7 Steps to Create the Perfect Playroom Design
I love my job. Seriously, I find myself so lucky that I get to design rooms for my clients all over the country. With Postbox Designs every design is custom, done virtually, and at a fixed price per Room Package. And while I love designing all types of room, I do have a favorite. I know, it is like choosing a favorite child. But my FAVORITE room to design is a kid’s Playroom. You can have so much fun with a Playroom design-you can use bright, fun colors and patterns, and the cutest pint sized furniture you can image.
So I was thrilled when my client asked me to design her Playroom for her two young boys (and a third bambino on the way). She wanted the space to be fun, but with kid-friendly and durable items, and yet, still work with the overall theme of her house. And while her kiddos are never going to want to leave their new Playroom, I want to share with you some tips on how you can create your very own perfect Playroom design.
Playroom Design Tip #1: Start with a (Long Lasting) Theme or Color Palette
Okay let me explain…I will admit, I have never been a fan of rooms that are too “theme-y” or over the top. Just because your child is obsessed with My Little Pony doesn’t mean you should throw up MLP accessories all over her bedroom or playroom. Because guess what…tomorrow it will turn into a love of Shopkins.
Instead, choose a LOOSE theme, and let all of your items play into that theme. But I would highly suggest not going overboard with it-just sprinkle in 3-4 pieces that strongly reflect that theme, and let some other pieces work into it. If you don’t want to choose a particular theme, you can try a color combo. I would keep to only 2-3 main colors that repeat themselves over and over in the Playroom or child’s Bedroom. In this Playroom below I stuck with gender neutral colors, the color palette I chose was: Aqua, Red, Navy, and White. And we very loosely used an “Adventure” style Playroom decor. This family lives in Colorado and loves being outdoors, so touches such as this “Adventure” pennant (#4), Crate and Kids Moose head (#5), United States map (#17), and airplane (#22) play into that theme. And as a final touch, I found these peel and stick cartoon mountain decals (#34) are a nod to the surrounding mountains. However, the Adventure theme isn’t so strong that it overpowers the room.
Playroom Design Tip #2: How to Design a Playroom Shared for Boys and Girls
Here is the other issue: Playrooms are usually for several siblings, so how do you design for multiple ages or genders?
I have found some of the following themes work well when designing for both genders:
Woodland Playroom Theme
Adventure/Outdoor Playroom Theme (like this one I’m showing you today)
Celestial/Star Playroom Theme
Reading/Books Playroom Theme
Animal Playroom Theme
Sports Theme
Other times just adding in fun patterns such as stripes and dots add a lot of fun
Also, the colors you choose will strongly impact your Playroom design, and if your Playroom is intended for boys, girls, or both. In this Playroom I used a bright but gender neutral color combo of Aqua, Red, Navy, and White.
Other colors that work really well are Greens, Oranges, Yellows, Bright Blues, and neutral shades (grays, whites, browns, and blacks). And if you really want to incorporate some more boy-centric or girl-centric items, you can divide your Playroom into different sections. You can have a “dress-up” station, “Lego building station”, “reading station”, etc. And before you yell at me….my little guy has dress up clothes and both of my girls love Legos. But the point is, your daughter’s doll house can still work side-by-side with your son’s monster trucks by diving the room into different stations.
If you want to see a Real Postbox Project of a Playroom designed for a brother and sister, you can check it all out right here:
Neutral Playroom Design for a Brother and Sister: 2 Ways
Playroom Tip #3: Decide Ahead of Time How You Want to Use Your Playroom
In Playroom Tip #2 I was writing about diving your Playroom into different stations. When you become a parent you become a master at multi-tasking. Your kid’s Playroom should be no different. Use your Playroom space wisely but fitting in different functions, using multi-purpose furniture. In one room you can fit in so many different functions:
Reading Nook
Dress Up Station
Arts and Craft Table
Homework Desk
Toy Storage and Play Area
TV Watching/Video Game Playing
Hang out Space
In fact, I wrote an entire blog on how we fit 4 Rooms Into 1 in a recent Playroom/Homework area for two siblings:
Fit 4 Different Rooms Into Your Playroom
You can check it out to get even more Playroom ideas. In that project the kids were a bit older so they needed a TV/video game area, friend hang out spot, and an area to do their homework. Use a large table or desk that can multi-task as craft and homework station. Find a squishy chair and put it next to a bookshelf for a “reading station”, but it can also work in a furniture grouping for TV watching. Using a low cabinet can store toys, but you can use the top section of the cabinet to hang bookshelves. Activity tables can do double duty as coffee tables. See where I’m going with this? Use pieces that can do double duty, and get your money’s worth from your Playroom decor!
Playroom Design Tip #4: Know When to Go Neutral
Whether it is a Playroom or a Living Room, I almost always use neutral colors in my large pieces such as sofas, tables, and chairs. Buy the nicest quality your budget can allow, and these pieces can last forever. Then layer in bright, colorful pieces in your accessories. Kind of like layering on jewelry onto your LBD. In this Playroom decor, the rug and throw pillows are full of graphic and bold patterns.
For sofas I like to use “Performance” fabrics or slipcovers in medium tones. Both light and very dark fabrics tend to show the most. With high use pieces like coffee tables I like to use more distressed woods where you won’t noticed a scratch or a stain. And painted white furniture is never going to go out of style my friends…so load up.
Playroom Design Tip #5: How to Create a Homework Station
Whether you kids are little or older, if you have the space I always love to add a large table or desk into all of my Playroom designs. When the kids are little they can use it for arts and crafts, and it can turn into a Homework desk as they get older. But your Homework Station has to be just as practical as pretty. Here are some tips to create a desk that is also uber functional.
