When did playrooms become a thing?

[00100001]

I'm early 40s and not a single person I knew growing up had a playroom. Now it seems it's quite common? Or definitely not unusual?

Why did they become a thing? What happened to kids just playing with their toys in the living room and their bedrooms?

I think fewer people have dining rooms now, and have eat in kitchens, so there is often a ‘spare’ room downstairs that can be used for toys/computer games/big TV.

Exactly this. I grew up in the 90s and most of my friends had playrooms. I desperately wanted one but didn't have one.

We did have a large kitchen, huge living room and separate dining room - which we only used at Christmas as we ate in the kitchen on a day-to-day basis.

The dining room was also home to our huge family computer.

When I was a young adult my parents moved the dining table into a space at the end of the living room. I guess if they'd done that when I was a child the dining room could have been my playroom. But it was probably fashionable to have a separate dining room then (even though we never used it!) Plus 1/2 a room was required to house the computer!

I live in a new build and we technically have a living room, big kitchen and a separate dining room. We have a dining table in our kitchen and the 'dining room' is a play room.

My cousins* had one in the 50s. 4 bed house, only 2 kids.

My family had 4 kids in a 4 bed, so pretty obvious why we didn’t have one.

*They also had a brick built Wendy house in the garden! Not that I was green with envy or anything….

Never had a playroom - grew up in a 3 bed semi. My DDs have never had a playroom although one house we lived in had a big conservatory they used to use. Probably a thing for better off families I think.

We had a playroom in 1980s, old Victorian 3 floor terrace house with lots of small dark rooms. The bedroom was tight and we shared and no toys came into our room as playroom was upstairs on 3rd floor. It makes a lot of sense. No upstairs bathroom or ensuite just one downstairs bathroom for a family of 5. We moved at age 10. I loved that house but I'd say it was a nightmare for my parents!! My cousins also had one at the end of a bungalow but again all kids shared bedrooms and v few toilets.

I would guess that they are becoming more common for the same reasons they were common in upper-class Georgian and Victorian homes.

The economy is more unequal now than it has been, it is becoming as unequal as it was in those times. Some have money to spend: some can barely afford to feed themselves. It’s not that people are working less: it’s that we have a reborn class system that depends on heredity and social connection. In recent times this was not the case and more people gained the benefits of their labour.

Always known it in wealthier households with the space

I’m in my 50s and never had or knew anyone with a playroom. My children never had a playroom and I’m not aware of any of their friends having playrooms.

I grew up in a Victorian house and it had a children's room that was initially used as a schoolroom but a playroom later on once everyone started going to o school. They've always been a thing for people who had kids toys coming out their ears but toys getting cheaper has increased the number of people who have so many toys they need to shut a door on them.

Ok so there are a few of us saying the same thing and you chose my post to quote ? 🙄🙄

this is a public forum whereby we all can give our experiences of life, I’ve explained mine and many other peoples have had the same experiences. We didn’t all grow up in wealthy families who could afford to have an extra room just for toys!

I'm 45, as a child we lived in a three bedroom house, even we were young my sister and I shared the middle sized room and the box room was a playroom.

I didn't even have my own bedroom never mind a playroom!

My children had a playroom growing up , it depends on how many bedrooms / reception rooms you have and what you consider the best use . We have 4 good size bedrooms and chose to have a playroom over a spare bedroom because we wouldn’t have used a spare bedroom . It’s gone from the kids playroom to my husbands playroom .

You said “now it’s all change”. Maybe others did too, I didn’t notice. I was pointing out that things haven’t changed that much. I’m not sure why you’ve taken this so personally.

they are a blessing ! I’m on my first house without a playroom and omg I’m struggling . I hate having kids stuff in the living room .

We moved from a very open plan house to a Victorian house with multiple rooms. And one is designated as The Snug. But essentially it is my DS10 playroom. It is brilliant not having the Lego, Marmite rice cake crumbs, and endless games of Fortnite (played loudly with commentary via Teams with all his mates). in the main lounge - but that he's also not squirrelled away in his bedroom and I can pop in regularly from the office across the hall.

My best friend had a fab playroom in the 1970s!

I grew up in the 80s and didn’t have a play room. We had a decent sized 4 bed house but all the rooms were used - kitchen, utility, sitting room and dining room and upstairs were three bedrooms in use and a spare bedroom. My friends all had similar set ups.
We’re moving to a bigger house very soon and the downstairs is all open plan kitchen, dining and living but to the other side of the house is a snug, which could be used as a play room if DC were younger. As it is we’ll use it as a second sitting room for them and add a sofa bed.
I think, as someone else said up thread, it’s now more common because of how people have remodelled their houses for modern open plan and sociable living.