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Original poster

Playrooms do you have one? Do your children use it ?

33 replies

morningmayhem · 29/09/2004 15:07

We have 4 young children and we were thinking of building a playroom/dayroom for them. So I was just wondering do your children play in their rooms or is it just used for storing their toys? and how are the rooms set up what shall I put in there. I was thinking of making a home corner with cooker etc and an area for painting,playdough Any other ideas would be great thanks

OP posts:
BooMama · 29/09/2004 15:36

Not much help but I would LOVE a playroom. We are considering building on a small extension to become dining room or playroom. At moment most toys are in sitting room and they're always under foot. That is also where tv is and I would like to get them away from there as well...
Not that I'm a 1950's housewife but this proposed extension would be by the kitchen so they would be near me still - and close to the garden whch would be nice in summer. I think that the location of playroom would make a lot of difference to how often it was used. When I was younger I had two friends with playrooms which were overlooked from the kitchen (they both had architects as parents) and they were always in use. It's nice because the sitting room becomes much more of a grown up place. One friend has gone the other way and built a conservatory for her whilst her dd's have taken over the sitting room.
I think that if the children are youngish they are just likely to follow you from room to room so could still end up bringing toys back into sitting room.

BooMama · 29/09/2004 15:38

Sorry, forgot to say...
would love to have a room where I could leave out bigger items rather than having to tidy them away at the end of the day.
For example - train sets, big jigsaws and all games which are still works in progress!
I'd say if you have 4 children go for it!

Northerner · 29/09/2004 15:39

My SIL has a play room and I am 'so' jealous. Her kids are 2.5 and 5 and it is always in use. Always looks like a bomb site but always in use. She got some great playroom furniture mail order from the great little trading company. They do lovely TV units, drawers, castles, big tables for train sets, painting easals (sp?) and loads of funky storage solutions.

littlemissbossy · 29/09/2004 15:39

Yes great idea, can thoroughly recommend having a playroom if you are able, you can close the door and leave the mess behind!!! we have a little table and chairs for drawing/painting, playmat on the floor, kitchen area (ds is budding chef) and toys arranged just in plastic storage boxes. Then when the kids are older, you can convert it into a study or den for them to hang out... better than hanging around the streets

codswallop · 29/09/2004 15:40

IMe they never use htem unless there's a tv int here
we have a conserv off the back of our kitchen so we sit and chat int here too
dont use the living room at all during hte day

codswallop · 29/09/2004 15:40

and i would deffo not put painting stuff ont here
we have one sofa and armchair ad a tv and a few boxes of toys

SoupDragon · 29/09/2004 15:42

Playrooms are fab.

codswallop · 29/09/2004 15:43

but i do know of lots of pople whose kids dont use htem

Debbiethemum · 29/09/2004 15:43

My dream house has a playroom, right off the kitchen with french windows to the garden - I had better win the lottery soon As I still have to cope with all the toys under my feet

Debbie

littlemissbossy · 29/09/2004 15:45

well FWIW we've never had a TV in our playroom and it's been a playroom for 8 years - and it gets used ALL the time - ds is in there now making me a cup of tea

codswallop · 29/09/2004 15:45

obv more cultured kids than mine
i send dh int here to watch ice hockey sometimes too

littlemissbossy · 29/09/2004 15:46

my kids cultured??? i don't think so

louee · 29/09/2004 15:49

We've got a playroom downstairs its a large room which is next to the lounge ,its always used and Dd can leave all her babies pushchairs out and all the trainsets,puzzles and infact everything everywhere.luckily we can shut the door and hide it all away.I wouldn't be without it.

luckymum · 29/09/2004 15:50

Debbiethemum - I have your dream house - well that bit anyway. It's been a playroom for 10 years, a permanent tip, but I shut the door on it a night and forget about it - Its great.

Ds1 (16) is now trying to reclaim it as a second sitting room so he can entertain ;) Dd still uses it though so we will have to see.

suedonim · 29/09/2004 15:50

We've had playrooms in various houses but my lot always just dragged their toys through to wherever I was and played with them there! But it's nice to have somewhere to chuck everything at the end of the day and close the door on it.

codswallop · 29/09/2004 15:51

well I always tidy ours up

hehehe

tamum · 29/09/2004 15:54

We have one and it's used loads (sorry coddy ) and there's no TV. We have the dressing up box, lego, board games, table for painting and stuff, dolls' house, computer.... It's great and definitely worth doing IMHO. Always a bombsite, but who cares? Ours is upstairs next to their bedroom if anyone is interested

codswallop · 29/09/2004 15:56

god you must all be mad

I hate paitning and all that arty crafty stuff.
mind you mine spend most of hte time playing sport outside so that exempts me from effin sponge painting

tamum · 29/09/2004 15:57

Oh you philistine!!!!! ()

iota · 29/09/2004 16:01

our spare rm doubles as a sort of playroom - TV video and playstation - fees up the TV in teh sitting-rm for the grown-ups.

iota · 29/09/2004 16:02

I mean frees up TV

iota · 29/09/2004 16:04

drawing and painting are done on the kitchen table, which also has a pc on it.......which handily connects to mumsnet

Jimjams · 29/09/2004 16:07

We kind of had a playroom (downstairs from the kitchen- leads out onto the garden). But it was hardly used, then we turned it into a therapy room for ds1 and its used loads more now. I don't miss it as a playroom tbh.

Mum2Ela · 29/09/2004 16:26

We built a conservatory across the back of our house so when I am in the kitchen I look into it iyswim. We use this as the childrens room (only 1 child atm!) and it has a door that goes onto the garden and one that goes onto the decking. DD uses it all the time. It has a sofa in there and a tv and dvd (not used much), and all her toys, and a table / chairs so she can eat there with friends or play with play dough / paints (sometimes, not often).

I think its fab cos it means we don't have toys all over the house, they are confined iyswim. Living room doesn't get as battered as it otherwise might (although this is the only place doesnstairs she will se her potty ).

Playroom has laminate floor for easy cleaning too.

Skate · 29/09/2004 16:30

We are moving in Jan and the 3 ds's will have their own room/playroom so that we have a nice separate grown up lounge - right now we have a through lounge/diner and it's huge but you can always see all the toys and if I bought anything like a kids kitchen or toolbench it would be there all the time which I'd hate.

Apart from the benefits when they are little (you can shut the door on it like everyone says!), I'm thinking it'll be great when they are older and want friends round or, dare I even think about it, girlfriends . Ours won't lead out onto garden which I admit is a downside but it means my lovely lounge does instead! I think this would be less of an issue when they were older anyway.

I'd go for it - specially if you've got 4.