[AnnieW625]

Our home is 1200 sq feet so there is no room for a play room, but our home is kid friendly. We do try and keep all of Elisa's toys in her bedroom (we have an Ikea Trofast system) strictly because of the size of our home. Our dining room (only eating area) has a Tripp Trapp. Our kitchen has the wooden high chair, which we never got around to putting in the garage (it's a classic wooden one so it doesn't fold), it currently holds a box of Cuties (satsumas)! Elisa uses a plain step stool. In our living room we do have a really small lego table, and a basket of stuffed toys. We also have a plastic bag full of bath toys in the bathroom.

[maestramommy]

Not anymore.

About six months ago, dh and I decided our kids were old enough that we wanted to "take back" our house and got all toys out out of the main floor. My older two boys share a room so we had an extra room which we converted into a playroom with the Ikea Expedit on one wall, a long desk along the other wall where they can write, draw and do homework, and beanbags to sit on. Besides that, we have a basement playroom, where larger toys are kept.

I have to admit, I feel really good having my house look pretty again. It took 9 years but we felt it was reasonable and it has worked out great. I've been doing some decorating, repainted the kitchen, installed a backsplash, and we've been focusing on getting the kids to help with taking their toys back upstairs or downstairs each evening and keeping our family room clutter-free. It makes me feel so much less stressed.

That is so great!:bighand:It gives me something to look forward to one day:D We just bought our first piece of "nice" furniture, a sofa for the livingroom. We're buying our pieces secondhand from a very nice consignment gallery, so it's going to be a longterm treasure hunt, but that makes it fun, and we don't have to spend a lot all at once.

[ThreeofUs]

Not anymore.

About six months ago, dh and I decided our kids were old enough that we wanted to "take back" our house and got all toys out out of the main floor. *snip*

I have to admit, I feel really good having my house look pretty again. It took 9 years but we felt it was reasonable and it has worked out great.


This sounds fantastic. I can totally see doing this in a few years.

As I read peoples' replies, I can see where my limits are. I allow no toys to live more than a short half-life in our kitchen, and a very limited amount of kid stuff (mostly a desk and associated writing clutter) in the dining room.

Everywhere else, though, is fair game! Toys and books everywhere.

[LexyLou]

I don't think we have a "kid house" but we have a kid "friendly" house.

Our living room/dining room is what you see when you walk in and it's definitely not the kid area. This is our clean grown up area.

Our family room and kitchen is a little bit of a kid house-some toys and crayons and DD1 has hung up her artwork on the sliding glass door but I keep most of the toys in the play room and in the evening any toys (and quite a bit do) that migrate to the family room get moved back to the playroom.

Kitchen has a booster seat and two step stools so the girls can help me cook but I keep them in the corner when not in use.

The downstairs bathroom is very grown up in it's decor but there is a potty chair and a potty seat and step stool.

The girls share a very girly bathroom-purple castle/princess themed but they really only brush their teeth and use the bathroom before bed in there.

They mostly take their baths in our bathroom since it's a big garden tub. So our bathroom actually has more toys in it than theirs. Their bathroom is pretty darn clean actually.

I try to keep all their bath toys on a ledge when not in use so it's not all over the place.

Their rooms are filled with toys and dollhouses and books and stuff. But again, anything that comes out during the day, goes back in at night.

But we have lots of playdates and parties so it is kid friendly. I don't freak out about messes or things being out of place. I just clean it at night. We do lots of crafts and playdoh and imaginative play so it's not like I live in a museum.

I just like it to look neat and tidy when possible.

ETA: It is just recently that we've been able to make the house not a kid house. When they were younger and we lived in a smaller house without a separate living/family room, the house was definitely more kid. Now that the girls are older I can have them help put things away and they understand that certain areas aren't play areas. Also our new house is almost double in size from our old house so we have more room to designate play areas.

[elliput]

Definitely a kid house here. And, really, I wouldn't have it any other way. I like toys.

[alexsmommy]

In between. The basement playroom is 100% a playroom - kid furniture, toys, wii, the works. I have lots of organization systems there so it is picked up and organized 1x a week, but I think kids need somewhere to just be kids - messy, imaginative etc. They know that once a week we put everything back so that they can actually find the things they want to play with.
The main floor has one basket of toys besides necessary equipment, and is generally "adult presentable", but I consider it kid friendly too. The couches get jumped on and it's fine. The coffee table has been known to double as a stage (it's large and study). Just today I looked at our throw pillows and thought "I really, really need to replace them" but at the same time, I like not freaking out if a sippy cup lid gets removed and juice is spilled. The rug in the living room is stained, but I'm not replacing that until DS3 is past chronic spilling age. DS1's room has games with pieces, legos creations he doesn't want destroyed and books. DS2's room has toys that do migrate into our room frequently, but DS2 also entertains himself when I am working or cleaning upstairs so this works for us.
I say when "everyone is civilized we will get nicer furniture". Until then I feel what we have works for all of us.

