Childrens Playrooms - yes or no

[pickledonion]

We're looking in a house at the moment to buy that has an extra room that could be used as a playroom.

So what i'm wanting to know is will this room in your experience just become a complete toy hell - or do you have proper storage in there for things?

Will it only get used once a blue moon?

[roisin]

How old are your children?

We moved to a house with an extra room when the boys were 3 and 5. Previously they had generally played in the lounge

When we moved we put no toys in their bedroom and no toys in the lounge. Generally they do spend most of their time playing in the playroom. I constantly encourage them to keep it tidy, and they are fairly good at doing so. We did make sure we arranged LOADS of easy (open shelving) toy storage with crates and so on, so they have no excuse.

I love having a playroom

[pickledonion]

dd will be 3 and hoping for another in the future

[NameChangingMancMidlander]

I'd love a playroom. Ideally it would have double doors opening out onto the main living room so that DD can play in 'her' room and I can be in the lounge without feeling like I've banished her ! But I still have the option of shutting the doors on the primary coloured plastic.

We could actually do that in our current house but it would mean losing our dining room, and despite having a table in the kitchen, we'd miss it.

Hopefully we'll be able to afford a 3rd reception room in our next house...

I do think that proper storage is essential in a play room or else it'll just look like sale day at Hamleys all the time and you'll wish you never had it.

[pickledonion]

At the moment we have big plastic carts with wheels on for seperate things (i.e one for happy land one for dolly's etc etc) but there ugly looking in my eyes

[pickledonion]

the wooden ones are lovely -but bloody expensive and you don't seem to fit in as much as the plastic ones.

[pickledonion]

anyone else??

[dolally]

We one next to the kitchen, with glass doors so that when the kids were younger I could keep an eye on them while cooking etc... I remember thinking that had it been at the other end of the house it would never have been used so much, partly cos kids will always tend to congregate wherever you are! They have a tv and video in there(no tv's in bedrooms) and they spend lots of time in it.

We have plenty of storage which is not much used, so it's a constant mess which makes me feel sick sometimes but they love it. I guess it will become a teenagers' den eventually!

[Merlin]

When we moved house a playroom was a definite on a my wishlist. DS aged 4 loves it - it is off the kitchen so I can keep an eye on him - he has a TV and video in there and we got our builder to put up floor to ceiling shelving down one wall which is great. A little table and chairs, beanbag and the piano are squeezed in as well. Only prob is when baby arrives we will have to make some room for more toys!!!!

[Tessiebear]

It is toy hell - but well worth it AND you can shut the door on it!!!

[Merlin]

Agree tessiebear that shutting the door on it is the best!!! Although DS still has to tidy up before bedtime.

[Lonelymum]

We have a playroom of sorts - it is our basement which is huge. Trouble is:
a) when the children were young, they didn't like to be in there alone although it is not as dark and dingy as you might imagine, eg is has high up windows, loads of lights, 4 radiators. They use it now, but they are older.
b) yes they do make a terrible mess and it is very hard to keep on top of it as I sometimes don't go down there and see it.
We are about to move and I desperately want a house with a spare room I could use as a playroom as we have so many toys, I don't see where the children could keep them otherwise. Also, when they are older I think it would be nice for them to have their own sitting room to do what they like in and have friends round. But, I don't really want another basement playroom. I would rather it was on the ground or top floor so I could keep a closer eye on the mess as it accumulates.

[WestCountryLass]

We are moving and will hopefully convert the grage to a playroom.

I want it to be an area where the kids can do messy play, painting etc, where I won't be precious about the mess.

I am will probably go for the Argos 'stack and store', anyone have it? Any good?

Also, I would like a table with benches instead of chairs, anyone know where I can get one?

[suedonim]

We've had playrooms - a complete waste of time, imo! The children just dragged their toys through to wherever I was, leaving a trail of stuff through the house. Sigh.....

[SPARKLER1]

We live in a four bedroom house. My sister has lived with us since we moved in just under 4 years ago. She is moving out beginning of March so we have plans to use her bedroom as the girls toy room. I am very excited. Gonna put loads of posters up and have a massive sort through all of their toys. Will be really nice to get their bedrooms tidied up.

[SofiaAmes]

We are in a traditional victorian/edwardian with 2 front rooms (one at the back and one at the front of the house). We made the one at the front of the house into the children's playroom and the one at the back into the adult's living room. It's heaven. We got some square open cabinets from ikea and loads of colored boxes and that's where all the toys in the house live. Yes it looks like a war zone when they're in there playing, but the best thing is being able to close the door until the cleaner arrives on Friday. The kids are perfectly happy to play in there, but sometimes spill out into the hall or into our living room. However, having spilled out, they are well versed in returning their toys to the playroom. I keep all the books and bedtimes stuffed animals in their bedrooms.
Having lived in an open plan house before, I much prefer a playroom.

[Potty1]

Yes, it will be toy hell but you can shove it all in and shut the door on it!

We have a playroom, it was the dining room but the kitchen is big enough to eat in. We moved here when the children were 7,4 and 2 from a house with a 'through' lounge/diner. It's been great to have a child-free space although I'm now thinking of reclaiming it as a second sitting room as my ds1 is 16 1/2 and is in need of a bit of space to chill in with his gf

[jenkel]

We are just having a conservatory built to use as a playroom. If anything its a place to store the toys, instead of being dotted all round the house, and hopefully we may be able to gain back our living and dining room. Also, I would love to buy big toys for my dds such as a kitchen etc but just dont have space to put it in the house at the moment.

[ionesmum]

I hope to get a play room for the dds when we move. Atm they use our conservatory but this isn't ideal as we have a quarry tiled floor and also it doubles as a utility area. One bonus is that we have a large belfast sink in it which is brilliant when we are doing messy play, and I would try to put one of those into a play room if ever I have one. For storage, we bought a big unit from Argos made out of pine which has six cubby holes, but instead of buying the plastic boxes recommended we bought wicker baskets which look as lot better.

[Rarrie]

I'd really recommend a playroom!

I've got an open plan house, so our playroom is now what was the dining room, (which has moved out into the extension) and is little more than an area (albeit a large one) off the living room. I find yes, it does get messy, but so would toys anywhere, and as its a play room, you can excuse the mess, in a way you can't if its in the living room. Also, they get shoved back in the baskets in 5 mins flat.

I also have the Argos 6 unit thing filled with wicker baskets. Looks great and holds loads of toys.

The other advantage of a playroom, is that my dd can have all her toys downstairs, so I don't have to go and fetch all the toys from her room. Also, as it is just at the back of the living room, I can sit and enjoy my tea in peace whilst still keeping an eye on her.

Personally, I love mine and couldn't give it up!

[milward]

Have a playroom on the first floor. Have a comfy chair for me & a pile of mags. Great as can just close the door on the mess. dds also play in their rooms but good to have another space for them. Put in a inflatable mattress when have guests staying so doubles as a bedroom as well.