Playroom Essentials

Having a playroom is the best thing when you have kids. Toys can easily overtake your entire house if you don't have a space designated just for them. If you don't have a separate living room to call a playroom, try using a room in the basement, an extra bedroom upstairs, or even consider converting your formal dining room into a play space for the time being.

Our playroom is the heart of our home. We spend a lot of time in there as a family. Aside from all the kid stuff, we have a television and a big, comfortable couch for adults. The colors in that room are bright and pleasant without being "pre-school"-like and we are sure to keep the floor freshly vacuumed and we clean all surfaces with a mild cleaning solution three times a week. When your kids are playing on the floor, climbing all over everything and running their dirty hands along things, it's important to keep the room clean as well as free of breakables. As with all rooms, you should do any baby-proofing you can to make the space a "free-zone" without a lot of opportunities for "no touching" types of phrases. Kids need a place where they can be free to explore without being constantly redirected.

The first thing you'll need is a child-sized table and a couple child-sized chairs. A table and chairs is a perfect place for learning to take place, you can do art activities, puzzles, blocks, building as well as have snack time at this little table.

Next, I suggest investing in a play kitchen, kids spend hours playing with them, imagination and learning are maximized and they're just good times all around. Play food and child sized pots, pans and baking sets are fun additions to kid kitchens.

Dress-up Centers are also nice to have. You can stock up on costumes by purchasing clearance costume sets after Halloween. Simply buy any size, as long as its not too small, because these play clothes are meant to be fun and funky! Using mom's old robe or dad's old neckties can also be a lot of fun. Old shoes, purses, costume jewelry, briefcases, pajamas, aprons and towels can also be fashioned into many a disguise! Be creative by filling bins with items children can use to dress up like anyone they want.

Art board: Simply use pieces of large corkboard to make a section of the wall an "art Board". Then tack up any artwork your kids make or bring home from school. It boosts their self-esteem to see that you appreciate their work enough to display it, and it also gives them pride in their achievements when they create a new piece to replace an older one. A clothesline is also a cute idea, just hang a piece of string from one side of the room to the other and use small clothespins to pin art to the line.

Good lighting for looking at books and coloring is essential. Try to use a room with a lot of natural light during the day and use a few lamps for lighting in the evenings. Poor lighting can cause eyestrain and while our children's eyesight is still developing you want to provide them with ample lighting.

Kid sized furniture is also a good idea. We have Pottery Barn Kids Oversized Chairs and our kids love them. Many stores carry child-sized armchairs but Pottery Barn has a lot of neutral colored slipcovers for theirs and the chairs themselves are really nice and sturdy. Other good child-sized furniture is small bookcases, benches, desks, easels, even sofas.

No matter how you fill it, finding a space just for the kids is important. They need somewhere to call their own too.