[mom_hanna]

Kid house. Toys in every room. Bookshelves filled with kids books. Art supplies, train table, games, kid size table. And one entire wall of our dining room painted with chalkboard paint. Some of our neighbors are the same, others have these grown up homes that I can't even imagine trying to emulate at this stage of our lives.

[g-mama]

Kid house. Toys in every room. Bookshelves filled with kids books. Art supplies, train table, games, kid size table. And one entire wall of our dining room painted with chalkboard paint.


We were SO there not so long ago. In fact, we moved our coffee table in the family room down to the basement and for a few years, put the train table in its place - focal point of the room. We arranged the furniture so that the back 1/3 of the room could be the toy area and the couch backed up to it, so it was somewhat (but not very) hidden, when the toys were all put away. We didn't try to pretend that it ever was anything other than a home where 3 young children lived because it was so much easier to have it all right there.

[MelissaTC]

Not anymore. We reclaimed our home when M was around 4 or 5. Now, you will still find legos, crazy bones, pokemon cards, books, etc.. where you least expect it, but we now have dining room and living room furniture instead of a playroom.

[MissyAg94]

Yes and no. We have one child and she has a bedroom and a playroom. All toys are in her playroom. But she is allowed to bring them out and play with them throughout the house. We have decent furniture but we aren't uptight about her getting food, crayon, etc on it b/c it's slip-covered so I can wash it.

[elektra]

Not really actually. Our house definitely has a grown-up design aesthetic but one that is also very kid friendly IMO (mid-century modern). We do not have a separate playroom but our family room is definitly kid territory, with the play kitchen, pack n play and ikea kids table and stools. But there is tons of storage there and we (try to) put all the toys away as often as possible. This room is the only room with toys except for the kids' bedrooms.
Our living room/dining room combo has no "kid" elements.

[hellokitty]

Oh yes. Our house is very obviously a boys' playland. Our friends came over and hung out for half of the day today with their baby and preschooler. Their older son always gets upset when it is time to leave. The dad said, "This is the perfect place for a boy!" Their son even told his parents that he was going to stay overnight at our place and he would call them when he wanted them to pick him up, lol.

[gatorsmom]

Our house is nicely decorated but the kids stuff is overtaking many of the main rooms. Kids' art pictures taped to the windows and kids' cut-out snowflakes hanging from the wrought iron lightfixture, all the wine bottles have been removed from our winerack and a puzzle organizer/tower now leans next to it, some upholstered furniture has been moved out of the main family room to make way for 2 large wicker toy boxes. A corner of our porch has bins of toys stacked in it. Every bathroom has a step-stool next to the toilet or sink. And at any given moment you can find stickers or fingerprints on my walls that I haven't gotten around to removing. So, yep, it's a kid house.

If we are going to have some type of gathering that requires the house to look its best (and we rarely have these types of gatherings anymore), I can pull it together and remove the "kidness". But, actually, I''m starting to grow fond of it. :love5:

[sunshine873]

Definitely a kid house here. I guess I have room for a playroom, but it's our bonus room (above the garage) and other than working out, we just don't spend time up there. We're either in the kitchen or family room (kind of one big open area.) So...that's where the majority of DDs toys are. Once she's older and can play in a room by herself, I'll be turning the bonus room into an official playroom, then our family room will probably be more grown-up looking, yet still kid-friendly.

For the time being, we love sitting here watching her explore, learn and grow. :)

[WatchingThemGrow]

Absolutely kid house. I mean, we have 3 kids, ages 3, 2, and 8m, and it's only 1400 sf. How in the world would it NOT be a kid house? Kids are here every day, all day, save for the 6 hours DD goes to preschool. There are more kids "living here" for more hours of every day than there are adults living in here. I want them to thrive in their primary environment. There will be plenty of time to NOT have a kid house later.

[tmarie]

Definitely a kid house. I designated the sunroom a playroom, hoping it would keep the toys contained, but no such luck. They are e.v.e.r.y.w.h.e.r.e. :)

tmarie

[gobadgers]

Our house is all about kids and I love it that way right now. I know I couldn't live this way forever but the kids aren't young for long KWIM? It's inspiring to hear g-mama's reclamation of the house!