Choose an easy to clean top.
I love to use the pre-finished wood tops from Ikea. Because they are factory finished with a stained top they tend to be very durable and easy to wipe down. I have this in my very own home-I chose the darker finish and it has gotten a ton of use and abuse from my three kids! Crayons, Play Doh, paint…it has all wiped off. Metal and laminate tops also work well. I would stay away from any surface with glass…it will be constantly smudged with fingerprints and grime.
In fact, my kids’ triple homework station has been my most popular post of all times-it has been pinned well over 100,000 times by now. You can check out how I designed it, and the entire Shopping List right here:
Kid’s Triple Homework Station + Shopping List
Add in a place for them to show off their work.
Add in a bulletin board, magnetic board, or a wire with clips so your kids can show off their artwork or homework. I also love the idea of using a shelf (Item #28 on the Mood Board below). You can frame your kid’s artwork, or lean it against the wall for an easy-to-change rotating gallery that personalizes it for them.
Add in storage. Then add in even more storage.
Kids are born messy. And unless you constantly want to be cleaning up and re-organizing their homework station, use plenty of storage. For this desk, I found desk cabinets from Ikea (#30), and metal caddy for art supplies (#32) and jars for other supplies (not shown). I love closed storage like these drawers, or even using baskets with lids.
Use durable chairs.
These will be a lot of use and abuse. I love these light weight metal chairs from Target. They are easy for kids to move, come in bright and fun colors, and can take a beating!
Playroom Design Tip #6: How to Work Kid Stuff Into Your Grown Up Stuff
Some of you might have dedicated rooms just for a Playroom (awesome!), but a lot of my clients want to work their kid stuff into their existing Living Room or Family Rooms where it has to co-habitate with all of their grown up furniture. With these clients, their Playroom is down in their basement, directly next to the grown up seating area. Since the two spaces are combined into a large area, everything had to flow.
The Mood Board below is for the TV watching, hang out area that the grown ups AND kids will use. So how do you combine them?
-Keep a similar palette. You can use brighter versions of the same color in the Kid area (aquas, turquoises) and more muted colors in the grown-up area (navy, royal blue). Both spaces have blues, but slightly different.
-Repeat the same pattern. The kid Playroom area has fun stripes, the grown-up area has more a more subdued gray and white stripe rug.
-Use closed storage for kid toys-and you can even use grown up pieces for it. I love to used lidded baskets and even laundry baskets to hide kid toys, but they come in more grown up finishes. You can then hide toys in plain sight.
-Use durable pieces in the grown up area that will hold up well to kids. I love to use “Performance” fabrics, slipcovers, indoor/outdoor pillows, and rustic wood finishes, all which hold up well to young children.
This shows both the grown up areas and Playroom area-see how both areas have blues, grays, and whites? Yet the grown up area (top Mood Board) is subdued and the Playroom area (bottom Mood Board) has brighter, more playroom fabrics:
Playroom Design Tip #7: Choose Kid Friendly Materials
A Playroom is a spot where you don’t want to have to worry. Worry about stains and spills. Worry about your child getting hurt. I don’t want you to freak when she spills her juice on the rug or become little Picassos on your walls. Here are some tips I found out, from being a designer AND a Mom of three:
-Use outdoor fabrics (Sunbrella, Crypton) or “Performance” Fabrics (more durable and resistant to dirt/stains)
-Use slipcovers: You can take them off and wash them
-Use a “washable” paint on the walls so it is easy to wipe down
-Use plastic or metal lamps (instead of glass or ceramic)-they are likely to get knocked over and these are safer and less likely to break
-Use Plexiglass on frames instead of glass (same reason as above)
-Use an inexpensive rug: These just will be a lot of abuse: spills, dirty shoes, ground in cereal-rugs see it all. I like sources like Rugs USA where you can pick up a rug for under $100. Let them slowly destroy it over the next few years and toss. This isn’t the place to invest in a high quality rug
-If you can, use hard surfaces such as wood, laminates, or vinyls-they are a lot easier to clean than carpet
-Use plastic or metal chairs-they are durable, light-weight, and easy to clean
-Use plenty of closed storage. Storage baskets are cute, but kids are never going to put things back exactly where they belong. Having closed door storage allows you to simply close the door. It also works well for odd-shaped or large toy
Want to see even more Playroom Designs?
I have dozens of client Playroom projects over on my Postbox Designs Blog (just search “Playroom”), but here are a couple recent favs:
The Room I Stole From My Client: A Playroom for the Girls!
An Adventure Playroom at Grandma’s House
Check out More Playroom and Kid Bedroom Design Freebies
And I have one final source to grab more ideas and inspiration for your own Playroom design. I have oodles of design freebies related to Playroom design or Kid Bedroom designs in my FREE RESOURCE LIBRARY. Sign up below and you will get an email with the link and password for full 24/7 access…and I’m always adding to it. You will find Guides such as:
“How to Style a Kid’s Nightstand”
“10 Items Under $40 for a Bedroom or Playroom”
…and so much more!
Already a member? You can log in with your password right HERE
Work with Postbox Designs Online Interior Design
I love working via Online Interior Design! In two short weeks I create two custom designs for you, and create all of the drawings, shopping lists, step-by-step instructions, and more. Plus I pack your Postbox full of your material samples. I mail you your “room-inside-a-box” and you can order your entire room in an hour. In your PJs…without ever leaving home. You can check out How It Works or email me at kristin@postboxdesigns.com and we can chat all about you!
Cheers,
Kristin
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