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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think a playroom is just more room for mess?

40 replies

Dingdongdog · 13/12/2023 14:48

We have 3 children. One older so he's not fussed as in his room a lot.

We have a downstairs playroom. I just find that the mess it creates outweighs the use it brings. Hubby doesn't agree!
We have toys all over the lounge anyway so....

If you had the luxury of a room downstairs would you have a;
Playroom
Separate dining room
Spare room for guests (maybe visiting overnight once every couple months)

Thank you!

OP posts:
Original poster
Dingdongdog · 13/12/2023 14:49

Open to other suggestions too! 🫣

OP posts:
Comedycook · 13/12/2023 14:50

We had an extra room downstairs...we had it as a playroom. My DC are teens now but I shudder when I remember the mess 😂

ALunchbox · 13/12/2023 14:50

At a young age, we didn't think it was particularly useful but it was good for teenagers to have a place to hang around in/play video games/etc.

Thesearmsofmine · 13/12/2023 14:52

We have a playroom, toys did get in other rooms of course(not so much these days) but everything could be shoved in and the door closed at the end of the day.

superplumb · 13/12/2023 14:52

It was a dining room then I got sick of the plastic toys in the living room so it's a playroom. It was a tip when much youngest with arts and crafts etc but now it's more of a tv room with their gaming stuff in there. When they have play dates they all go in there. Also husband goes in there to watch the football.

Youcannotbeseriousreally · 13/12/2023 14:52

I had a playroom when they were small. But they played in it. We didn’t have toys in the living room at all or the kitchen etc. it was tidied every night and I loved shutting the door on all the plastic crap!

NuffSaidSam · 13/12/2023 14:52

It depends on the layout of the house, but I'd have a playroom and then be strict about keeping the mess in there. Why are there toys in the lounge? If you're strict with it then having one messy room and everywhere else is relatively tidy and clutter free is space well used imo.

Parker231 · 13/12/2023 14:52

We had a downstairs play room - meant that the other living rooms were tidy, better furniture which didn’t get stained or damaged and toy free. As DT’s got older it became a homework room and hang out space when their friends came around.

Clicheinaqashqai · 13/12/2023 14:53

We have a sofa bed in the playroom so it doubles as a guest room. We have an open plan kitchen/diner so I don't have the need to a separate dining room.

I agree it can create more mess but I don't know where we would store anything without it. We try to have a general rule that they can play in the living room if they choose to, but not only if they physically can't play in the playroom due to mess.

Some larger toys like a big train set have to go in the living room as the playroom isn't big enough.

At least at the end of the day we can throw toys from around the rest of the house in there and shut the door!

Borracha · 13/12/2023 14:55

We use ours more as a ‘family’ room. So it has a storage unit with all the toys, boxes of Lego, a teepee, ikea at kitchen, cork board with all their drawings on, small ikea table and chairs for sitting at and drawing, but it also has a comfy sofa and a decent size TV and games console in there.

I find it really cosy in there and will happily sit in there in the evening and watch tv if my husband has football or whatever on in the lounge.

eurochick · 13/12/2023 14:58

We have a playroom. We let it get wrecked each day but it is tidied up each evening (something that is mid-construction can stay out but all of the other detritus goes away). Toys only come into other rooms at times like Christmas when we have guests and our daughter does not want to be in the playroom alone.

GertrudePerkinsPaperyThing · 13/12/2023 14:58

I feel like it’s a way of keeping the mess contained to one room and not having it spill over into others. So shouldn’t cause more mess of the kids stick to that room for toys.

Rudolphtherednoseddog · 13/12/2023 15:02

I love ours, and it means the children can leave things like train tracks or elaborate Barbie set ups intact for a while as they’re not in my way. And yes, it gets messy, but I can ignore the mess most of the time and the odd hour to sort it back out is worth it for the many hours of independent play it brings. It’s mess, but it’s healthy “I played with lots of toys creatively” mess rather than just dumping out boxes of toys for the sake of it. Kids are messy!

