Living room vs playroom - benefits? Image attached

[PocketRocket12]

We have a toddler (2.5) and TTC. We have been living in our house just over a year and trying to get our bearings with how we use our downstairs space as DS1 grows and changes - namely, if to have a playroom and where to put the toys!!

Currently we use room 1 informally as the playroom as I’m usually in their cooking and room 2 is our adult lounge for chilling out in the evenings. Haven’t really committed to a proper system yet but really need to start getting some substantial toy storage so have to decide….

Use family area at end of room 1 for playroom and keep adult lounge.

OR

Use room 2 as a dedicated playroom (can shut the door at the end of the day!) and make room 1 a bit more of an adult space.

OR

option 3 is to just leave things fluid and put more toys in DS’s bedroom… do they spend more time in there as they got older??

Appreciate children will go where you are and toys will end up all over anyway but would like to decorate and organise a bit.

Thanks if you made it this far 🤣

I'd go for the first option and buy one of these low level cube thingies from IKEA with baskets.

Another thing ... I'd keep toys to a sensible amount because honestly they don't play with most stuff.

Well, that was my experience!

OP they’ll be under your feet, wanting to play wherever you are for a good few years yet.

You could have an IKEA Kallax unit, as suggested above, in the kitchen/room 1 for some toys with the rest in room 2. To be honest though in your position I’d be loathe to sacrifice a grownup living room to a playroom at this point as it will just be a glorified storage area!

If you do you rotation/keep on top of the sheer volume of toys there’s no reason the Kallax couldn’t be the entirety of their toy area.

I find that small kids will bring the toys to wherever you are. Even now my 6 yr old brings toys in to play near me. Id keep the front room "nice" and invest in some toy storage furniture that's flexible and easy on the eye. People recommend kallax a lot but in my experience (a childminder and mother of 3) those boxes just get filled with random crap which they tip out to find stuff at the bottom! And the cubes weren't big enough for some bulkier toys.

I used ikea besta units (though wish I'd invested in something similar but that looked nicer!) due to the flexible space.

If your sofa is against the wall but it's possible to pull it out for space behind it without blocking walking space, keep it out from the wall a bit and store larger toys behind.

At 6 she's starting to grow out of a lot of toys and we are now more into board games and craft stuff. Besta units still work great for that.

Great advice everyone! Totally agree - I am loathed to give up our nice adult space… will go with something practical (and movable) and see how the next few years ago.

We have a playroom that is one end of our kitchen. I find it so useful, as our toddler can play there while I get on with food prep or other housework. I don't think my youngest would be happy in a playroom in a separate room as they like to see me, so if you're ttc I wouldn't use room 2 until the youngest is a bit older.

Though I'd probably opt for room 2 for the playroom eventually because I'm a sucker for having big nice toys so we'd need the bigger space. I don't feel the need for a big space for adults to relax, it's just me and DH so we just need a small sofa and TV.

I love to see the kids playing and chat to them while I cook so I'd go for option 1 for sure. I also think you are more likely to keep on top of the toy situation when it is there, whereas option 2 it could become a closed off space that ends up full and chaotic and not actually that nice for them to play in or learn to engage nicely with things.

Option 1 but have toy storage in their rooms also then rotate toys into the play area so they don't get bored of them and actually use them.

I find that small kids will bring the toys to wherever you are.

Yeah this. And the developmental stage between them being wanting to be under your feet all the time versus being monosyllabically hunched over a device in their own rooms lasts about a week 😉 A playroom won’t get much use.

I disagree, our play room was used constantly and as our child got older we put x box and play station in there, and also they used it for their homework and studying.

You need to keep them where you are anyway, once you have two you don't want to be trying to cook and supervising a toddler and a baby in a separate space (and this will apply for a number of years, mine are nearly 2 and 5 and cannot be left unsupervised for any time)

yeah I’d keep the mess confined to the room you’re in just now and keep the adult space. I think having a dedicated playroom you’d end up not actually using it and allowing toys in your other room anyway. I gave my 2 year old a huge bedroom to try to keep most of the toys in there but it is just more practical to have them in the living room. I’m finding it becomes a thing every day though to go round emptying each different toy out on the floor one by one so we end up with absolutely everything out by the end of the day. I put things away multiple times during the day but it doesn’t help! I think I’m going to take the toys all to his room then try to only have one box of something brought through at any one time so we don’t just end up with it all tipped out and mixed in on the floor every day 🤦🏻‍♀️

I think this also depends on what kind of person you are.
I didn't mind if my DC wanted to spend 3 days building a fort so it stayed out.
I have friends who made their DC put toys away at the end of the day so everything was gone to maintain the tidy mess.
We had a playroom: without one, given my style of parenting we'd have been living n the fort in no time! 😀

That was tidiness, not tidy mess!! 😀

We have a playroom that goes off kitchen so I can be cooking etc and have a line of sight in there. It gets used a lot, particularly for building big things and stuff like making forts. They have a play sofa that is always being used for something or other. It's great being able to shut the door on it and it's the one room in the house I don't care about being untidy!

Our living room is a mainly adult space but I do have a small basket of baby toys in there for when it's just me and DD2 during the day. But when both are at home and it's during the day, they are mostly in playroom. DD1 is 4 and only really plays in her room when she gets up and I tell her it's too early and to go play in her room!

I think having somewhere for the bigger things like play kitchens, shop, garage etc is always useful as well as just for storage!

I had this same dilemma.

Loads of people said a playroom would never be used.

Yes, often they want you in there, but it's so amazing to have a space you can close the door on. But nice for them when they're making a giant train track/ Lego thing/setting up an elaborate school etc it can be left intact for a few days.