Our basement is a playroom, but the kids are too young to play down there alone so we have toy stashes in the kitchen and family room too. Learning tower and highchair in the kitchen/eating area, play kitchen in the living room, chairs and tables and bean bags. And the stuffed animals! No matter how many bins I get, the stuffed animals overflow.

[niccig]

Toys in all rooms. The living room is often toy free and then DS wants to build a fort on the couch, or use the electric train and that's the most room for it. And I will then leave things up for a day or two so he can come back and play. I've left sheet forts up for a week, so he can keep playing. It's not like it will be this way for the next 10 years, so I can deal with it for now.

As DS is getting older, he is getting better about putting toys where they belong, so they're not as scattered. We have an expedit shelves in the family room and stacked neatly with toys. A childless person commented once about all his toys, I asked what did he expect, he's a child and has toys and they have to go somewhere. Now we have the exercise machine in the family room, plus the couch and the TV..it's the room we use the most, and it reflects that. But I already now what I am going to do once I get rid of the traintable and the toys are gone to be replaced by a teenager's things in his room...that space will be our computer/reading part of the family room, so I can watch his computer time.

[strollerqueen]

Total, total, total kid's house. They've completely taken over! :love-retry:

[crl]

We don't really have a kid house at the moment. When DS was little we converted the dining room into a playroom. But we've moved since then and DS is older. So, his toys are stored in his room, although they are usually spread out over the living/dining room during the day. The only "kid" stuff that lives in a common area is DS's art supplies. They are in the bottom of some cubby-type storage furniture (sharing space with wine bottles, lol). DS has outgrown kid furniture so we don't have any out at this point.


Catherine

[niccig]

I don't mind have a kid house, as I have a kid. I know it won't be always this way, but for now it is the most practical solution for us. I hate seeing the family houses in some magazines. I know they cleaned up for the photo shoot, but some of the furniture etc seems very unpractical for kids. I would hate to be in a house where I couldn't sit on the white couch for fear of spilling something/getting it dirty. I have a friend that is very OCD about cleaning. She follows you to wipe up crumbs etc. She was over making some cookies with me and DH walked in and knocked over a bowl with flour, to me no big deal, we'll just clean it up. She really over-reacted in my opinion. DH later said that he's glad I'm not like that. Spills, mess happens with kids. I think we're a happy medium between kids house and adults house. A bit of both going on.

[okinawama]

I have found a happy medium for me and my family.

We do have toys in the living room, but they all have a decorative piece of furniture to be placed inside (storage ottoman that doubles as a seat, a few nicer wicker baskets, a sofa table with storage beneath). I help (which since he's 12mo, that means I do it, but I'm trying to start teaching him) him pick up all the toys prior to eating, leaving to play outside or taking a nap, so when they are all put away, there is no sign that there are a gabillion toys in my living room. We do not have any toys in the master bedroom or guest bedroom. We don't have toys in the kitchen, but I do let him play in the tupperware drawer.

I really think this is one of those cake and eat it too things. I feel like I have a very adult looking space when everything is put away, yet a kid friendly environment is only the lift of a lid away :)

[Tenasparkl]

Total kid house. There's nothing of hers in our room & the bathroom attached to it, but her stuff is everywhere else.

[crl]

Oh, maybe I should add that even though I don't think we have a kid house, all our stuff is kid-friendly. We have leather furniture that's easy to wipe off, most of the wood furniture is "antique" so scratches and dings are just additional distressing, and spills are not a big deal to anyone.

Catherine

[MamaSnoo]

We definitely have kid stuff in most spaces, but there are a few rooms (office, sunroom, dining room) that look kid-free or close to it! Sadly, I have not had much enthusiasm for decorating since the birth of DD, so things could use some work.

[mommyp]

Yes, it is very definitely a kid house. We're okay with that!

[Melaine]

Mostly yes. We have at least one item in every room. But our house was really down-to-earth and casual before we had kids so it's not like we've made many changes in our style, if that makes sense. In other words, we aren't a fan of breakables so kid-proofing was not difficult. We are very diligent about straightening up everything before the girls go to bed, which includes hauling all the toys back to their room at night. After they go to bed, we can sit down in the living room and see only a *few* toys as opposed to a roomful as exists most of the day.

[sarahsthreads]

Yep, definitely a kid house here. And definitely not the norm among my social circle - a lot of people I know live in new construction houses that have basements with full 8' ceilings and are finished as playrooms. So if you walk in their houses it doesn't look like they have children at all.

We, on the other hand, have toys pretty much everywhere all the time! It seems like we have so many more toys than everyone else does, but I think it's because everyone else's toys are hidden away from public view.

Sarah :)