Playroom ideas/must haves

[Rnm62]

Currently planning out a playroom for my 18 month old & 7 month old.


So far the list I have is:

lots of ikea storage for toys
book case
small table & chairs
teepee
ball pit (not 100% sure on this as I feel like I’d be forever picking balls up!)
foam floor mat
indoor slide
bean bags / personalised chairs
play kitchen

Any other ideas? Thank you x

What about something like this?

kiddymoon.co.uk/cat-eng-1214554056-KIDS-Toys-Activity-Toys-Foam-Playgrounds.html?cat=1214554056&

You can buy different packs depending on what you want

Or maybe even something like this?

www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1122289471/

My experience with kids that age is that just just love climbing and throwing themselves over things

My only advice is to start small and don't put much in the room at all to begin with. Over the next few years it will inevitably get filled with Birthday and Christmas presents.

An IKEA storage unit filled with a few toys, books and games is a good starting point. And a small table and chairs in the corner. Those mats with numbers on that slot together like a jigsaw are fun on the floor and easy to wipe clean.

I had a playroom when mine were little and it soon got completely overfilled and was a nightmare to keep tidy and clean.

How much space do you have? Are you putting in a sofa or chair for you to sit in.

We have

Ikea kallax 4x2 so you can put bits on the top
Play kitchen
Teepee
Little bookcase (dunelm do a lovely one)
Little table & chairs
Dolls house
Train table
Ikea Flisat table which is great for sensory play activities

Heres ours.
We also have a little trolley on wheels from Matalan for extra kitchen bits.

Why so tidy @Winterfellismyhome ? Have your children moved out?! 😀

Can I add smart TV (Netflix), little table and chairs/stools for beans on toast in front of the telly when tired after nursery/school whatevs.

Sofa/ chair for you.

If you value your sanity at all them no to the ball pool.

Everything in this room is well used. The ball pit has been used daily and every child that comes here loves it.well worth the faff of cleaning up balls now and again.

My advice would be to try to think a few years ahead and buy stuff in styles and colours that will last past the toddler years - my DC weren't particularly fussed about the playroom (they wanted to be where I was) but used the space a lot more as they got a bit older.

Lots of storage - the IKEA range is great - a small sofa and maybe a couple of beanbags. We have a sofa bed so it can be used as an emergency guest room or for sleepovers.

Think about how you'll store different activities together - craft stuff, drawing equipment, play sets, lego, books...

Somewhere for you to relax and supervise/ rocking horse/ balance board/ something to play stories/ music on/ easel/ wall blackboard/ dressing up box/ play shop/ puppet theatre.

Somewhere for you to sit so you are not always on the floor, especially as they get older. We have a small sofa bed so the room can also be used for extra guests when needed. Will you be doing arts and crafts in there? Something to put under the table to protect the carpet if so. The main thing we have found is to make sure you can clear a space in the middle of the floor for large puzzles, train tracks etc.

Agree with pp don't overfill it now birthdays and Christmas will do that for you. Definitely lots of storage I have kallax boxes with pictures on the front so they know what's in there. As also mentioned have somewhere for you to sit we had a large sofa in there that doubled as a jumping/climbing frame for DS 😂😂. If you are going to do sensory or messy play in there think about the floor covering we have carpet so messy plan is done in the kitchen as it's tiled and easier to clean. DS is 4 now and still loves his ball pit 😁.

It’s quite a big room so got lots of space

Looks lovely! & very tidy 😂

Love it!!!

Yes yes yes to loads of storage. We have a play kitchen, play shop, post office, and a table with hidden storage under the top and drawers. Wall-mounted bookshelves for paperback picture books galore and a freestanding one for board books and other things. A big sofa and a play rug thing that looks like a farmyard. We have a TV on the wall but it's rarely used.

And lots of storage boxes and fabric crates so everything has a home and you can keep parts together. We have a plastic toys box, a wooden toys box, one for building blocks, one for cars, one for dinosaurs, etc. and DD(3) is really good at putting things in the proper boxes now.

Basically if you think you've got enough storage, double it

The BEST thing about my playroom was the double doors opening it up to the lounge - so the kids played in there while I was in the lounge, rather than it being a glorified storage room that they brought things out of to play with where I was.

We had storage shelves, but other than that it was an open space that they could play in - lego, train tracks, games.

We also had a homemade "shop" which was one of the most used things over the years.

Crafts happened at the kitchen table.

It's now a 2nd lounge with TV, games consoles and my working at home space. And I still love how it is open to the lounge.

A wall of Kallax units.

100% agree with a sofa/chair for you to sit on and supervise. Best thing I bought for our playroom.

Early years teacher here.

I wd def agree re not overstuffing room. Have a cupboard where u can put toys away and bring them out periodically. Plenty of floor space for train sets etc. my big tip wd b a construction zone with lots of large blocks for building huge towers. Large foam bricks can mean u can relax when u watch a large building collapse.

Ditch the teepee and buy some den building items. Table and chairs def - great for drawing, tea parties etc. kitchen and lots of pretend food is great. A dressing up box. Wipeable floor. Art materials. If u have room get a tuff tray on a stand and see all the amazing ideas on Pinterest for this. Even filling it with sticks, leaves and cones is fab. I wdnt say the ball pool adds much beyond a certain age. Likewise personalised seats which they quickly outgrow and then u have to store.

for storage, put photos of what items go in which box so they learn the v useful skill of tidying up. Also, take photos of the room wen it is tidy so u can show them what u mean by a tidy room.

an outdoor messy mud kitchen is a really good thing to have as well.

and finally, books. If all u do is read to them regularly then they r already winning.

have fun at this amazing age and stage ❤️❤️

And a box of puppets. They r fantastic in the early years 😀

2 year old here.

large corner sofa ( with sofa bed), so it’s also back up guest room.
pikler triangle and slide
popnup tent and tunnel.
shop/food play area - just on old low ikea besta unit. This has two storage cupboards underneath
Small toy ride on
small desk and chair

storage ottoman contains all other toys in living room still as he plays in Living room a lot, but playroom is good for all larger active items and start of playing alone.

I have it so all toys can be hidden away in the cupboards, climbing frame folded and away, tent popped down and moved etc if w have guests staying a few nights. As then it looks reasonably non child like and tidy. I’m going to get some actual cupboards built in for eventually moving stuff over as he gets older. And will keep above cabinets wall clear to use projector for films when bigger