Ideas please for this room!

[Pippetypoppety]

Can I have some ideas please on what to do with this room? It’s basically two rooms with an arch in between but seems to just become one big space. Idea is to have a dining room / study at the bottom near the patio doors and a playroom at the top. It’s quite a dark room so was thinking of painting it all white then accessorising with black picture frames etc? It’s a bit of a dumping ground at the moment and not used. What would you do and how would you decorate? Or can I have pictures of people with similiar layouts?

What other rooms are there in the house? Eg do you need a living room in this?

Black and white could look cold. I’d go for an off white and wooden picture frames with bright coloured prints to go with your fireplace. A big mirror above the fireplace would help to reflect light back into the room.
get some good modular storage built into the alcoves in the play room so you can get rid of the plastic storage units, maybe a small sofa in the play room and something like a dresser / sideboard built into the dining room for additional storage as it looks like you have a lot of “stuff” that doesn’t really have a home.

I would put the playroom at the garden end and the dining table at the top end. That way the kids can move freely indoor and outdoor when playing, and not have to navigate around the table. I'd also put a small but comfy sofa down there too to hang out with them.

Paint the new playroom end bright white, with a jazzy rug, and lots of colourful artwork. Then, into the new dining area, I'd go darker, and a bit more grown up.

I'd make it feel like two rooms. It means you are more likely to contain the playroom mess to the bottom end.

In the dining area I'd maybe even go for a dark green, potted plants, hessian rug, brass frame around a old style print.

Hang a large mirror above the fireplace to reflect light. A big mirror, almost as wide as the fireplace and tall, to a foot below the coving. Can you wander around some show homes for ideas?

From the picture, I'd be inclined to have the dining room in the other part of the room. With the fireplace, you could dress the room really nicely with some nice art/candles etc. make it feel more grown up. Could you get some lighting installed above the dining table?

In the playroom side, you need some good toy storage. This kind of thing is lovely and could be used later on. Could you put a sofa in there to make it a bit cosier?

I’m not sure study and playroom go together unless they will never need to be used at the same time? Could you put a quiet room there and play room somewhere else?

how about a 2 seater sofa placed about where you were standing to take the photo? that would be a good place to sit with a view of the garden and of the kids playing.

then add uplighters in the corner or on the walls to get more light in.

Thanks everyone; sorry fell asleep too early last night to reply! Interesting that a lot of you think swapping both rooms round, we had originally planned having the play room the other end but thought it Kind of left the kids separated from the rest of the house. There is a large lounge the other side of this room, and I WFH which was one I wanted a study / place to work during the day. Deffo good ideas about the sofa and storage

I think I would agree about swapping the rooms round, partially as it looks like you've got a big radiator opposite the fireplace and that would limit the storage/seating options in that room but would work perfectly for a dining table in the middle.

It looks like (from your existing furniture) that you favour a kind of scandi style which can work well for both a playroom and dining room. We're just in the process of making a playroom for our youngest from a gym area in our garage conversion (no one used the gym despite the promises!) and we've gone with that kind of style. Making bench seating is super easy from Ikea box shelving and some foam/ply cut to size to make the seating. H&M home are great for this style and not expensive.

It's still a work in progress but this is how mine is coming along, we've tried to be as multi functional and space saving as possible (e.g. the desk folds down) as it's not a massive area but hopefully you get the idea.

You could fit a desk in one of the alcoves at the front of the dining room with shelves above to give you an option of somewhere to work.

You could fit a door with glass panels into the arch and create 2 seperate rooms.

Yes , we had two rooms (knocked through ) when we bought our house (it was The Thing in the late 80s /early 90s )
We had a stud wall put in the seperate as the DC mess just crept along .

I the future I'd like to replace the wall with folding doors , either white or part glass

@Pippetypoppety
We did the opposite. We took out the arch. Put in a beam and opened the room right out. Children don’t tend to stay put so I would have their stuff and built in storage at the French window end. You can take up quite a large space with this. Loads of companies do suitable cupboards for hiding clutter. On the opposite wall, build in a desk. Plus storage. I’m assuming work happens when dc are not around!

Have dining at the other end plus homework for Dc! Put computer in work space. Plus a couple of chairs and a coffee table. When clutter is out away, you can use the area and enjoy the garden. Your dc won’t want to keep walking round a dining area to use the garden.

Getting rid of the arch (which look like curtains) will make the whole space bigger. Just use a neutral off white and white woodwork. Jazz up with chairs and cushions.