I am very strict that toys do not live in adult spaces like the lounge though - they can come in to be played with, but then they get put away, not left. Mess is contained to the playroom - their bedrooms are very tidy too, because 95% of toys are in the playroom.

If we didn’t already have an upstairs guest room or an eat in kitchen though I would probably use the playroom differently!

NumberSixtyTwo · 13/12/2023 15:04

I moved to get a playroom and I adore it.

It has to be a nice place to be and you have to be with them if they're still little so you need a comfy sofa. Get a sofa bed so it can double up as your spare room. And loads of kallax!

Mine's honestly been life changing.

Pinkpinkpink15 · 13/12/2023 15:04

When they're little they want to be with you, so toys end up in the lounge, in the kitchen. Until they're older I just think of it as the toy room. Unless it's big enough to make comfortable for me too, then we'll use that as the family room & keep the lounge for adults.

whats your other dining option?

Abouttimemum · 13/12/2023 15:06

Ours is just our dining room and also where I work from home, with loads of besta units to shove everything away at the end of the day. Most of the time he takes his toys into the lounge and we tidy up at bath / bedtime. So long as it’s out of sight on an evening I’m not fussed where he plays!

Caspianberg · 13/12/2023 15:06

We have Playroom with sofa bed for ad hoc guests also.
Ds is 3 so he doesn’t play in there loads alone, but it’s a great area to store everything and when we have other children over he does play in there. Also where I set up the large things when he has out like pop up tent and tunnel.

I also set it up on little side tables in there like a shop one day, puzzles next week, or farm on rug another week. Then he will play with dh or I. He is just starting to play alone sometime in there

The plan is to add a tv and games console in there when he’s teen age so it can be played not in bedroom. Second living room basically, where kids can hang out when over if they want. I might add a desk for Ds also if he gets lots of homework

pastypirate · 13/12/2023 15:10

It was the room of mess. Dd1 would just select one toy and play with it in the living room. It was just a big cupboard. I didn't bother allocating a playroom when we moved.
Now I've got a dining room that isn't used and I'm fighting a losing battle of it being just a dump for random crap.

Laiste · 13/12/2023 15:12

We have a play room upstairs. DD is 9 now so the toys aren't scattered about as much as when she was younger. As it's a big room we've come to an agreement that one half stays tidier and i use one part of it for doing my yoga 😊

It's nice to keep the majority of her toys and art stuff in there and it keeps the living room and her bedroom more free of it all.

I would never turn our dinning room into a play room. Or a guest bedroom actually.

LolaSmiles · 13/12/2023 15:16

I'd have a separate or second living room for adults to socialise in or retreat to on an evening that is generally a toy free zone.

Or I'd keep the playroom as a playroom and would be tighter on how many toys are allowed out in the main living room.

IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads · 13/12/2023 15:17

Thesearmsofmine · 13/12/2023 14:52

We have a playroom, toys did get in other rooms of course(not so much these days) but everything could be shoved in and the door closed at the end of the day.

This

We split a big living room to make a playroom and living room. Ten years on, playroom is a the gaming room.

ThisisgroundcontroltoMajorTom · 13/12/2023 15:18

We have an only child and they always wanted to play where we were so a playroom was a waste of time

SweetFemaleAttitude · 13/12/2023 15:19

Ahhh, I have fond memories of dd's playroom (nearly 15 now).

We had all the things my parents couldn't afford when we were little.

She a a lovely wooden toy shop with a till and food for the shelves, a massive dolls house and stuff like that. We used to play in it loads haha.

Lots of storage boxes so stuff could be just chucked in at bed time.

TeenLifeMum · 13/12/2023 15:20

I’d have a second living room (but have 3 teens so our needs are different)…. Still have a million toys they are not quite ready to part with.

Perfect28 · 13/12/2023 15:20

Dual purpose room? Spare room/play room, decent storage